Irving and John Anderson Park Master Plan 2013

Irving and John Anderson Park (Anderson Park) is a 174-acre park located within Isanti County and the Anoka Sandplain. The land was acquisitioned in 2007 as part of funding allocated through the state Remediation Grant Program, the state Regional Parks Grant Program, the Metro Greenways Grant Program, along with donations from the Trust for Public Land, Oxford Township, and the Anderson Family. The park now consists mainly of restored tall-grass prairie, and is adjacent to two lakes (Horseshoe and Horseleg Lakes) with high-quality wetlands and hardwood forest area. A trail system, of over (3) miles of mowed paths, serve as one of the Park’s largest assets. Some of the other improvements to the park have included the creation of a parking lot, a log picnic shelter, three wetland boardwalks, an interactive playground and an elevated viewing platform. In the fall of 2008, the Friends of Anderson Park was established. This is a group of community members who are dedicated to the stewardship of the park through preservation of the wildlife and diverse vegetation found here. During the summer of 2013, through a partnership between Isanti County Parks, Friends of Anderson Park, the University of Minnesota’s Center for Rural Design and the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, a master planning process for Anderson Park was launched. The desire for a master plan grew out of increased interest in investment in the park by the Friends of Anderson Park. The goals of this process are to: create an outline for future activities identify partnerships and implementing agencies for these activities recognize short-, mid-, and long-term timelines for implementation foster community input and engagement through the master planning process and beyond enable future development of Anderson Park that will reflect the shared values of the communityPrepared in partnership with Isanti County Parks by the Community Assistantship Program (CAP), which is administered by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota