Granite rock outcrops along the Upper Minnesota River are among the oldest exposed rock in North America, dating back approximately 3.6 billion years. These outcrops are also home to rare and specialized plant and animal communities rarely found elsewhere in Minnesota, including several types of cactus and one of Minnesota's only three lizard species, the five-lined skink. However, these rock outcrops are increasingly threatened by mining, overgrazing, and development.
This grant application will focus on the construction of multiple targeted best management practices (BMPs) in priority areas which will provide measurable reductions in sediment and phosphorus loadings to cold water streams in the Mississippi River/Lake Pepin Watershed. The installation of these BMPs will also protect the existing stream habitat by reducing peak flows and reduced streambank erosion.
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare construction documents for the restoration and preservation of the Reads Landing School, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and used as the Wabasha County History Museum.
A detailed Historic Structures Report was prepared that will guide future restoration of the Reads Landing School, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building houses the Wabasha County Historical Society Museum. Three consultants with historic heritage, design and architectural expertise were hired to work with the WCHS Board to analyze the condition of the building and propose solutions for both building rehabilitation and programming..
To preserve and restore windows, cornice, and brick on the Reads Landing School, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and currently used as the applicant's museum.
We will characterize environmental drivers contributing to the decline of wild rice using lake sediment cores to reconstruct historical wild rice abundance in relation to lake and watershed stressors.
Minnesota Trout Unlimited, the Minnesota Land Trust, and The Nature Conservancy will combine their expertise within 12 targeted watersheds to increase the resilience of remnant populations of brook trout unique to Southeast Minnesota. We will protect 535 acres and restore/enhance 95 acres of instream and adjacent upland habitats to address stream degradation (floodplains, gullies, slopes, and bluffs), slow runoff, increase infiltration, and keep aquatic habitat productive.
The Clean Water Fund (CWF) and Outdoor Heritage Fund (OHF) were used together to secure easements on buffer areas. 84 easements have been recorded for a total of 1,441 acres and are reported in the output tables for the final report (acre total does not include Clean Water Fund acres). The total acreage from both CWF and OHF sources for recorded easements is 2,793.2 acres. Only the OHF acres are being reported in this final report to be consistent with the approved accomplishment plan.
