Rum River Wildlife and Fish Habitat Enhancement using Bioengineered Bank Stabilization

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2021 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$816,000
Fund Source
Outdoor Heritage Fund
Recipient
Anoka County Soil and Water Conservation District
Recipient Type
Local/Regional Government
Status
In Progress
Start Date
July 2020
Activity Type
Restoration/Enhancement
Counties Affected
Anoka
Anoka
Project Overview

In partnership with Anoka County and landowners, Anoka Conservation District will enhance Rum River habitat by utilizing eco-sensitive, habitat-building, bioengineering approaches to address active bank erosion on three to seven reaches. Sediment delivered from bank erosion threatens fish and mussel reproduction. The Rum River is a state designated Outstanding Resource Value Water and Wild, Scenic and Recreational River with eighty actively failing riverbanks in Anoka County alone. Project partners will address these in a phased approach utilizing CWF, LSOHC, and CPL funds. LSOHC funds will be used for projects that primarily enhance habitat, including for species in greatest conservation need.

About the Issue

Eighty sites spanning seven miles of actively eroding riverbank were identified along the Rum River in Anoka County, an Outstanding Resource Value Water and Wild, Scenic and Recreational River. Identified bank failures contribute an estimated 7,838 tons of sediment to the river annually, which decimates littoral transitional habitat, smothers fish spawning areas, compromises mussel reproduction and vigor, and reduces success of predatory game fish species due to increased turbidity. The Anoka Conservation District (ACD), along with Anoka County and landowners, proposes to systematically stabilize and enhance these damaged riverbanks. In total this undertaking will require a projected $14 million in public and private funds, drawing upon several grant funding sources, and spanning multiple grant cycles.
An inventory of active erosion sites was finalized in March of 2019 by ACD (https://www.anokaswcd.org/images/AnokaSWCD/Reports/Inventory/Rum_River_…). Based on erosion severity, sites were assigned one of three stabilization approaches, which align with one of three state funding sources. Seventeen tall, severely eroding riverbanks require armament, have a primary benefit of water quality improvement, and will be addressed with CWF funding. Twenty-one shorter, moderately eroding riverbanks can be corrected utilizing bioengineering approaches, have a primary benefit of habitat enhancement, and will be addressed with LSOHC funds. Forty-two short, moderately eroding riverbanks can be corrected utilizing cedar tree revetments and will be addressed with CPL funds.
This grant request is for ACD, in partnership with Anoka County, to enhance three to seven sites over three years that can be addressed using bioengineering approaches such as bendway weirs and root wads that produce in-stream habitat for fish, turtles and amphibians, native plantings and staking that produce riparian habitat above the water, and light toe armoring and minor grading that make these habitats traversable by wildlife. Sites will be prioritized considering linear feet of habitat enhanced, cost-benefit analysis, landowner buy-in, and accessibility. Phase-1 projects will enhance up to 2,250 feet of habitat, and reduce sediment loads to the Rum River by up to 630 tons/year.
Riverbank stabilization design and installation processes can present hazards to some wildlife; namely nearshore mussels, amphibians and reptiles during construction, and reptiles and amphibians that are unable to safely traverse the post-construction stabilization materials and plantings. As part of this project, ACD intends work with experts in the field to conceptualize, design and implement approaches to best abate these hazards, with particular attention on species in greatest conservation need (SGCN) such as state-listed mussels and Blanding's turtles.
The Rum River is identified as a key river stretch for habitat and species richness for SGCN through Anoka County. Large portions of critical streambank transitional habitat that these species depend on are gone already, with more lost each year. The number of optimal sites for habitat enhancing bioengineering approaches is limited, and will continue to diminish if left unchecked. Inventory work by ACD shed light on the severity of the issue and the scale of the opportunity to take corrective action.

Legal Citation / Subdivision
ML 2020, Ch. 104, Art. 1, Sec. 2, subd 5(n)
Appropriation Language

$816,000 the second year is to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the Anoka County Soil and Water Conservation District to restore and enhance riverine habitat in the Rum River using eco-sensitive, habitat-building, and bioengineering approaches. A list of proposed enhancements must be provided as part of the required accomplishment plan.

2021 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$816,000
Other Funds Leveraged
$205,700
Direct expenses
$816,000
Administration costs
$0
Number of full time equivalents funded
0.481
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

A network of natural land and riparian habitats will connect corridors for wildlife and species in greatest conservation need - This project will allow us to reconnect gaps in Rum River riparian-littoral habitat currently fragmented and missing due to eroded riverbank. Over seven miles of this missing habitat was identified during an ACD Rum River erosion inventory. Up to 2.55 acres of habitat along 2,250 feet of Rum River shoreline will be enhanced with this funding

Source of Additional Funds

Anoka County, Rum WMOs and Landowner

Project Manager
First Name
Chris
Last Name
Lord
Organization Name
Anoka Conservation District
Street Address
1318 McKay Dr. NE, Suite 300
City
Ham Lake
State
MN
Zip Code
55304
Phone
(763) 434-2030
Email
Chris.Lord@anokaswcd.org
Administered By
Administered by
Location

500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155

Phone
651-296-6157
Email the Agency