Aghaming Park Management Plan Available for Public Review

The City of Winona, Minnesota (City) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (Refuge) entered into a 25 year Lease Agreement to manage the lands and waters of Aghaming Park in March 2018. Under this agreement, the City maintains ownership of 1,139 acres of lands donated to them in 1928 by Winona entrepreneur John Latsch while the Refuge provides management of the lands and law enforcement support.  

The Lease Agreement requires that within five years of signature, the City and Refuge work together to develop a management plan. In 2019, members of the mayor-appointed Aghaming Park Citizen Task Force, Community Services Director Chad Ubl, and Refuge Manager Mary Stefanski met to review goals and objectives for management of Aghaming Park. The final draft document was completed in December 2019 with the intent to release it for a 30-day public review in the spring of 2020. The pandemic delayed the planned release until now.  

The document and appendices can be found on the City webpage at www.cityofwinona.com/213/Parks-Recreation and on the Refuge website at www.fws.gov/refuge/Upper_Mississippi_River/Winona_District.html. Hard copies of the document are available upon request. 

Written comments regarding the plan should be addressed to Mary Stefanski, Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, 102 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Winona, MN 55987. Comments must be received by Friday, November 27, 2020. To obtain a hard copy of the plan or for questions regarding the plan, email [email protected] or call 507-494-6229.