Lake Aesthetic and User Recreation Index
for Loring Pond
Loring Pond is in a small park on the edge of downtown Minneapolis. The park is connected to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Walker Art Center, and Parade Stadium by the blue Whitney Bridge that spans the freeway. Known for its Berger Fountain, Garden of the Seasons, and Community Arts Center, it is popular with people who live and work downtown and want a relaxing oasis of beauty.
Loring has few aquatic plants, excellent aesthetics and good water clarity. However, bacteria levels tend to be high due most likely to the large quantities of geese, ducks and gulls populating the pond.
The Lake Aesthetic and User Recreation Index (LAURI) was developed by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to give the public information about the recreational suitability of Minneapolis lakes. Lakes were scored in 4 areas:
The figure above presents the average score Loring Pond received in each category from May to June in 2005. LAURI was field tested in 2004 for the first time.
The LAURI was developed to provide recreational users with an additional source of information about the status of MPRB lakes. Aesthetics can be difficult to evaluate since they are dependent on one’s own experience and preferences. But LAURI provides lake users with an easily understandable recreational suitability indicator for MPRB lakes that incorporates aesthetics and the health of the lake. Data is collected during the growing season (May to September).
Hopefully, LAURI will be useful to users of the Minneapolis park system when making recreational decisions. Someone interested in walking or biking around a lake may use the aesthetic score. A swimmer may compare lakes based on the public health, aquatic plant, aesthetic and water clarity scores. A sailor or kayak user may be primarily concerned with the aquatic plant (recreational interference) score.
