Dakota County reports that Lake Byllesby Regional Park is expanding. On March 29 Dakota County acquired the 110-acre Augustine Trust-Schluesner property on the park’s western end. The property includes 3,100 feet of Cannon River shoreline, floodplain, old river channel, deciduous forest and several cultivated fields. According to County officials, there will be public access to county land previously separated by private property. The parcel also accesses the river cascades, where there are remnants of a historic river crossing. A portion of the Mill Towns State Trail is planned for the property’s upland area. The Metropolitan Council provided 75 percent of the park addition’s cost. State funding will cover restoration of the cultivated fields to native grasslands.
