PART IV: In a series on the MNRRA

The Ford Parkway Bridge spans the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.

This is the fourth and final installment in a series of articles on the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA), a National Park designation that has been referenced as a potential model for Congressman Maurice Hinchey’s Hudson River Valley Special Resource Study Act (H.R. 4003).  This post focuses on the essential content and management goals of MNRRA’s Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP).

The CMP provides a framework to balance natural, cultural, and economic resource protection, visitor use, and sustainable development activities. Land management is a focal point of the plan.  The plan “will minimize adverse effects on the river corridor and conflicts between users while providing for a broad spectrum of land and water uses and managed growth. It will protect fish and wildlife resources and emphasize the importance of biological diversity in the corridor.”

Corridor management policies protect and restore the most significant visual resources, including historic structures and landscapes, and “the river corridor will have continuous public or private open space along the shoreline to the maximum extent practical, and it will be connected to the downtowns and neighborhoods by open space and trails.”

Additional public and private open space is a critically important resource in the corridor that will be stressed in plan implementation. “Such space will be provided through a continued local land and easement acquisition program. The goal will be to provide a continuous linear open space and trail along the riverfront in most of the corridor while protecting natural, cultural, and economic resources.”

While open space is encouraged in the CMP, the plan also recognizes the importance of economic activities and provides for the commercial use of the corridor consistent with the MNRRA legislation.  “Economic activity has the ability to preserve nationally significant historic and economic resources, and this is encouraged by the plan. However, this document is not an economic development plan for the corridor.”

Therefore, except in existing commercial and industrial developments, downtown areas, and historic districts, and the riverfront and bluff area, it is a vision of the CMP for the corridor to appear mostly natural from the river and its shoreline areas.  “In downtown areas and historic districts, development will be more visible, but still complement the aesthetics of the river corridor, appealing to area residents and serving as an attraction to visitors to the metropolitan area. Where the natural appearance has been altered in other areas, design guidelines and programs will be established to encourage shoreline restoration to a more natural appearance.”

The following is a summary table of the main issues the CMP addresses, based on the guidance provided by legislative direction and NPS policy.

PART III: In a series on the MNRRA

The Hastings Bridge. The MNRRA extends along 72 miles of the Mississippi River starting just below Hastings, MN and extending northward along the river.

This third installment in a series of articles on the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA), referenced as a potential precedent for the Hudson River Valley Special Resource Study Act (H.R. 4003) introduced November 2009 by Congressman Maurice Hinchey, explores the framework of this National Park Service designation’s Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP).  Part IV in this series will summarize the management goals and content of the CMP.

A final CMP for the MNRRA was released to the public in 1994 and approved by the secretary of the interior in 1995.  The purpose of this plan is to:

(1) protect, preserve, and enhance the significant values of the Mississippi River corridor through the Twin Cities metropolitan area;

(2) encourage coordination of federal, state, and local programs; and

(3) provide a management framework to assist the state of Minnesota and units of local government in the development and implementation of integrated resource management programs and to ensure orderly public and private development in the area.

To accomplish these goals the CMP prescribes a two-tiered approach:

Tier 1 calls for the maintenance and improvement of the state Mississippi River Critical Area Program and the state shoreland management program.  Local governments are already required to comply with the standards of these programs, and this does not change.

Tier 2 is a voluntary move that local governments can make by updating their community plans and ordinances to incorporate land use, resource protection, and open space policies as described in the CMP.  Local governments pursuing this tier can request funding and technical assistance.  Technical assistance for plan development is available from the Metropolitan Council and ordinance development is available from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Tier 1 is the initial goal, as it requires more effective implementation of existing state and regional programs. However, the long-term goal is to have all of the communities reach tier 2 and fully implement the MNRRA plan to achieve all of the plan’s purposes.

To fulfill these two tiers of implementation, the NPS collaborates with 25 local governments, several state agencies, and many civic organizations.  The Mississippi River Coordinating Commission, with the assistance of the focus groups formed early in the CMP planning process, developed vision and purpose statements that function as the CMP’s groundwork for implementation. This is carried out through a partnership framework composed of collaboration at the federal, state, and local levels, allowing this national park designation to be referred to as a “partnership park.”

This partnership approach relies upon coordination between different levels of government to manage the corridor. The plan adopts and incorporates the state critical area program, shorelands program, and other applicable state and regional land use management programs that implement the visions and concepts identified for the corridor. An important feature of the CMP is that it does not create another layer of government, but rather stresses the use of existing authorities and agencies.

The CMP states that it “will not prevent new development or expansion of existing development in the corridor that is consistent with state and regional land use management programs. It is not a regulatory document and does not mandate actions by non-NPS entities. The NPS and the commission do not have approval authority over local plans and ordinances, and they do not have authority to approve or deny project-specific land use decisions.”

Local governments retain local control of land use decisions consistent with applicable state and regional land use management programs. Land use management consistent with the MNRRA CMP is encouraged through an emphasis on incentives, including a grant program authorized in the MNRRA act, but yet to be funded by Congress.

