Date: 11/25/25 7:36 pm From: Charlie Greenman <000047b03d2fee12-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: [mou-net] 180th Street Marsh
Thank you Steve for these updates and your efforts. Charlie
Sent from my iPhone
> On Nov 25, 2025, at 6:00 PM, Paul Worwa <pworwa...> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the update Steve. Hopefully the neighbors will prevail
>
> Paul Worwa, PE
> Project Manager
>
>
>
> 7875 Fuller Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55344
> Office Main: 952-934-3999
> Cell Phone: 612-490-2639
> <pworwa...>
> https://allanmechanical.com/ >
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Minnesota Birds <MOU-NET...> On Behalf Of Steve Weston
> Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2025 5:57 PM
> To: <MOU-NET...>
> Subject: Re: [mou-net] 180th Street Marsh
>
> Update on 180th Street Marsh.
> Last night I attended the Vermillion Township special board meeting on the pit expansion.
> While the public were welcome, the meeting wasn't for public input and virtually no questions were tolerated.
> As expected, the board passed everything unanimously (2 to nothing - one board recused himself with a conflict of interest). They decided that an environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) was not needed. Then they passed a number of resolutions resulting in giving the gravel pit the go ahead for the expansion.
> The neighbors who oppose the expansion have retained an attorney to appeal the decision in court. They are hoping they can raise the funds for that action.
> All governmental institutions, such as the EQB, DNR, county, etc. are aware of the pit expansion and the petition of the neighbors requesting a EAW.
> I have offered to be a witness if it goes to court on the environmental issues.
>
> Steve Weston
> On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN
> <sweston2g...>
>
>
>> On Sat, Nov 22, 2025 at 11:18 PM Steve Weston <sweston2g...> wrote:
>>
>> Here is the latest on what is happening in the vicinity of 180th
>> Street Marsh (aka Marshall's Marsh), the most visited birding location
>> in Dakota County.
>>
>> A few hundred yards up the hill to the southwest of the marsh is a
>> small aggregate (gravel) pit that is planning to expand. The company
>> that owns the pit has bought the two houses to the north with plans to
>> tear them down and mine the land. These houses are the first two
>> houses on the east side of Fischer Avenue south of 180th Street.
>>
>> The neighbors are fighting to keep the pit from expanding. Besides
>> being one of the premier birding locations in the region, the marsh
>> ranks as one of the highest quality wetlands in Dakota County. Also,
>> the Hastings school district has bought land on this wetland as an outdoor science laboratory.
>> Is mining a compatible land use with a sensitive, protected wetland
>> habitat that is a host to educational activities just a couple of
>> hundred yards above the marsh? The township board will be meeting this
>> Monday (Nov 24) at
>> 6:30 at 118 Park Avenue South in Vermillion to consider whether there
>> are enough environmental issues to warrant requiring an environmental
>> assessment worksheet (EAW). The second item on the agenda of this
>> special meeting (called with only 3 days notice) is whether to grant
>> the permit for the expansion.
>>
>> Locals assume that because they have included both items on the agenda
>> that the issue has already been decided and an EAW will not be
>> required. I have heard from contacts I have at Dakota County that they
>> have decided that it is in the hands of the township board to decide
>> what action to take. I have also heard that the DNR and the local
>> watershed people are not inclined to be involved.
>>
>> I have written a letter to the Township Board requesting a copy of the
>> EAW as a representative of the Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter (MRVAC).
>> MRVAC has led field trips to the area with stops at the marsh. We have
>> also invested in the Hastings school district's establishment of the
>> site as a dedicated destination for the study of grassland and marsh habitats.
>>
>> I will be at the meeting on Monday to address our concerns and I
>> welcome anyone who is concerned about the future of the 180th Street
>> Marsh to join me.
>>
>> Steve Weston
>> On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN
>> <sweston2g...>
>>
>
> ----
> General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html >
> ----
> General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
