Photo: (L-R: Tom Dimond, Kathy Sidles, Kiki Sonnen with her Llewellyn Setter Chicory pose in the snowy landscape of Pig’s Eye Chôkan Tonka Park in December 2021)

The Saint Paul Parks Conservancy and the Saint Paul Parks Department announced they are awarding Pig’s Eye Park Friends the Commitment to Conservation Volunteer Award. They noted the Pig’s Eye Friends group has shown extraordinary dedication to environmental stewardship through restoration efforts, advocacy, volunteerism, and free park discovery tours.

Kathy Sidles thanked Jody Massey for nominating Pig’s Eye Friends for the award. Kathy is instrumental in keeping all of us informed of goings on in the park with her weekly Facebook postings. Kathy is a scientist at heart. She keeps records of stream flow speed of Battle Creek on its way to Pig’s Eye Lake. She watches over the Beavers activities across the seasons. And she monitors pollinators. Kathy has even found the endangered Rusty Patch Bumblebee at Pig’s Eye. A second endangered species at Pig’s Eye are the Blanchard Cricket Frogs. 

Tom Dimond said, ” We always knew Pig’s Eye is a fantastic natural resource . We worked hard so that people could find this park with proper signage. A recent STAR Grant enabled new way signs to go up so more people can get here now. We provide weekly walks through the park summer and winter, spring and fall. The more people who come to appreciate the park, the more people will stand up for the protection of these public lands.”

Kiki Sonnen added that people have been trying to protect Pig’s Eye for decades. She said she has promoted the park since 1976. That was when the St Paul Port Authority wanted to destroy Pig’s Eye ‘s heron and egret island to make room for off-channel barge fleeting. Kiki said,  “We stand on the shoulders of earlier environmentalists. People like Peggy Lynch (St Paul LWV), Carroll Henderson (MN DNR non-game manager), Margaret Anderson (District 1 Community Council), and Chuck Dayton (environmental lawyer) helped us over the rough patches. Never give up, people said. We continue to honor the help Dave Durenberger (US Senator) Grant Merritt (MPCA), Bernie Edmunds (Ramsey County Parks Director), Jane Prince (City Council) and many others  have given us.”

The awards ceremony will be held at Party for the Parks at Harriet Island on Wednesday, May 27 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. In addition to the awards ceremony, there will be a picnic dinner, music, and family fun. RSVP on line by May 18 at StPaulParks.org/P4P

The cost is $25 per person, with kids under 12 free.

Here is the link to the recording!

Kara Snow – Project Pileated Woodpecker: Characterizing Tree Cavity and Use by Minnesota’s Wildlife (One-year update!)

The Pileated Woodpecker is a keystone species in Minnesota’s forests, creating large cavities that many other wildlife species later use. In this talk, Ms. Snow shared an update from the first year of her Pileated Woodpecker project, including the methods they used to locate and monitor nesting cavities across a gradient of forest management.

Ms. Snow touched on some of the challenges she and her team faced in the field, early successes from the first season, and what they are beginning to learn about habitat use. She will also highlight ways the public can help by sharing observations of Pileated Woodpeckers and cavity use, which can play an important role in supporting this research going forward.

Photo-Rolland-Swain