In summary, the CMP framework, as directed by legislation, establishes a vision and provides a flexible structure for local, state, federal, and civic organizations to collaborate on preserving cultural resources and visual character, managing land and water, and enhancing visitor use, tourism, and economic development in the Mississippi River corridor through the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The next installment in this series will describe in more detail the programmatic goals of this management plan.

PART II: In a series on the MNRRA

The Hudson River Valley Special Resource Study Act (H.R. 4003), introduced November 2009 by Congressman Maurice Hinchey, references the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) as a potential precedent. This second installment in a series of articles on the MNRRA describes the public process leading up to this National Park Service designation.

Passage of  the 1988 legislation establishing  the MNRRA required the development of a comprehensive management plan (CMP). This legislation also established a 22-member Mississippi River Coordinating Commission composed of federal, state, and local officials and citizens to develop the management plan with public input from stakeholders.

In collaboration with the NPS, the Commission held 20 public hearings that included several citizen participants. In the early stages of this process, focus groups totaling 180 people from state and local agencies, businesses, and organizations provided assistance to the Commission and the NPS by gathering data, reviewing preliminary ideas, and developing vision statements.

In October 1991, the first draft vision statements and proposal were released in a project newsletter for public review.  This resulted in strong support for the vision statements. The Commission and NPS published a second newsletter in March 1992 that incorporated public feedback from the first draft.

During this period, local government representatives met in a special round of meetings to discuss the draft plan. In these meetings, local representatives favored a wide range of uses and activities for the corridor, emphasizing shared responsibility amongst all partners, and strengthening pollution control. In addition, the University of Minnesota conducted a survey of residents regarding attitudes about the river, which also helped to inform the plan.

As the plan started to take shape, the Commission and the NPS published a “notice of intent” in the Federal Register on July 14, 1992 to prepare an environmental impact study (EIS) in pursuant of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).  A year later in June of 1993, a draft CMP and EIS was published.  The draft CMP and EIS was thoroughly reviewed in four public hearings where it generated over 1,000 pages of written comments and more than 100 pages of hearing comments.  The Commission and NPS analyzed these comments and released a draft revised plan for public review in early 1994.

In April 1994, the Commission recommended the plan for review by the governor of Minnesota and the Secretary of the Interior.  The Secretary of the Interior approved the final CMP, which included a full EIS in 1995.  The final CMP provides guidance for the corridor for 10 to 15 years, the typical lifespan for a management plan of this type.  In 2009, a request was submitted to the NPS Midwest Regional Office for funding to begin development of a new management plan.

To read Part I in this series on the MNRRA, click HERE.

PART I: In a series on the MNRRA

The Hudson River Valley (HRV) Special Resource Study Act (H.R. 4003), introduced November 2009 by Congressman Maurice Hinchey, references the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) as a precedent.

But what exactly is a National River and Recreation Area?

The Mississippi River through the St. Paul/Minneapolis metro area is a rapidly growing destination for canoeists and boaters. *2008 NPS

Established in 1988, the MNRRA is an example of this National Park Service (NPS) designation. The MNRRA encompasses a total of 54,000 acres of public and private land and water along a 72-mile stretch of the Mississippi River and a four-mile run of the Minnesota River, between the cities of Dayton and Ramsey, MN to the south of Hastings, MN. The NPS owns only 65 acres of the 54,000 acres that make up the MNRRA.

The MNRRA was founded to “(1) protect, preserve, and enhance the significant values of the Mississippi River corridor through the Twin Cities metropolitan area, (2) encourage coordination of federal, state, and local programs, and (3) provide a management framework to assist the state of Minnesota and units of local government in the development and implementation of integrated resource management programs and to ensure orderly public and private development in the area.”

This federal designation is in one sense, an outgrowth of a preexisting Minnesota state legislation — the Critical Areas Act of 1973.  The Mississippi River and its adjacent corridor were designated a Mississippi River Critical Area in 1976 as the Minnesota Legislature found that “the development of certain areas possessing important historic, cultural, or aesthetic values or natural systems that perform functions of greater than local significance could result in irreversible damage to these resources, decrease their value and utility for public purposes, or unreasonably endanger life and property.”  The Mississippi River Critical Area comprised 54,000 acres of the Mississippi corridor, and it is these external boundaries that the MNRRA adopted when it was established in 1988.

The Mississippi River’s national designation process, however, first began in 1968 when Congress enacted the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act establishing a system for protecting nationally significant wild and scenic rivers. Congress revised the list of these Wild and Scenic Rivers in 1975 and included a portion of the Upper Mississippi River between Anoka and Lake Itasca, MN. Two years later, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Outdoor Recreation conducted a study that recommended the inclusion of about 350 miles, spanning 12 segments, of the Upper Mississippi River for inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers system. These segments had previously been excluded from consideration for Wild and Scenic River status because of development.

