Enhancing Metro and North Shore Trout Stream Habitats

Degraded habitat is severely limiting the productivity of many Minnesota trout streams. The few remaining Twin Cities area streams suffer from invasive or poor-quality vegetation. We will recruit a diverse crew from the community to restore native vegetation - forest, prairie, and wetland - along these streams. Climate change is damaging North Shore forests, raising water temperatures, and increasing destructive floods. Minnesota Trout Unlimited ("MNTU") will counter this by restoring connectivity and enhancing riparian forests in priority watersheds. Work will be done on public lands and on streams with existing protections under the Aquatic Management Area system. We propose to restore or enhance habitat in and along these public waters (in these counties):
1. Metro trout streams;
2. Baptism & Manitou Rivers (Lake);
3. Keene Creek (St. Louis);
4. Split Rock River (Lake);
5. Manitou River (Lake); and
6. Southeast MN streams (maintenance in numerous counties).
Individual project descriptions are provided in an attachment.
Goals and scope of work:
The goals of projects are to increase the carrying capacity and trout population of the stream, increase angling access and participation, improve water quality, and provide other benefits to aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. Each project will accomplish one or more of these objectives: (a) increase adult trout abundance, (b) reduce stream bank erosion and associated sedimentation downstream, (c) reconnect the stream to its floodplains to reduce negative impacts from severe flooding, (d) increase natural reproduction of trout and other aquatic organisms, (e) increase habitat for invertebrates and non-game species, (f) improve connectivity of habitat along aquatic and riparian (terrestrial) corridors, (g) improve riparian forest health and function, (h) improve angler access and participation, and (i) protect productive trout waters from invasive species. The scope of work and methods utilized vary by project site conditions and are discussed in the individual project descriptions provided in the attachment.
How priorities were set:
MNTU focuses habitat enhancement and restoration efforts on those watersheds likely to continue to support viable, fishable populations of naturally reproducing trout and steelhead fifty years and more from now. Work is done only where degraded habitat is a limiting factor for a quality, sustainable fishery. Priority locations are determined using MNTU members' knowledge of watersheds, MNDNR management plans and surveys, other habitat and conservation planning efforts, consultations with MNDNR professionals, and science-based criteria. All things being equal, we consider the potential to draw new anglers outdoors, increase public awareness, engage landowners in conservation, foster partnerships, and increase public support for OHF projects.
Stakeholder support:
We continue receiving strong support from anglers, landowners, rural communities, and local civic and sporting organizations. We will continue gathering local input and developing partnerships in the planning and implementation stages. Landowners are consistently very enthusiastic partners.