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6 <br />2. General Background and Current Site Conditions <br />2.a. Summary of Park Locations <br />General Location <br />The City of Arden Hillsresides in RamseyCounty, <br />approximately twelvemiles north of downtown <br />Saint Paul, Minnesota. The “pre-settlement <br />vegetation” mapped by the Minnesota Natural <br />Resources Research Institute (NRRI) as part of the <br />MN Natural Resource Atlas for the entire region of <br />Arden Hills was Oak Openings and Barrens (cite). <br />Farming and subsequent urbanization has <br />significantly changed these habitats within the <br />focus parks, but remnant green spaces and <br />historic unaltered habitats remain. Much of the <br />park system in the area consists of lands donated <br />to or purchased by municipalitiesthat may have <br />had historic significance or were unable to be <br />developed due to topography or geography that <br />nowmake up much of the natural areas in the <br />urbanized communities today. <br />As part of the Saint Paul –Minneapolis <br />metropolitan area, Arden Hillsprimarily consists of <br />residential and commercial land use. Arden Hill’s <br />current municipal park system consists of 102 <br />acres of designated parksand open space across <br />16 park sites(cite).The natural spaces throughout <br />this predominantly residential city serve as <br />publicly accessible active use areas for sport, <br />recreation, and outdoor enjoyment, as well as <br />corridors for the movement of wildlife and <br />protection of natural resources, such as natural habitat, wetlands, woodlands, and drainage ways. The three <br />parks chosen for this Natural Resources Management Brief are unique to their locations, while generally <br />representing the state of urban parks and the potential restoration and habitat stewardship efforts required <br />to maintain healthy native habitats. <br />Figure 2.1 City and regional context of the three focus <br />parks discussed in this management plan.