Agenda - Parks and Recreation Commission - 08/11/1994

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07 .05. 94 DRAFT FOR REVIEW RRCMP:I-1 RUM RIVER CENTRAL REGIONAL PARK MASTER PLAN Section I: Boundaries and Acquisition Costs Natural Resources: The Rum River is both the principal water resource and the major attraction for this regional park. In this stretch the Rum is a gently flowing middle-sized river, with better than average water quality. The river has few rapids or obstructions, other than short riffles with small boulders. Along the park it flows mostly over sand bottom where pools alternate with shallower reaches. The combination of good water quality and pleasant landscapes, with little development, led to scenic and recreational designation by the state. Moderate flow, few rapids, sandy bottom and an attractive, well- vegetated shore have led to the Rum River's popularity as a family and youth group canoe route. Under most conditions a trip down this stream is easy and safe, even for inexperienced paddlers. The Rum has a good reputation as a fishery. It is best known for Smatlmouth Bass and Northern Pike, but Walleye, Catfish and several kinds of panfish are also caught. Minnesota Department of Health lists few consumption advisories for fish from the Rum, suggesting limits only for the larger size classes of Carp and Walleye. The park includes nearly four miles of Rum River shoreline. Most of the shoreline is along a wide floodplain which is frequently inundated during spring rises and occasionally at other times in the year. Other low-lying lands within the park are less frequently inundated but are still within the 100 year floodplain, the boundary of which is marked on Figure I-1. The floodplain supports a well-developed forest, open under the canopy, with dense undergrowth along the edges and in openings. Dominant tree species include Silver Maple, Willow, and Cottonwood, with Hackberry, Elm, Red Maple and Ash on slightly drier rises. Brushy species include Willows, Bog Birch, Alder and Elderberry. Grasses, Sedges and Herbs, especially Nettle, fill in any bare ground in the floodplain. The aerial photo, (Fig. I-ih shows much of the park away from the river to be gently rolling upland, with a few wetland basins. The park is located in a transition zone, (an outwash plain) between the Des Moines Till Plain which forms the St. Francis Hills to the north and west, and the Anoka Sand Plain to the south and east. Upland soils, derived from fine lake sands and sandy terraces, are light, generally with a high mineral content and a rather low organic component. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I