Legislators have stepped into the fray of discussions over where the new Highway 41 river crossing should go.

A House wetlands subcommittee held a hearing Tuesday about Seminary Fen, a rare calcareous fen that will be impacted if one of the easterly options is chosen for the bridge.

Although the Minnesota Department of Transportation was leaning toward selecting a central route, which would skirt downtown Chaska and go over Athletic Park, it took a step back when asked to re-evaluate a bridge further east, near Seminary Fen. 

It is unknown how much a bridge would damage the fen; however, all agree there would be an impact.

Representatives from a Scott County governments association and the city of Shakopee support an easterly option, which would relieve congestion more, but they were outnumbered at the hearing.

Opponents of an easterly alignment say it would cause irrevocable harm the fen. However, Shakopee and Scott County officials argue the fen would be degraded more — and could perhaps even disappear — without the type of management plan required should a bridge be constructed.

Although the hearing was merely informational, Chairman Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, noted that there’s been previous legislative action on the Seminary Fen. This included a $1.5 million appropriation toward the purchase of land there.

Fellow committee member Rep. Joe Hoppe (R-Chaska), prefers a more westerly option. He said he’s been a strong supporter of Seminary Fen. 

“It’s something we want to keep,” he said. “It’s a jewel.”

Hoppe also doesn’t like the idea of a bridge going up over Chaska with a central route.

There are only about 500 of these types of fens known across the world, and Seminary Fen “is one of the rarest types of wetland in the state,” testified Matthew Norton, a wildlife advocate with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.

Gregory Worsnick, a medical consultant from Chaska, said the fen could have important microorganisms.

“(We have) not a clue what’s going on in the soils of that fen,” he said. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone. This is a historical site that is hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of years old. “

For 40 to 45 years a spa operated at the fen, said Eden Prairie resident Jeff Strate, president of the Friends of Birch Island Woods organization. Given the fen’s location on a regional bike trail and proximity to entertainment venues in the southwest metro, he believes it could be a tourist destination once again.

Sierra Club North Star Chapter board Chair Sharon Stephens, who lives in Eden Prairie, said she wants safe travel for the public, but not at the expense of the fen.

A river crossing will have an enormous impact on the fen, she said, and although there could be discussion about mitigation, a highway running close to a fen would cause runoff problems and issues from salting and sanding of the road.

Stephens compared the situation to clear-cutting right next to the Boundary Waters.

Shakopee and Scott County contend that the Seminary Fen, which has lacked a management plan, will be degraded without the bridge, and a river crossing would actually spur improvements to the fen.

A state study concluded that absent an active management plan, the fen could disappear in 15 to 20 years, said Shakopee Community Development Director Michael Leek.

“Simply identifying another alternative does not save the fen,” Leek said.

The fen can be degraded from other factors, such as the system of water recharging the fen. 

The county has hired a wetland expert to review a state study on the fen, but the results aren’t available yet.

Terry Schwalbe, administrator for the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District, said the district has worked with the state DNR and other agencies since the early 1990s to protect the fen and it is very much opposed to an easterly river crossing.

The state Department of Natural Resources is in the process of purchasing 160 acres of the fen. However, that is less than half of what needs to be protected, Schwalbe said. A large portion is owned by the city, but more private land needs to be acquired.

Norton said the state’s environmental rights act prohibits diminishment or destruction of a protected natural resource, except when there is no alternative.

“Not all wetlands are created equal,” Stephens said. “We have 160 acres of the rarest wetlands in the world.”

Students from an environmental science class at Chaska High School also spoke of their monitoring of Assumption Creek, a trout stream that runs through the fen and could be impacted by degradation of the fen.

A management plan would be required for the fen if a bridge were built near it. However, absent a bridge, a plan seems unlikely.

In an ideal world, the state would like a proactive plan for the fen if it had the staff and money, said Doug Norris, wetland program coordinator with the DNR Ecological Resources Division.

Correspondent Shannon Fiecke can be reached at (952) 345-6679 or sfiecke@swpub.com.