St. Louis River Restoration Initiative Phase 8
MNDNR's St. Louis River Restoration Initiative (SLRRI) is a collaborative program enhancing and restoring the St. Louis River estuary. This 12,000 acre estuary is a unique resource of statewide significance. SLRRI's vision for the estuary includes diverse, productive, and healthy aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems of the river and watershed. MNDNR and MN Land Trust's SLRRI Phase 8 will restore an additional 155 acres of priority aquatic, wetland, and forested habitat for important fish, game, and SGCN. To date, the OHF has supported approximately 661 acres of estuary habitat restoration, leveraging over $23 million in federal funding.
The SLRRI Phase 8 will restore and enhance priority habitats in the St. Louis River estuary. With LOSHC support, SLRRI has successfully developed and implemented critical projects in the estuary since 2014. SLRRI employs a collaborative approach using a network of resource managers, researchers, and key stakeholders. As partners in the SLRRI, the MNDNR and MN Land Trust have effectively and efficiently restored wetland, stream and open water aquatic habitats while leveraging significant federal support.
Minnesota DNR will continue to restore and enhance 30 acres and 5,000 feet of priority habitats identified in the 2002 Lower St. Louis River Habitat Plan and 2019 St. Louis River Area of Concern (AOC) Remedial Action Plan (RAP), with an emphasis on the following:
Mud Lake is a warm water fish and migratory bird restoration project. Mud Lake is an estuarine bay and coastal wetland complex . It is degraded by legacy wood waste and a railroad causeway. The SLRRI team will work in close coordination with the MPCA, USEPA, and the City of Duluth to restore ecological function to support birds and aquatic life.
Kingsbury, Lower Knowlton, and Keene Creeks are trout stream restoration projects. These multi-partnered projects will enhance the creeks' connection to their floodplains, reduce sedimentation, restore trout habitat, remove barriers, and increase resiliency of estuary restoration efforts currently being completed with earlier OHF appropriations.
MN Land Trust will expand the work of SLRRI and begin restoration of avian habitat for globally and regionally important bird guilds in the St. Louis River Estuary Important Bird Area (SLR IBA). The first phase of the effort includes restoration of 100 acres of forest for land birds and 25 acres of coastal wetlands for marsh birds:
Forest restoration will be conducted in priority degraded forest stands in the City of Duluth. Restoration will improve forest health of the stands, while maximizing the benefit to migrating and breeding birds. Proposed work consists of thinning, controlling invasive species, and planting native trees and understory plants with species and patterns that maximize bird habitat.
Hemi-marsh restoration will be conducted in coastal wetlands within the St. Louis River Natural Area in Duluth. Improvements will restore habitat conditions to be more attractive to migrating and breeding birds and other native wildlife communities. Proposed work includes recreating the historic ratio of water interspersed with emergent vegetation in locations now dominated by invasive species such as narrow-leaf cattail or reed canary grass.
MNDNR and MN Land Trust will continue to closely coordinate with SLRRI partners to integrate, prioritize, and develop additional fish and wildlife restoration projects to improve fish and wildlife populations throughout the estuary and surrounding watersheds. Work on project sites previously identified within the SLRRI program area will continue.
$2,024,000 the first year is to the commissioner of natural resources to restore and enhance priority aquatic, riparian, and forest habitats in the St. Louis River estuary. Of this amount, up to $500,000 is for an agreement with Minnesota Land Trust. A list of proposed restorations must be provided as part of the required accomplishment plan.
Healthy populations of endangered, threatened, and special concern species as well as more common species - Program monitoring conducted by others will evaluate the response of indicator species at project sites
GLRI, NRDA and GLRI