The recent news that biologists had discovered a large bird die-off at Pigeon Lake along State Highway 15 north of Hutchinson aroused an old complaint from some local residents. There’s only one place to view the lake’s rookery, and it’s a poor place at that.

In 1990, the Minnesota Department of Transportation built a scenic overlook along 15 so that motorists could take a gander at the lake. There’s potentially a lot to see. The lake is natural and secluded, making it an ideal nesting site for many wading birds including great blue herons, double-crested cormorants and great egrets. The site is unique because there are only 39 nesting colonies of double-crested cormorants in Minnesota.

Unfortunately, trees now tower between the overlook and the lake, blocking the view. Only a tiny spot at the far northeast corner of the overlook affords motorists a glimpse of the the birds’ nesting site, an island several hundred yards offshore. And this spot only gives you a miniscule view of a portion of the nesting site.

Naturally, one might wonder why MnDOT doesn’t clear the trees. The answer is simple: The land where the trees grow is privately owned.

So the next question naturally is: Why did MnDOT ever build a scenic overlook that could not be maintained or preserved as such for the benefit of the motoring public? We may never know.

We know nothing about the owner of the land where these trees are growing, and we have no complaint with that person. But we do wish that MnDOT had made an arrangement with the owner many years ago so that at least some type of view could be preserved.

What can be done now? It’s up to the owner of the land. Perhaps an agreement could be worked out with a local birding club or some other type of civic group to allow their members to bring down or trim some of the trees, if the Department of Natural Resources will allow it.

Until something is done, motorists will continue to stop at the scenic overlook, only to be disappointed by the lack of a real overlook.

By the way, there’s a plaque at the overlook, imbedded in a 150-foot long wall that runs the length of the site. The plaque describes what you’d be able to see if the tree weren’t in the way. It also says “Management and protection of these rookeries is a priority of the Nongame Wildlife Program of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.”

We only wish that someone at the state government also made it a priority to build public amenities such as overlooks that offer real benefit to the public.

Editorials are written by Publisher Matt McMillan and Editor Doug Hanneman. They can be reached at mcmillan@hutchinsonleader.com [2], or hanneman@hutchinsonleader.com [3].