During the past year or two, we’ve published several editorials about the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ ongoing effort to “hook” people on the great outdoors. With sales of hunting and fishing licenses on the decline, and overall interest in outdoor recreation apparently flagging, the DNR is pulling out all the stops to get people — especially kids — into the woods and out on the water.

That’s why Minnesota’s calendar is now dotted with free fishing weekends, special youth-only hunting seasons and a variety of other events designed to get families outdoors.

We support these efforts, but we’re also convinced that the DNR can’t do this alone. Local governments can play a big role.

Consider the Labor Day weekend. On Sunday, the fishing pier at Willow Creek Reservoir was packed with several dozen people ranging in age from 2 to 82. Some were disabled and in wheelchairs. Some toddlers wore life jackets, just in case. Some families were boisterous in their celebration of every fish, while others quietly went about the business of catching sunfish, perch and an occasional small bass. The fish were cooperating, and everyone was having a wonderful time.

As an added bonus, two bald eagles put on quite a show, sometimes swooping down within 50 yards of the dock and claiming a fish.

Similar fishing piers are found at Foster-Arend Lake and Chester Woods Park, and we suspect that the scene was much the same over the holiday weekend. But Willow Creek, with its handicapped parking lot, toilet facilities and large dock, is especially inviting.

We’re convinced that if families have fairly easy access to outdoor recreation, they’ll take advantage of it.

So, as we wait for Cascade Lake to become the biggest attraction in the Rochester parks system, we hope that the city has learned from its successes. This 200-acre area could become Rochester’s top recreational destination, offering swimming, boating, biking, fishing, kayaking and just about anything else people do outside (short of bungee jumping and rock-climbing, of course).

Taking full advantage of this opportunity will be neither easy nor cheap for Rochester, especially at a time when we’re having trouble filling potholes and keeping our streetlights on. Our civic leaders will need to be creative during the next decade, and we hope Cascade Lake Park will be considered as a possible candidate for local sales tax dollars. Donations of labor and money from local organizations, businesses and private individuals will likely be needed as well.

But if we build it right, we’re convinced people will come.

— Rochester Post-Bulletin, Sept. 8