I can't describe my disappointment with the governments in Scott County... how they squander away our natural heritage for more tax dollars while leaving little or no room for natural resource preservation.

I recently moved to Prior Lake from Blaine. Anticipating the development explosion that now describes Blaine, the people of Blaine voted themselves a tax... an open space bond fund that went to acquire land in Blaine as Open Space. Blaine now has over 700 acres of unique lands that will be preserved. Prior Lake has no had such forsight and now they are are the mercy of a developer to preserve natural resources.

Our Prior Lake, Savage, and Scott County elected officials only see "trees" and not the forest through the trees. They talk about the # of trees preserved and not effect it has on the ecological intergrity of the forest community. Sure you may still have maple, basswood, and oak trees. But they alone don't make a forest. Maple-basswood forest like that which once covered a half-million acres of Scott County has a group of plants and animals that all come together to make that forest type. Cut the forest are you are left with a woodlot... nothing to glorious about it except for the native plants that can survive the invasion of non-native plants.

I wish that Prior Lake has a bond fund to purchase open space. Unfortunately, what is left is already slated for development.