Private Citizens Help Preserve Valuable Bluffs along Mississippi National River and Recreation Area

National Park Trust
Saturday, 20 May 2000

Washington, D.C. - The National Park Trust, America's only private citizen land conservancy dedicated to the national parklands, announced a financial gift of $30,000 to the City of Dayton to help protect lands within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

"This is a prime stretch of undeveloped land along the Mississippi River in the Metropolitan Area," says JoAnn Kyral, Superintendent, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA). "Thanks again for the support of the National Park Trust in this acquisition! It is a beautiful stretch of bluff land with spectacular views. I know that the City of Dayton is extremely appreciative of the Trust's support. The National Park Service is equally appreciative of the $30,000 contribution by the Trust to the Cloquet Overlook Park."

Cloquet Overlook Park is located within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, which is administered by the National Park Service. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area extends 72 miles south from Dayton and Ramsey to Hastings, Minnesota. It is a unique area of the National Park System in that the Park Service owns only 43 of the 54,000 acres within its boundaries. Responsibility for land use within the corridor rests primarily with 25 local governments and 5 counties, as well as a variety of state agencies. MNRRA offers recreational opportunities to millions in the Twin Cities each year, seeking riverside parks, hiking, biking, fishing, and bird watching.

"We at the Trust are excited about our relationship with the City of Dayton and the state of Minnesota to help preserve this important resource," said Paul Pritchard, President of NPT. "I have had the pleasure to visit the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and travel the "mother river" of our nation. The Mississippi River is a remarkable and majestic resource that is unmistakably American."

Founded in 1983, the National Park Trust is the only land conservancy dedicated to the preservation of America's national system of parks, wildlife and historic monuments.

For more information, or to contact National Park Trust, see their website at: www.parktrust.org