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RICE CREEK NORTH REGIONAL TRAIL MASTER PLAN | 25 Invasive Plants & Animals Current established invasive plant species within the corridor include reed canary grass, purple loosestrife, invasive cattail, common buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, and garlic mustard in select areas. Emerging species identified include burning bush, barberry, and narrowleaf bittercress, which were all found in 2017 during the restoration work being completed in the south segment. Burning bush and barberry were foliar sprayed while narrowleaf bittercress was hand pulled to eradicate found populations and locations were recorded. Some common invasive animal species that impact the native resources within the corridor include the house sparrow, invasive earthworms, Japanese beetle, common carp, and emerald ash borer. Water Resources Major surface waters within the corridor include streams, ditches, and wetlands. Rice Creek is a stream typified by broad wetland floodplains, a meandering channel approximately 25-40 feet wide, and stagnant oxbows on average 2 feet deep with laterally eroding banks. Rice Creek is the principal stream in a 201 square mile watershed that originates at Clear Lake south of Forest Lake and flows for a distance of 28 miles southwestward through an extensive chain of lakes in Anoka County passing across the northwestern corner of Ramsey County, reentering Anoka County and emptying into the Mississippi River at Fridley, MN. In the past, sections of the creek channel have been mechanically straightened in each of the segments. The creek has a fall of 1-foot per mile north of County Road I, and an average of 8 feet per mile southwest of County Road I. During seasons of high precipitation, the creek provides a suitable watercourse for kayaking and canoeing. The Rice Creek Watershed District constructed a 5-acre desilting basin and in-channel pond between Poppyseed Drive and the Minnesota Commercial Railway tracks at the south end of the trail corridor (New Brighton-Mounds View segment). The District removes and disposes of accumulated sediment every 3-5 years. County Ditch 1 is a man-made drainage ditch constructed in 1901 that originates in Marsden Lake in the former TCAAP and flows north 1.1 miles with no tributary branches entering Rice Creek east of Lexington Avenue (Shoreview segment). Judicial Ditch 1 is a man-made drainage ditch constructed in 1911 that originates in the southeast quadrant of the intersection of Interstate Highway 35W and 95th Avenue in Blaine. The main ditch, which has five tributary branches, flows 3.3 miles south entering Rice Creek from the west, just north of County Road I (Shoreview segment). The ditch is in relatively good condition. Rice Creek