Park And Natural Area Are Endangered

More than a decade ago Pioneer High School designated a Conservation Outdoor Laboratory on a section of land adjoining the school. It was an extensión of the newly - established Outdoor Education program of the public schools. The lab encompassed the woodlot west of the school, a I brushy area next to the I woods to the south, and a i grassland area further on. Quite a bit of work was done on the lab when it was first designated. Scout and community groups planted evergreens and shrubs. Trails were c 1 e a r e d . Wildlife improvement programs were started. And residents along Woodland Ave. to the west, some of whom had extended t h e i r backyards into the woods, were asked to pull back and let the woods ératelo their natural condition. Then, just a couple of years later, carne a crisis. The city wanted to extend Seventh St. from Stadium to Scio Church, and the route picked would have split the woods and the lab in two. After- much talk and deliberation, an altérnate route was chosen which skirted the lab. The road also cut off a large section of school land between the new road and Greenview. Not needed as a school site, this parcel, con: taining a small pond, was "loaned" to the city for use as a park. Slowly, over the years since, problems have developed within the lab area and in the park. Cutbacks in the public schools, both in personnel and bus transportation for field trips, have resulted in less intensive use of the lab. Elementary schools, which used to have field trips scheduled there regularly, now tend to use áreas closer to their schools, and come less frequently. Vandalism has increased. Trees have been broken off near the paths. The trails have been used by motorcycles and mini-bikes. In f act a mini-bike "track" has been made in one area. And several of the homeowners on Woodland Ave. have extended their backyards into the woods again. Swing sets, vegetable gardens, woodpiles, grass clipping dumps, etc. The park area farther west, owned by the school but mowed and maintained by the park department of the city, has suffered considerable damage from motorcycles and mini-bikes, both of which legally are not supposed to be in the park at all. A race course has been established around the little pond, and the grass has been completely worn off a large area. Adjacent to the pond a small hill has become a "jump" area, and is rutted and worn and eroded. There are no easy solutions to any of these problems. Mini-bikes and motorcycles, as well as snowmobiles in winter, are becoming more prevalent, and more destructive by sheer numbers. 1 ly there must be some provisión for them in any 1 tional plan, but they cannot I be alllowed to ruin parkland. I Natural áreas, such as the I conservation lab, must havel the continued use of pro-l PARK AND NATURA AREA... (conti I grams and interpretation. I Casual use oí such áreas, I unless they are large enough I I to absorb the use or unless I the use is minimal, will I gradually erode them. Jurisdiction is a problem in I both places The park suffers because no one is really in I charge of it. The school system does not use it, and the parks department, because they are not guaranI teed continued use of it, is I reluctant to make permanent I improvements in it. And who, within the schools, is really in charge of the outdoor natural áreas and conservation labs? Who has the duty to check them, and protect them from the use which might destroy them? The questions remain, and they should be answered. The photograhs on this page show situations which, if allowed to continue, will destroy the I very values we wish to protect within our park system and our school outdoor "classrooms." Ta