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Thefocus for management activitiesin these upland habitats will be to restore and maintain <br />quality native habitats. Some of the natural upland habitat has been removed by adjacent <br />property owners. There are opportunities to restore native habitat in these areasusing existing <br />Service programs such as Partners for Fish and Wildlife.Thereduction of non-native species, <br />such as European or glossy buckthorn,alsowill be a focus. There also may be opportunities to <br />showcase native plantings for interpretive and environmental education purposes. <br />Public UseConcepts. <br />Historical Context.Under Department of Army management, Area H(i.e., the Round Lake <br />Unit) was “closed” to the publicwithaccesscontrol consisting of 3-strand barbed wire fence and <br />signagethat, at times, was in disrepair to the extent that neighboring landowners asked Army to <br />clean and repair it (Thorne 1956). Service records of Unit inspections shortly after assuming <br />management responsibility identifiedpast trespass, encroachment, dumping, and other <br />unauthorized use of the newly acquired area(USFWS 1975b).When the Service acquired Area <br />H and it became the Ramsey County Waterfowl Production Area, it also became open to public <br />use andrecreational activities,such as hunting, fishing and wildlife observation, that did not <br />conflict with its primary purpose of waterfowl production. <br />In 1975, shortly after acquiring the Ramsey County WPA,the Service supported the Ramsey <br />County Open Space Proposal that wouldincorporate some portions of the WPA in the County’s <br />plan as public use areas (USFWS 1975a).Public uses of the Round Lake area proposed in the <br />Open Space Proposal included:bicycle and walking trails; nature oriented education, <br />interpretation, and recreation; snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. In itsfirst formal <br />management plan for the WPA (USFWS 1979), the Service evaluated expanding public use of <br />the area. Subsequent Unit Management Plans (USFWS 1982, 1998) also proposed to increase <br />recreational use, environmental education, and nature observation activities that would be <br />appropriate and compatible with the wildlife management goals for the Unit. With the discovery <br />of contamination and the subsequent declaration of the Unit as part of the New Brighton-Arden <br />Hills Superfund site, the 1982 Management Plan for the Round Lake Unit was completed and <br />approved but not implemented(USFWS 1981, 1994).At that time, due to human health <br />concerns, the Service made a management decision to suspendpublic use onthe Unit and <br />withhold the development of public use facilities and programs pending the clean-up of the <br />contamination at the Round Lake Unit(USFWS 1981). <br />In October, 1999, the Service granted a right-of-way to the City of Arden Hills to enable the <br />construction of a public hiking trail on the upland portions of Service property along the west <br />side of Round Lake. This was implemented after anAugust, 1999 open house was held at Bethel <br />College and Seminary, Arden Hills, Minnesota as part of the planning process for the <br />development of Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge’s Comprehensive Conservation <br />Plan. At this open house the Service heardrenewed public support for more wildlife viewing <br />opportunities and development of environmental education and interpretation opportunities and <br />partnerships on the Round Lake Unit. <br />8/6/2013 15 USFWS RLMP <br />