 Editor:
Dave Uphoff
Two weeks ago I published some pictures of a nature trail
near Minonk and asked if anyone could identify the location. A few
people did recognize the area as being the road to the abandoned coal
mine north of Minonk. My friend Barth Weistart and I walked the trail
and we both agreed that this would make a great nature trail for the
citizens of Minonk. There are
actually two trails, the road leading to the "Jumbo" or slag heap north
of the city and the abandoned railroad tracks leading back into town.
Along the trails are trees, scrub brush, wildflowers, wild plants such
as milkweed, and birds flitting in and out of the trees. It was a
wonderful interlude into nature after walking through the manicured
lawns and open spaces of the New Millenium park at the north edge of
town. At the end of the 1/2
mile trail is a clearing beyond which lies the Jumbo which has been
reduced to half its' size but still rises over 30 feet above the
surrounding prairie. To the south of the Jumbo is a pond surrounded by
trees, some of which have fallen into the water. We noticed that some
of the trees had been knawed by beavers. All in all, it seemed a 100
miles from Minonk, a stark contrast to the straight rows of corn and
unlimited horizons berift of trees. Barth
and I both agreed that this area would be an excellent nature trail
that should be claimed by the City of Minonk and preserved for the use
of its citizens to escape the monotony of urban life and enjoy nature
in its raw. This would not be hard to do, or expensive either. The only
catch is the City does not own the land. Presently,
the land is the potential target of a racetrack complex whose
development has been in the works for almost 2 years. If the racetrack
does become a reality, the 2 mile road course will cross the trail
south of the jumbo limiting the length of the trail to 1/2 of its
length and effectively cutting off access to the Jumbo. Whether the
raceway developers would agree to alter the road course to allow the
full use of the nature trail is something that cannot be determined at
this time. If the road course cannot be altered, the other possibility
is to seek approval from the raceway developers to allow the city to
develop the nature trail up to where the road course would cross.
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The
raceway developers have until March 1, 2007 to come up with the money
to purchase Section Six north of the city, the land on which the nature
trail and Jumbo are located. If the land is not purchased by then, the
City has the option to buy the land, which is an offer the CIty cannot
afford to pass up. If the City can purchase Section Six, not only will
the CIty be in an excellent position to control and develop the land,
it also will be able to develop the nature trail. USA
Waste Management is the current owner of Section Six including the area
around the Jumbo which is the site of a closed landfill. They will
continue to own the area around the Jumbo after Section Six is sold.
Therefore, the City will need to get some kind of permission from them
to use the land in that area. It
would not be very expensive to develop the nature trail. All that need
be done originally is to cover the path to and from the jumbo with
either rock or asphalt. Everything to either side of the trail can be
left in its native wilderness and would not require any maintenance
other than cleaning up the litter. The
next step to developing the trail is to mow the area around the base of
the jumbo to make it suitable for picnics and for recreational
activities.. The jumbo itself would be an excellent source of
recreation as people could climb to the top and get a great view of the
surrounding countryside. In the winter it would make an excellent area
for downhill sledding. To view some photos of the area around the
Jumbo, click here. The
final step would be to clean up the area around the pond and make it
habitable for fishing or just as a scenic backdrop to the whole area.
In very cold winters it could be used for ice skating. At
this point no one knows what the future holds for the development of
Section SIx. Even so, the CIty of Minonk should make every effort to
develop a nature trail north of the city. I am sure that volunteers
could be recruited to help in its developmentl. By developing a nature
trail to provide a recreation outlet for its residents, Minonk will
become a more desirable place to live.
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