Exploring Jay Cooke State Park and it's Management Plan

 Jay Cooke State Park  is 8,818 acres of some of the most pristine land in Minnesota. Just 10 miles away from Duluth, the forth largest city in the state and the largest city in the northern portion of the state, Jay cooke is one of the most popular state parks in all of Minnesota. Formed from the receding of the pre historic  Lake Duluth  the Jay Cooke Area is home to some of the most beautiful Sandstone cliffs used in the 1600's for the Fur Trade. The land was donated by the Saint Louis Power Company to the state of Minnesota in 1905. The area reminded undeveloped until 1933 when the  Civilian Conservation Center (CCC)  developed the area. Creating the 1st manmade structures in the area, including a swinging bridge and picnic areas. The park has been added on many times throughout the years, adding more building, bathrooms and camp areas.

The mission of the Division of Parks and Recreation is to provide a state park system that perpetuates Minnesota's scenic beauty and its natural and cultural resources, while being responsive to public needs and expectations, and providing a diversity of recreational opportunities. 

Why: Highway 210 runs through Jay Cooke and because of this MnDot has very high stakes in the park. The road reopened a few years ago after being closed due to damage and being improperly kept.

What do they want? MnDot wants their road to be kept open and have traffic running through it. This means that the park has to divert resources to the highway in order to keep in working order. Erosion and increased sediment is also an issue that needs to be addressed, by leaving the construction site open for 5 years, it left the ares a good area for increased erosion and sediment being put into the water. So by maintaining roads, it helps to keep excess sediment out of the waters.

What reach they have? Because its a state run organization there is some impact, but the MN DNR don't have to do what they say because its an outside organization.

Why: The St. Louis river runs thru Jay Cooke State park and into Wisconsin. This makes what happens in the upper part of river very important to the Wisconsin  Department of Natural Resources . Because the pollutants of the St. Louis rives is important to the ecosystem of the river itself and surrounding water ways in the state. Keeping these waters clean is of extreme importance because it is possible that the river will bring other pollutants down stream and could spread into water way many states away.

• Residents of Carlton MN and the county

• Hikers, runners, campers, and backpackers

• Residents of MN

• People who drive on the 210 highway
  • People who work in the park

The parks money comes from the state and therefore all of the money comes from state government and tax payer dollars. Therefore the MN government has major stake in what goes on in the park

Ensuring the survival of the park is paramount to the survival of the businesses. Everyone who relies on the park needs it to be operational and well maintained in order to have people come to the park and by extension the businesses.

Before their was an established park the area around Jay Cooke was owned by a power company, once sold from to the state the area sat abounded for years. Because until the great depression, there was no push for jobs. But once the CCC began to develop the area it became what we see today. They build restrooms and main buildings, even constructing the iconic swinging bridge thats still in the park today. The park brought jobs to the state and continues to employ government employees who help to maintain the area. Its also beneficial to the companies around the park who benefit from the dam and protected water ways and land. Business like canoe rentals and outdoor shops, that without the park would struggle. This could effect the local economies which would heavily effect the people and surrounding economies.

The area is also protected by the state making it incredibly large area of land with many species living there and around the area. This means that the river and land is protected, helping to ensure the health of the area.

The parks plan says nothing of Native America's or any sort of preservation of their culture. This is very odd considering the park is mere minutes away from a reservation. The area has no defined connection to the reservation despite its proximity. The plan does explore the connection to the land and its history, and talks a bit about how its transformed from the 30's and how it continues to renew itself. In my opinion the parks should make more of an effort to be connected to the reservation and its people and practices. the park is lacking it its responsibility to inform the public about the land its on and how it was used many years ago.

Administrator, fccnn. “'People Want to Use This Road': Highway 210 through Jay Cooke State Park Reopens.” Duluth News Tribune, Duluth News Tribune, 4 Oct. 2017, https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4338501-people-want-use-road-highway-210-through-jay-cooke-state-park-reopens.

“Climate Change.” Wisconsin DNR, 2021, https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/climatechange.

DNR. “Jay Cooke State Park.” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2021, https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00187#homepage.

“Jay Cooke State Park.” Explore Minnesota, 2021, https://www.exploreminnesota.com/profile/jay-cooke-state-park/8309.

“Jay Cooke State Park.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Nov. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cooke_State_Park.

“Lake Duluth.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Oct. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Duluth.

“Rustic Style Resources in Minnesota State Parks.” Minnesota Historical Society, https://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/stateparks/JayCooke.php.