DETROIT LAKES, Minn. —The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources plans to buy almost all of the Toad Mountain site and turn it into a wildlife management area for things like hunting, hiking, wildlife observation, trapping and shore fishing, according to Erik Thorson, DNR area wildlife manager in Park Rapids, Minnesota.
He spoke to the Becker County Board on Tuesday, Aug. 19, which unanimously approved the plan.
The nonprofit Trust For Public Land is in the process of buying the property from owner
, and will then sell it to the DNR in the first part of next year.
A map of the former Toad Mountain Park proposal that failed to pass. The latest proposal is for a wildlife management area, which covers the same land, except for 3 acres of developed waterfront on Toad Lake that are not included in the sale.
Submitted Map
The total Toad Mountain site is valued at about $1.4 million by Becker County this year, but the sale price is being negotiated. It is considered private information, and will not be released until the sale goes through, said Nick Bancks, project manager for the Trust for Public Land.
But he was pleased to learn that neighborhood opposition seems to have disappeared.
A plan floated last year to create a regional park at the site was killed by the Becker County Board, after fierce resistance from people who live in the Toad Lake area.
Unlike a regional park, the wildlife management area would not be open to camping, horseback riding, lake access and similar activities that would bring more people, traffic, boaters and other activity to the area, said Commissioner Barry Nelson. Yet the site will be spared from development and returned to its natural state. That’s a big reason the neighborhood does not oppose the new plan, he said. “There’s more limited recreational opportunities on DNR land than what the county could have done,” Nelson said.
The DNR will acquire 250 acres there, including the woods and meadows on and around Toad Mountain, which is one of the tallest points in Becker County. The purchase will include some sensitive lakeshore that has not been developed, but will not include 3 acres of developed beachfront with two cabins and a large garage. Carr will keep ownership of those 3 acres, at least for the time being, Bancks said.
A cabin used for a former horse camp at Toad Mountain. It and other horse camp infrastructure will be removed or torn down if the plan for a DNR wildlife management area at Toad Mountain comes to pass.
Nathan Bowe/Tribune
The Toad Mountain site has long-established trails as well as a handful of cabins and other structures from its days as a horse-riding camp. Those horse camp buildings will be deconstructed or moved off site, if anyone can be found that wants them, or else torn down and hauled to the demo landfill, Bancks said.
It’s all part of the effort to restore the site to its natural state, Thorson said, adding that the existing hunter walking trails will be cleared and mowed annually. If the plan comes together, the Toad Mountain WMA will be under the administration of the DNR in Park Rapids.
Two people spoke in support of the plan at Tuesday’s meeting. Clark Lee, who lives on Big Toad Lake, said the Toad Lake Town Board met Monday and unanimously supported the DNR plan. “I’ve talked to a lot of people — on the lake and off the lake — everybody seems to be pretty much in favor of it,” he said. “The DNR will take care of it, and there’ll be no loss of tax revenue,” he added. Becker County Commissioner Erica Jepson, who represents the district, also supports the plan.
It helps that the estimated annual state payment in lieu of taxes for the site is $12,400 a year — higher than the property taxes paid on the site this year, which were just shy of $7,000, Bancks said.
Also speaking in favor of the DNR purchase was Willis Mattison of Osage, Minnesota, a member of the local Izaak Walton League.
The Toad Mountain site sits in the middle of the intersection of three biomes — prairie, hardwood forest and boreal (evergreen) forest. “It’s the highest biological diversity of plants and animals in Becker County,” Mattison said. He urged the county board to support the DNR purchase, and said the Izaak Walton League hopes the site eventually becomes a state park that includes the 3 acres of developed waterfront.
The waterfront at Toad Mountain, which has 920 feet of shoreland on Toad Lake, will not be included in the DNR proposal to make Toad Mountain a wildlife management area. The 3-acre developed area will stay in private hands for the time being.
Nathan Bowe/Tribune
As a wildlife management area under DNR ownership, the site will be used for low-impact recreation, and there are no plans to create another Toad Lake public access there, Bancks said.
The eastern part of Becker County is sorely in need of a wildlife management area — the 20-plus existing wildlife management areas are mostly on the western half of the county — and Toad Mountain is expected to operate like Hubbel Pond WMA does, south of the Tamarac Refuge in the Rochert, Minnesota, area.
The Trust for Public Land is pleased with the DNR plan for a wildlife management area at Toad Mountain. “It meets our mission goal in terms of getting public lands into public hands,” Bancks said.
He credited Carr for helping find a plan that seems workable. “There’s a real strong desire by Susan Carr to offer the property up to the public to enjoy and experience,” Bancks said. “She sees it as the legacy her family is leaving behind.”
Bowe covers the Becker County Board and the court system for the Tribune, and handles the opinion pages for the Tribune and Focus. As news editor of both papers, he is the go-to contact person for readers and the general public: breaking or hard news tips, story ideas, questions and general feedback should be directed to him.