Prior Lake, Minnesota - In a unique collaboration, a compost site created by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is planned for joint use by residents of neighboring Prior Lake starting in May 2008. The site will accept leaves, brush, grass clippings, and other yard waste for organic recycling in exchange for use of the City of Prior Lake’s tree range to grow native trees and shrubs for planting on the reservation. Staff from the SMSC and the City of Prior Lake will man the site the second and fourth Saturdays of each month beginning this May. Hours of the site, which is located just west of the corner of County Road 42 and County Road 83 in Prior Lake, will be 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m.

“We have the space and the resources to develop this compost site which fits into our long term plans to care for the environment as well as for our members. We all need a place to put our leaves, and we thought the City might be interested in working together for this project. We appreciate what good neighbors the City of Prior Lake has become to us,” said SMSC Chairman Stanley R. Crooks. “The native trees and shrubs which we will be able to plant as a result will grow and flourish here on the reservation for many years to come.” City of Prior Lake Mayor Jack Haugen agreed, “The establishment of the joint SMSC/City of Prior Lake Compost site is yet another example of our growing partnerships and mutual concern for natural resources. Both are identified as high priorities in the City's 2030 Vision and Strategic Plan."

Collecting brush and leaves is something the Community has been doing for years. Only recently, though, has the Community become active in the composting process and will soon generate usable product from the collected organic materials. The Community manages its own greenhouses and landscaping which generate tons of materials suitable for recycling. Grass clippings from The Meadows at Mystic Lake and landscaping materials like annuals from the Community’s Gaming Enterprise, Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and Little Six Casino, will make up a bulk of the materials for composting initially.

In addition, the SMSC will begin incorporating small quantities of food waste from Community restaurants this spring with the goal recycling the material into compost. Much larger quantities of food waste recycling are possible as the Land Department incorporates other restaurants into the program. Potentially hundreds of tons of food waste could ultimately be recycled into usable compost.

Composting is a process where air, water, and organic material are decomposed by microorganisms. Well-managed compost operations encourage microorganisms that breakdown organic materials into a usable soil conditioner. Composting generates heat, carbon dioxide, and water vapor and this process significantly reduces the volume and mass of the material. Although carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, landfilling these materials would generate methane that is 23 times worse for greenhouse emissions. SMSC will utilize leaves, yard waste, food waste, wood chips, grass clippings, and sawdust animal bedding from a local Community member. Brush up to eight inches in diameter, will be chipped and incorporated into the compost to help provide density and air within the compost for the microorganisms. Composting occurs year-round but slows significantly during winter.

“Our plan is to manage the compost site through state of the science methods for management of organic composting,” said SMSC Land and Natural Resources Manager Stan Ellison who is overseeing the project.

Compost materials are formed into long, linear piles, six feet tall by six feet wide, called windrows. The temperature in the windrows, which is regularly monitored, will dictate when the compost needs to be turned to allow more air and fresh organic materials into the pile where microorganisms can consume them to make compost. Staff will use an implement that hooks onto a farm tractor to turn the compost every one to two weeks as needed. “The key to composting is aerobic activity; aerobic meaning ‘with air,’ keeps the decaying materials from smelling bad,” Ellison continued. “Good management of the site by monitoring and turning the compost regularly will yield positive results for us.”

The site will not accept root wads, tree stumps, branches larger than eight inches in diameter, building lumber, soil, or compost materials in plastic bags of any type. Plastic does not break down. Ellison suggests loading leaves into the back of a truck or trailer and then covering them with a tarp.

The end result is an organic, black dirt which will be used to add organic matter and nutrients to annual flower beds and to rejuvenate fairways and greens on the golf course. Excess compost will be spread on SMSC-owned farm fields. Harvesting of the compost is expected to take place twice a year: middle to late spring and late fall. Expectations are that the compost site will generate several tons of usable, organic compost each harvest.

As a steward of the land, the SMSC engages in a number of restoration activities to preserve and protect the land for future generations. The SMSC Land Department and Natural Resources Department has re-established native prairies and wetlands on more than 500 acres of former farmland. Prescribed burns are used to maintain and improve native prairie conditions on the reservation. Wild rice is sowed in Community wetlands. Staff make maple syrup from maple sap collected from Community trees. Trees and other native flora are planted. Environmental specialists are also active in restoring and managing wetlands, surveying wildlife, and taking an inventory of existing natural communities. Hydrologists assess water quality, coordinate the Community’s Wellhead Protection Program, plan projects to improve water quality, and implement erosion control.

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