PRESS RELEASE

Last week the Minnesota DNR's Metro Greenways Program awarded the City of Eagan an $8,000 grant to help realize the city's Eagan Core Greenway concept. The announcement was made at the entrance to Patrick Eagan Park during commencement ceremonies for this year's Sierra Club-sponsored "Tour de Sprawl" ( www.northstar.sierraclub.org/tour_de_sprawl_2002.htm ).

• The purpose of the grant is to assist in planning and developing the Eagan Core Greenway initiative, said Metro Greenways coordinator, Al Singer.
  
  
• "Given this year's budget, it took a little longer to secure, but the Eagan Core Greenway concept is just the kind of project that the Metro Greenways Program was intended to support," claimed Singer.
  
  
• The grant is to be matched by the City of Eagan.
  
  
• Application for the grant was a collaborative effort between Eagan-based Friends of Patrick Eagan Park, the Trust for Public Land, and the Sierra Club's local North Star Chapter.
  
  
• The Eagan Core Greenway proposal advocates recognizing and preserving more than 400 acres of largely undeveloped land that spans over two miles from Eagan's centrally located Patrick Eagan Park and neighboring Patrick McCarthy Farm through the Caponi Art Park and a series of city parks south to Lebanon Hills, Dakota County's largest rustic park.
  
  
• 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.