History and Legacy of Louis Agassiz
Naming Concerns and Moving Forward
Early on, the project team realized the importance of giving the greenway its own name and identity apart from the important flood protection role of the FM Area Diversion. Through discussions and deliberations on multiple names, it was decided to choose Agassiz Greenway after Louis Agassiz, the prominent 19th-century geologist and glaciologist for whom glacial Lake Agassiz and a number of regional organizations, businesses, and institutions are named after.
Soon after a public engagement meeting and the release of the draft materials in mid-June, Metro COG and several project partners began receiving comments regarding the name of the greenway. Unbeknownst to anyone on the project team, Louis Agassiz was a proponent of scientific racism and wrote at length on issues of white supremacy in the 1800's.
One of the foremost goals of the greenway is to provide a public open space that promotes access and full use for all visitors and FM area residents, and in doing so, improving the quality of life for everyone in the region.
Project partners, including Fargo, West Fargo, Horace, Cass County, the Diversion Authority, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have agreed not to use Agassiz Greenway as the name for the recreation master plan.
Metro COG is moving forward with FM Greenway as a temporary name for the master plan and has revised draft materials containing the original name, including an informational video produced for the project.