St. Paul residents Mark and Joan Strobel received the Minnesota Parks and Trails Council's most prestigious award last week for their lifelong commitment to keeping the North Shore open and natural.
The Strobels spearheaded several efforts at Tettegouche State Park in the past 20 years, including adding 3,000 acres of land.
On one project, they worked with private landowners to add 3,700 feet of shoreline to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park's Gold Rock Point.
The couple also led efforts to develop a land exchange that added 2,400 acres to the George Crosby Manitou State Park, and they persuaded 3M to donate 310 acres at Crystal Bay and 160 acres at Carlton Peak to the Nature Conservancy, which then donated the land to the state.
The Reuel Harmon Award is named for a founding member of the Minnesota Council of State Parks in 1954 that transformed into the current council, a grassroots organization focused on expanding parkland.
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