Residents upset over Edina clear-cutting 6 acres of trees from beloved urban forest

A beloved stretch of wild land at the convergence of Edina, Minneapolis and St. Louis Park now contains a gaping patch of destruction after crews recently clear-cut 6 acres of woods, enraging area residents who have hiked, walked their dogs and mountain biked there for years.

Workers removed the patch of urban forest along with 300 individual trees in the unofficial park known as Weber Woods, just off France Avenue South, to expand an existing storm-water pond and make other improvements to help prevent flooding in Edina's nearby Morningside neighborhood. It's the first step in a $12.5 million project they expect to complete next year.

Edina city officials don't know how many trees were razed in the clear-cut area, but those who frequent the park say they are stunned and saddened by the deforestation that they contend is more severe than the plan portrayed on paper. The place many described as a sanctuary of secluded trails has lost its allure, they said.

"It's just devastating to lose that sort of magical Up North feel of nature and freedom to let the dog run and play and just for hiking around," said Edina resident Tracy Shand, who visits the park daily with her mini goldendoodle Mayzie.

Tree removal started two weeks ago and crews are wrapping up the cleaning of debris. More than a dozen dog walkers and neighbors of Weber Woods met there informally Tuesday evening, overlooking the mowed-over space. Tears welled in Steve Anderson's eyes. The 73-year-old has lived in Morningside his entire life.

"My daughter had to pull over and sob for 10 minutes," Anderson said.

Many said it was heartbreaking to watch the removal unfold and hear trees ripped apart in a shredder. They worried about the loss of wildlife and thought the process could have been more surgical and sensitive because it's been a special place for generations of residents.

Omar Yamoor, 54, said he has been coming to Weber Woods since he was 12. Growing up on Kipling Avenue, where another patch of trees was removed, he would build forts in the woods with friends. He said it feels likes someone he dearly loved died.

"When [the city] started telling us about it, it was already decided. We didn't have a say," he said.

Ryan Griffin, who lives in St. Louis Park, said his children, Bonnie, 6, and Roy, 8, learned to mountain bike through what his daughter calls "Unicorn Woods." They made signs to "Save Weber Woods" with images of the Lorax.

"We didn't get anywhere with it, trying to get Edina to listen," Griffin said, adding that his kids came out the first day of tree removal and were deflated by the sight.

Edina and St. Louis Park jointly purchased the 14.5-acre Weber Woods from Minneapolis in 2016. Minneapolis has maintained a water pumping station there since the 1920s. Edina bought its 9.6-acre portion with the promise of not privately developing the land and using it for outdoor recreation and stormwater maintenance.

"This is a real generational opportunity for us," Bintner said. "Because you don't get a shot to redo the pipes under the road and provide that type of flood risk reduction."

He said choices had to be made between land use and reducing flood exposure for about half of those at-risk homes.

"The forest removal is the hardest part of that tradeoff that we got into with our eyes wide open," Bintner said. "We knew what we were up to."

The City Council adopted the project in April 2021. Bintner said in the past two weeks he's had nearly 20 conversations over the phone and e-mail about the tree removal and nearly 40 conversations with people in Weber Woods. He said many people didn't understand the scope of the tree removal.

"I talked to dozens of people out in the field while trees were coming down and a lot of them said it was a shame that we had to lose as many trees to make it possible to protect homes. But many people were also very understanding, too," he said.

Later construction will involve under-street pipe work and installing a new predicted pumping system at the pond, which will be able to automatically start pumping in anticipation of a storm.

Weber Woods will feature new boardwalks over the pond and Bintner said crews will replant a thousand trees of a wider variety, some from southern regions that will adapt to climate change and other species not prone to disease. He said there will be habitat restoration with pollinators and added foraging of nuts and berries.

Despite the planned improvements, Shand said she feels Edina needs to "make amends for what they did" because the bulldozing of so many trees seems like an overreach. She hopes that, along with replanting trees, there can be an open or fenced dog park.