6.2 FMR Camp Cozy NRMP
MEMORANDUM
To: Michael Hecker, Parks and Recrea�on Manager; Tim Sevcik, Street and Park Superintendent
CC: City of Elk River Parks and Recrea�on Commission
From: Laura Domyancich-Lee, FMR Ecologist; Julia Leone, FMR Pollinator Biologist
Date: November 1, 2023
RE: Camp Cozy Park Natural Resources Management Plan
In coopera�on with City of Elk River Parks and Recrea�on staff and with funding from Sherburne County
Community Health, Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR) is developing a natural resources management plan
(NRMP) for Camp Cozy Park in Elk River, Minnesota. This memorandum serves as an overview of findings and
recommenda�ons of the dra� plan.
In 2023, FMR Land Conserva�on staff performed mul�ple surveys of Camp Cozy Park to record vegeta�on
characteris�cs, recrea�onal use, and habitat and water quality within the park. These surveys informed FMR’s
development of the dra� NRMP which documents these site characteris�cs, provides detailed management
recommenda�ons, considers current and future recrea�onal use of the park, es�mates costs for priori�zed and
phased restora�on of habitat, and iden�fies poten�al funding sources.
As a first cri�cal step to preserve imperiled habitat, the dra� plan recommends restora�on of the remnant na�ve
prairies through reduc�on of encroaching woody species. Ini�al removal would be followed by suppression of new
germinants, reintroduc�on of fire, and judicious seeding in areas where na�ve herbaceous species have been
diminished by increased tree and shrub cover.
In subsequent years of restora�on, the plan recommends management of invasive woody species (primarily
common buckthorn) in the woodland areas. Only specific areas of the woodlands have been affected by buckthorn,
and the plan calls out typical interven�ons in these units. Intensive removal and follow-up management over the
course of 4 years is recommended to eliminate buckthorn. Removal would be followed by the reestablishment of
herbaceous cover and a na�ve shrub understory through seeding and plan�ng.
The NRMP also contemplates current recrea�onal use of the park and generally recommends preserving and
further promo�ng access to those opportuni�es. The plan also recommends the addi�on of simple interpre�ve
signage, consistent with other signage within the park system, to orient park users to Camp Cozy. FMR staff are
par�cularly interested in the community’s feedback on current recrea�onal use, access provided by the exis�ng
trail network, and how the park might be used in the future and hopes to receive this input at the public mee�ng.
Lastly, FMR staff have developed cost es�mates to complete priori�zed and phased restora�on at Camp Cozy. In
the remnant prairies, 4 years of work to restore a more self-sustaining plant community and habitat is es�mated at
approximately $38,000. In the woodlands with invasive woody species, management and restora�on is es�mated
at approximately $78,000. FMR is ac�vely pursuing Outdoor Heritage Funding to ini�ate this work.
FMR appreciates the opportunity to have the dra� NRMP veted by Parks and Recrea�on staff, to receive
community input, and to have the plan considered by the Parks and Recrea�on Commission. The final NRMP, which
will be completed by December 2023, will be responsive to this feedback, and FMR looks forward to partnering in
its implementa�on.