Yellow Medicine River Terrain Analyis Assessment Grant 2014

The Yellow Medicine River Watershed District will contract with the Water Resource Center at the Minnesota State University - Mankato to complete a Geographic Information System (GIS) terrain analysis for the watershed using recently completed LIDAR data in southern Minnesota. Analysis will concentrate on the impaired reaches of the Yellow Medicine River Watershed and its tributaries. This inventory will utilize the State of Minnesota LiDAR elevation datasets to create many datasets through the analysis of this elevation data. Secondary datasets to be created include Critical Source Area, Specific Catchment Areas, Stream Power Index, Compound Topographic Index and Environmental Benefit Index. Multiple watershed maps will be developed and show areas to target based on environmental sensitivity variables such as slope, soil type, land use, distance to surface water, overland flow potential, stream gradient, bluffs and ravines, and erosion potential. This analysis will provide valuable data for future planning and prioritizing of projects.