PLEASE DO NOT PROMOTE THIS PETITION. After you sign, change.org will ask you to donate to promote this petition. That money goes to Change.org, not to us. They will put our petition on social media feeds around the world and people outside the Twin Cities will sign it. This does not help our cause and is a waste of your precious money. As of 2/28/24, half the signatures are ineligible. If you wish to donate to us, there is a gofundme link in the petition.

-----------

The Nine Mile Creek Corridor in Bloomington, MN, is a pedestrian-only park, with trails winding through a forest along the creek’s edge. It is a bucolic place, home to species you don’t expect to find in the middle of a city, such as mink and otter. We believe our park is under threat from an upcoming City project.

Bloomington, MN residents voted in November 2023 for a sales tax increase to fund projects in the Nine Mile Creek Corridor. 

Originally, the City promoted a plan to widen the trails and add bicycle traffic. Widening the trails would mean cutting down trees and building retaining walls which would degrade the habitat of the park's existing plant and animal species. Bicycle (and e-bike) traffic would impact the slow and meditative atmosphere for pedestrians.

Help us save this park! This petition is only a small part of how you can help. Ultimately, you will need to make your voice heard by participating in community engagement events. Read on for more information.

————————————

Don’t live in the Twin Cities in Minnesota? Your signature won't count, but you can donate to our cause at https://gofund.me/511de607 (Note, this is not the same as donating to Change.org, which they will ask you to do at the end. We would rather you donated to us via this link).

—————————————

Restore the Nine 

Restore the Nine (http://restorethenine.org) was formed after the sales tax initiative passed. We believe that the city should spend the vast majority of the sales tax money on restoring and protecting the the natural woodlands, wetlands, prairies, and waters along Nine Mile Creek instead of widening trails, adding bike paths, and introducing other recreational features. 

The Nine Mile Creek corridor is already designated by Bloomington as a Natural Area and by the state as a Conservation Corridor and a site of high biodiversity significance. 

Instead of altering the Nine Mile Creek Corridor to make it just one more recreational area indistinguishable from every other, let’s make it a world-class urban oasis of nature in the center of Bloomington. A wildlife sanctuary. An exemplar of biodiversity.

We want to ensure the habitat remains friendly to the many species of animals who live there now, such as otter, beaver, coyote, mink, fox, deer, raccoon, kingfishers, herons, and barred owls. We want it to continue to be a stopover destination for birds migrating along the Minnesota River flyway, designated as an Important Bird Area by Audubon. We want to protect the threatened and endangered species who live in the park, such as the Rusty Patched Bumblebee.

Let’s encourage Bloomington to take a more environmentally friendly approach! If you agree, sign this petition and join us! (Twin Cities residents only)

Restore the Nine: http://restorethenine.org

Donate: https://gofund.me/511de607

Share this petition, but do not promote it!

 

Who this petition will be sent to
Ann Kattreh, Director of Parks and Recreation: akattreh@bloomingtonmn.gov & Renae Clark, Assistant Director of Parks and Recreation and head of the project: rclark@bloomingtonmn.gov

(This petition used to be called Say NO to bikes on the Nine Mile Creek walking trail)