PRESS RELEASE

This week the Minnesota DNR's Metro Greenways Program Work Group met with Dakota County Commissioner, Nancy Schouweiler, Eagan City Council member, Peggy Carlson, Eagan Advisory Parks Commissioner, Phil Belfiori, and Friends of Patrick Eagan Park (FOPEP) representatives, Jack Conrad and John Ward. The two groups met at the capitol to review FOPEP's application for funding for the acquisition of the ten acre Anderson parcel. On Thursday, Metro Greenways Program coordinator, Al Singer, informed FOPEP that the Work Group has recommended partial funding for the Anderson parcel. The specific amount of the award has yet to be determined. The property is located on the south side of the entrance to Patrick Eagan Park.

• Metro Greenways ( www.dnr.state.mn.us/greenways ) announced in mid-December that FOPEP was a finalist for the grant.
  
  
• The purpose of the grant is to assist Eagan with the acquisition of 10 acres of the Anderson property, which is located beside the east entrance to the city's Patrick Eagan Park, said Metro Greenways coordinator, Al Singer.
  
  
• If Eagan is successful in receiving the grant, the City is expected to match or establish partners to match the award.
  
  
• The application for the grant, which was submitted earlier in 2002, was a collaborative effort between Eagan-based Friends of Patrick Eagan Park, the Trust for Public Land and the Sierra Club, North Star Chapter. The proposal emphasizes the significance of the Anderson parcel for the Eagan Core Greenway.
  
  
• The Eagan Core Greenway initiative advocates the recognition and preservation of more than 400 acres of largely undeveloped land that spans over two miles from Eagan's centrally located Patrick Eagan Park through a series of parcels, predominantly city-owned parks, south to Lebanon Hills, Dakota County's largest rustic park.
  
  
• Last month, by a vote of 5 to 0, the Eagan City Council endorsed a resolution to acknowledge the Eagan Core Greenway, underscoring its significance to the community and to the environment, while also expressing interest in finding partners to assist with its on-going preservation and protection.
  
  
• In November, by a vote of 8 to 1, the Eagan Advisory Parks Commission passed a motion to place the Eagan Core Greenway resolution before the City Council for a vote.
  
  
• Also in November, 57% of Dakota County voters passed a landmark ten-year $20 million bonding referendum to preserve additional open space in the county.
  
  
• The McKnight Foundation's (www.mcknight.org) recently publicized Embrace Open Space campaign (www.EmbraceOpenSpace.org) has designated the Eagan Core Greenway one of the Twin Cities "top ten treasures."
  
  
• Ultimately, the Eagan Core Greenway will represent an important permanent open space of never developed or minimally developed land designated to enhance local citizens' quality of life as well as the regional ecosystem.
  
  
• More information about the Eagan Core Greenway and Friends of Patrick Eagan Park can be found on the group's Web site: www.friendsofpatrickeaganpark.org.