Trees felled in heron rookery near Rochester

The preservation of a large heron rookery near Rochester, Minn., suffered a blow with the recent discovery that about 20 trees in the secluded nesting grounds were mysteriously cut down.

The trees in the woods were cut amid widening litigation by conservationists to stop a 10-lot housing development planned for the site.

Although the colony's nests are spread across three properties in the woods, the stumps and downed trees — some marked with pink tape to indicate they held nests — appear to be on land belonging to Steve Connelly, according to Save the Rookery, a nonprofit advocacy group that sprang up last year to preserve the woods.

The other two property owners with part of the colony on their land sued Connelly and the developer last year over potential habitat destruction. One said the cut trees are definitely not on their land; the other wasn't available.

Connelly has planned to sell his part of the woods with the great blue heron nests to local developer International Properties LLC to build Pavilion Estates. Neither Connelly, who serves on the board of the Olmsted County Soil and Water Conservation District, nor his attorney responded Monday to requests for comments.

Aderonke Mordi, with International Properties LLC in Rochester, said she didn't know anything about the felled trees. However, she said, "Anybody can cut down any trees on their property at any time, any day."

Leal Segura is one of two neighbors who sued Connelly, Mordi and International Properties under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act to protect the rookery. She called the tree cutting "sickening."

"It just seems like spiteful destruction," Segura said.

Segura, a Mayo Clinic doctor, said she's trying to be positive. Some 25 tree-top nests remain, and the great blue herons expected to return soon should be able to rebuild. "This has sort of galvanized us more," she said.

Segura and other members of Save the Rookery said Connelly approached them about buying the property to serve their conservation goals, and that paperwork was drawn up but the deal feel through.

The rookery is unusual not just for its large size but because herons typically nest on islands or marshy areas and not in uplands. Plus, the nesting grounds managed to remain nearly unknown except to nearby property owners for decades until the conflict over Pavilion Estates.

Lynn Cornell, a Rochester Township resident with Save the Rookery, said she and her husband first discovered the cut trees Sunday afternoon when they went to the woods to check on wildlife cameras the group had installed in the tree tops in preparation for the annual spring return of the great blue herons. She said it appeared that only trees with nests were cut down.

"We knew it was a possibility that he could cut down the trees and it would be legal to do that when the birds weren't technically occupying the nests," Cornell said. "It's really upsetting."

The country's Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 protects nests during active breeding from any disturbance, but does not protect them at other times.

James Peters, a lawyer for Save the Rookery, said the group is evaluating its options. Peters called the tree felling a "high aggressive maneuver" given the ongoing legal challenges.

The group already has appealed Rochester Township's decision not to order a full environmental review of the Pavilion Estates housing project. It also has appealed the Township's approval of the project's general development plan.

Separately, Leal Segura and her neighbor Patrick Adamson last year sued Connelly and the developer under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, which allows citizens to take civil actions to protect natural resources from "pollution, impairment or destruction."

A trial date has been set for Sept. 12.

As with prairie birds and forest songbirds, Minnesota's great blue heron population has been declining. The bird's numbers have dropped by half since 1967, declining about 1% every year, according to Carrol Henderson, a retired state wildlife biologist involved in the conservation effort. Henderson has called the rookery a "natural treasure."