Quick Facts:

The channel between Pleasant and Sucker lakes, south of Co. Hwy. 96 is highly visible and in a well-used section of the Vadnais-Sucker Regional Park. The channel’s former construction, comprised of cement, asphalt and rock, was failing and requires replacement. This was a joint restoration effort between VLAWMO, Ramsey County Parks and Recreation, Ramsey Soil and Water Conservation Division, and the St. Paul Regional Water Services.

Funding:

VLAWMO contributed funds directly relating to channel restoration, erosion prevention and native plantings. Funding for the other portions of the project was sourced by Ramsey County Parks. A significant portion of the funding came from the State Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment. 

Reason for Project:

The Channel was more than 80 years old and required reconstruction and modernization to support the needs of the public, water service, and water quality.

Construction:

The project reconstructed the channel wall, created new fishing platforms, and introduced a native plant shoreline for enhanced habitat and a stabilized bank.

Plant List: 

Glossy black chokeberry, sweet flag, anise hyssop, swamp milkweed, blue joint grass, Beb's sedge, bottlebrush sedge, fringed sedge, porcupine sedge, lake sedge, purple coneflower, boneset, sneezeweed, blue flag iris, common rush, monkey flower, beebalm, smooth penstemon, Virginia mountain mint, little bluestem, green bulrush, wool grass, prairie dropseed, New England aster, and golden alexander. 

Educational signs:

Sign #1: Project overview 

Sign #2: Wildlife at Sucker Channel

Results:

The project was completed Summer, 2018.

It is featured on the DNR Legacy webpage under "Parks and Trails Fund Stories."