The following represent the kind of comments about the Birch Island Woods that we’ve received since early September, 1999.

• Hennepin County should convey the land to the City of Eden Prairie for free.  Citizens own Birch Island Woods and shouldn’t have to pay to keep it.
• The Birch Island Woods  wetland complex is valued by Minnetonka and Eden Prairie residents for its scenic, historic, environmental and recreational qualities.
• If the Birch Island Woods is currently in the public trust (owned by citizens), the City of Eden Prairie or any other public entity should not have to purchase it for conservation and park purposes.
• The area should be protected for current and future generations to bike, hike, ski and watch birds and wildlife.
• The area is one of the last quiet places left in our part of the metro area.  Except for the occasional freight train, It is free of traffic noise -- owls, pheasants, ducks, loons, woodpeckers, geese and song birds can be heard.  Deer, fox, coyote, chipmunks, muskrat and raccoon are among the animals that live in the area.
• The rustic berry and vegetable  farms on Birch Island Road are Eden Prairie Heritage Sites.  One of the farmsteads has been nominated for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and may have a future as an educational living history farm which could sell produce directly to the community
• Several buildings at Camp Eden Wood (located on City property) have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• The abandoned railroad bed which transverses the area (see map) is a superb  hiking, biking and skiing trail that can be easily linked to the LRT Regional Trail and existing and planned trails in Eden Prairie.
• Protecting and enhancing the area’s woodlands and wetlands can also contribute to the Eden Wood Center’s mission of providing urban kids with disabilities an “up north” experience that is affordable and accessible.
• The northeast quadrant of the area could harbor a “deep woods” tented camp site with wheel chair accessible trails and bird watching blinds.
• The Birch Island Woods,  together with Birch Island Lake and Park, Eden Wood Center, the Picha farms, Glen Lake, the golf course and the LRT Regional Trail form a sustainable, recreational. educational, historic, scenic and environmental unit of regional importance.
• The Twin Cities remains the fastest growing metro area in the midwest.  Future use of existing parklands and pressures to develop the few remaining, unprotected open spaces will become even more intense in the developed portions of suburban Hennepin County.