Potholes, not the asphalt kind
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By SkunkedAgain · Posted
https://www.timberjay.com/stories/moccasin-point-upgrade-has-longtime-users-concerned,22802 Moccasin Point upgrade has longtime users concerned DNR hopes to get major remake of key access underway later this year Posted Thursday, March 20, 2025 10:36 am Marshall Helmberger LAKE VERMILION— With funding finally in place, the Department of Natural Resources is planning to move forward with an estimated $2-plus million renovation of the Moccasin Point landing, and users of the site say they’re concerned about the changes. The landing has been heavily used for decades by anglers, Boundary Waters visitors, residents of nearby islands and other remote-access properties on Lake Vermilion and, perhaps most critically, by emergency responders for everything from fire to medical response. Moccasin Point has also been a protected harbor for private barges loading and unloading as they service the many water-access properties in the area. Sarah Schmidt, who spends summers with her husband Jake at their cabin on nearby Pine Island, said there’s a lot at stake for people who depend on the landing. “A lot of people have designed their dream home around having access to that landing,” she said. “People need propane, they need lumber, and if they need to install a septic system, they need lots of gravel,” she said. For the many hundreds of island or other water-access property owners on the lake, all of that material comes by barge. Moccasin Point is particularly well suited for such use, since it is arguably the most protected harbor on Lake Vermilion, with islands and mainland protecting it from wind from just about any direction. It’s also centrally located on the sprawling lake and close to concentrations of island homes and cabins. Scott Kelling, northeast regional manager for DNR Parks and Trails, said the plans for the reconstruction of the landing are still being finalized, but insisted they will take into account the unique mix of recreational and commercial use of the landing, including use by all three of the barging companies that service customers on the lake. According to Kelling, the remake of the landing will include removal of the old pier and the reconstruction of a new one in nearly the same location. “The new pier will serve the same function,” said Kelling, and will include an additional ramp that will be dedicated for barge loading and off-loading. Kelling said an engineer’s inspection of the existing pier determined it was near the end of its useful life, although Schmidt said she thinks that opinion reflects the DNR’s desire to remove the structure rather than its actual condition. Kelling acknowledges that it’s not the only reason for replacing the structure. “With our redesign it’s just not in the right location,” he said. Adequate parking is another major concern of longtime users of Moccasin Point. Tim Logan, whose family has owned island property near the landing since the 1950s, said plans the DNR had shared a few years ago seemed to show less parking than is typically used at the site. Schmidt notes that during high-traffic weekends, the parking area is frequently full and overflow parking can extend for hundreds of feet along Moccasin Point Rd. She said she counted 163 vehicles parked at the landing at one point last Memorial Day weekend and said there are routinely 90-100 vehicles during the summer season. Many of the regular users of the landing, particularly those on island properties, use the site for long-term parking of their vehicles for days, weeks, or months at a time. That’s unusual at public landings, which are typically limited to day use. Kelling said the DNR is making an exception to that rule for Moccasin Point, given the many varied uses of the unique property. “Overnight parking will be allowed,” he said. Kelling said the current plan will allow parking for a bit over 100 vehicles, which is more than some original plans for the site. “We’re doing everything we can to maximize the parking there, at some considerable expense,” he said. Longstanding issues Kelling said the DNR’s plan for reconstruction is motivated by a desire to “manage the site more responsibly on a number of fronts.” The DNR acquired the site in 2008 and had planned to undertake reconstruction of the landing back in 2013 but lacked the funds at the time to accomplish the work. The funding was approved in 2023 and the DNR has been working on design of the project ever since. According to Kelling, the site has operated essentially as a “free-for-all” for years, with uses and resource impacts that aren’t typically permitted at DNR-managed access points. “There are currently a number of transgressions out there,” said Kelling, including long-term storage of personal property and building materials. He said the site, which slopes toward the lake, also contributes large amounts of sediment into Vermilion during heavy rainfall. “We need to better manage the stormwater,” said Kelling. “Currently, a lot of sediment and other things end up in the lake when it rains.” Schmidt questions whether the change will be an improvement, since the DNR’s reconstruction of the site will convert the existing grassy hillside that currently serves as the site’s parking lot into a paved parking area. Kelling said the parking area will be leveled before being paved and that stormwater will be directed into one of two planned stormwater ponds in order to contain sediment. Schmidt claims the ponds will become a mosquito breeding ground. Kelling said he expects the final design will be completed soon and he is expecting to hold an open house in early summer so interested users can see what’s planned for the site. He expects actual construction to begin sometime in October if all goes as planned. That initial work will include blasting of some underlying bedrock in order to level the site. But most of the work will take place in 2026, he said, and during that period, it may be difficult to maintain public use of the site, although he said use of the site by barges should still be possible, with potentially some minor delays. But he said other users of the site may want to explore other access options for that summer. Kelling said he hopes to have more information on that at the open house later this year. “A goal of the open house is to really share the timeline and alternatives for users,” he said. “They might need to park somewhere else in 2026.” -
By smurfy · Posted
i wanna change mine to the 29th of april...........i've been seeing ice reports to much up that way. 🙄 -
By leech~~ · Posted
Agreed, but I had a bit of a technicality and had to change. You! 🤣 -
By CigarGuy · Posted
I think once you guess your date, that should be it. If you can change right up to their date, that kind of takes the fun out of it.....in my humble opinion! Let vote on it!😀 -
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By JerkinLips · Posted
As long as we haven't reached the date you originally chose, you can change your guess to any open date. At least those are the rules for my "big dollar" raffle board. Always fun to keep guessing the ice-out date on Vermilion as the melting season progresses. This is our first year living on a lake (150 acre shallow lake between Duluth and Ely) so I am enjoying watching the melting process on our lake. Board is updated below. Dates are slowly disappearing but many middle dates are still available. -
By mbeyer · Posted
Gonna revive an old topic after seeing an announcement from MN DNR about improvements/upgrades to Moccasin Point. Read 2+ million dollars invested but didn't see any detail plans. Anyone have the inside scoop? -
By leech~~ · Posted
I hear yea, I've got way to much shot shells laying around. I've been known to shoot some old lead duck loads at grouse! 🤭 To bad there's no good old Sportsman swaps like Twig use to have. Great place to unload sporting goods "overstock" 🤗 -
By Wanderer · Posted
I took about 1.5 cases and came back with about 1 case. I wanted to burn up some cheap shells I bought for a North Dakota trip several years ago. After the first day of ripping through as many of those as I could, I switched over to my good stuff, shot less, and got more birds. So I still have 6-7 boxes of shells I don’t even want to have around anymore. I don’t think I even got through a second box of good shells. The cheap shells are Estate BB; the good ones for me are Black Cloud 2’s for geese. BC 4s for ducks. -
By leech~~ · Posted
How many shells did you bring? How many did you come home with?
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