Later the same year, legislation was introduced in Congress to incorporate these 12 segments of the Mississippi River into the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. However, public hearings in 1978 were poorly attended and controversial, which led to an amendment to the legislation requiring the NPS to prepare a master plan for the Upper Mississippi as a prerequisite for congressional action.

Congress created the Metropolitan River Corridors Study Commission in 1980 to recommend ways to protect and manage the resource values of the Mississippi, Minnesota, and St. Croix Rivers in the metropolitan area.  The Commission’s final report was released in 1986 finding that although there were many efforts towards protecting and enhancing the river’s resources, “a more concerted effort was needed to provide an overall vision for the river and to protect it.”  This report led to the 1988 legislation that created the MNRRA.

This 1988 legislation also established a 22-member Mississippi River Coordinating Commission composed of federal, state, and local officials and citizens to develop a comprehensive management plan (CMP) to manage the corridor. With extensive public involvement, the Mississippi River Coordinating Commission and the NPS released a finalized CMP to the public in 1994 and the Secretary of the Interior approved the plan in 1995. A distinguishing feature of this multi-party CMP is that it is based upon the concept of a “partnership park” that includes both private and public lands.

MNRRA Timeline

1968 – Congress enacts the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

1973 – State enacts the Critical Areas Act.

1975 - Congressional legislation introduced to designate Upper Mississippi as a Wild and Scenic River.

1976 – Mississippi River and its adjacent corridor becomes the Mississippi River Critical Area under the state Critical Areas Act of 1973.

1978 – Public hearings lead to an amendment requiring NPS to prepare an Upper Mississippi master plan as a prerequisite for Wild and Scenic River designation.

1980 - Metropolitan River Corridors Study Commission created to recommend a management framework.

1986 - Metropolitan River Corridors Study Commission releases its report, recommending “a concerted effort to provide an overall vision for the river and to protect it.”

1988 – The MNRRA designation is created, establishing a 22-member Mississippi River Coordinating Commission composed of federal, state, local officials, and citizens to develop a comprehensive management plan (CMP).

1994 - After an extensive public process led by Mississippi River Coordinating Commission and NPS, a CMP is released.

1995 – Secretary of Interior approves the CMP, which is based upon the concept of a partnership park including both public and private lands.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey’s Hudson River Valley Special Resource Study Act passed in the House of Representatives on March 19, 2010.  The bill required two-thirds majority (272 votes) to pass.  The totals were 293 Ayes, 115 Nays, and 22 Not Voting.  Of the 293 Ayes, 243 were Democrats and 50 were Republicans while two Democrats and 113 Republicans voted Nay.

All 28 New York Congressmen voted Aye with the exception of Gary Ackerman [D] who did not vote.

The following is a press release from the office of Congressman Maurice Hinchey.

For Immediate Release

March 19, 2010

Washington, DC — The U.S. House of Representatives today approved a bill authored by Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) that would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a study on whether the Hudson River Valley should become a unit of the National Park system. As part of the National Park system, the region would see an influx of tourism, additional federal resources and increased preservation efforts that would create jobs and grow the local economy.

“Today the House recognized the historical and natural significance of the Hudson River Valley by calling on the National Park Service to conduct a study to determine if the region would be a good fit with the National Park system,” Hinchey said.  “I am optimistic that this bill will soon pass the Senate and be signed into law by the president, allowing the area to gain proper national recognition that would make it more attractive to visitors and businesses.  This is a momentous day for those of us who live in the Hudson River Valley and one that I believe will eventually lead to a National Park designation for the region.”

The vote to pass Hinchey’s bill, H.R. 4003 — the Hudson River Valley Special Resource Study Act, follows a successful vote in committee on February 24. A hearing was held on January 21 by the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands.

In order for the Hudson River Valley to become part of the National Park System, a congressionally-authorized NPS study must be conducted.  Hinchey’s legislation would authorize such a study from Fort Edward in Washington County down through Westchester County.  If the NPS’s study finds that the Hudson River Valley would be a good fit as part of the National Park System then subsequent legislation would be needed to make that designation.  Hinchey said he would immediately introduce the necessary legislation.

Hinchey’s bill outlines specific guidelines to ensure that the NPS study recognizes the realities of the Hudson River Valley.  These guidelines require the NPS to closely examine park unit models, in particular national river and recreation areas, as well as other landscape protection models, that: encompass large areas of non-federal lands within their designated boundaries; foster public and private collaborative arrangements for achieving NPS objectives, and protect and respect the rights of private land owners.  No forced land acquisition activities would be permitted.

Hinchey has long sought greater recognition, protection, and resources for the Hudson River Valley.  As a member of the New York State Assembly, Hinchey authored the legislation that led to the creation of the Hudson River Valley Greenway.  In Congress, he authored legislation that led to the designation of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, which provides technical assistance to local communities or local managers to assist them in managing natural and historic sites of national importance.