By Tim Ruzek

Post-Bulletin, Austin MN 

Driving down the gravel road's small hill Thursday, a buck with large antlers and another deer could be seen through the woods.

The 33-acre property on Austin's south edge used to have a home, outbuildings, pasture and crop land.

Now everything is back to a natural look, but area officials have plans to make the public property an even better wildlife habitat.

"It's really -- it's a cool site," Justin Hanson said, while looking over the property Thursday morning.

Hanson, a technician for the Mower County Soil and Water Conservation District, expects to be working in the coming months with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on the property, which is on the east side of the Cedar River.

Land deal

Late last month, state officials announced the completion of a four-way deal, including Mower County, that involved the site, which the county acquired a few years ago because it floods.

Under the deal, Mower County donated the property to the DNR to avoid paying a $31,000 penalty to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for alleged storm-water violations made in 2005 and 2006 during a ditch-repair project in Bennington Township. The ditch project's contractor also was part of the deal.

SWCD and DNR officials need to work on specifics for the 33-acre site's restoration and determine how to fund it, said Hanson, who estimated it'll need up to $20,000 worth of work.

Some of the restoration plans for the property, located south of the former Sheriff's Youth Ranch, likely will involve busting up farm tiling, restoring wetlands, burning off non-wooded areas and seeding that land with native vegetation, Hanson said. Trees also could be planted.

Restoration work will fit with the Cedar River Watershed District's goals, Hanson said, which includes helping with flood control, water quality by keeping soil from eroding and wildlife habitat.

Aquatic management site

Hugh Valiant, the DNR's area fisheries supervisor in Waterville, Minn., said, once restoration is done, the site will offer the public outdoor opportunities, such as angling on the Cedar River, hiking and watching birds.

"We're going to try to provide as much recreational value for people," he said. "Hopefully we can make it a nice, valuable asset to help protect Minnesota's traditional outdoor recreation."

DNR officials plan to make the site an aquatic management area, which essentially is the fisheries version of the better-known DNR wildlife management areas, Valiant said. Aquatic management areas tend to be associated with public waters, such as lakes and streams, he said.

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