The 2,165 acres of the Upper Sioux Indian Community are impacted by invasive species and are heavily infested with invasive buckthorn. The Tribe is requesting funds to restore and enhance 144 acres of oak savanna, floodplain forest, forested bluff lands, and granite outcroppings on tribal lands. Activities include buckthorn removal and installation and enhancement of native and culturally significant plants.
The three (3) long-range goals of the Upper Sioux Community regarding the preservation and continuation of the Dakota langauge and culture are directly tied to the Mission Statement adopted in 1996 and delineated in the 2008 Dakota Language Revitalization Tribal Resoulution that promises to: "1) [m]ake Dakota Language revitalization the highest priority 2)... implement all strategies to revive the Dakota language; and 3)... take necessary steps to raise up a new generation of speakers."
To prepare RAW digital images of log books from the USS Essex, a shipwreck listed in the National Register of Historic Places, for public access via the Internet.
2016: Five locations will be monitored in support of the combined Vermilion Community College and Rainy River Community College 2016 – 2017 Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) Sampling Agreement. Water samples, field measurements, field images, and other observations will be obtained at each location during each sampling event.
Five locations will be monitored in support of the combined Vermilion Community College and Rainy River Community College 2014 – 2015 MPCA Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) Sampling Grant. Water samples, field measurements, field images / pictures, and other measurements and observations will be obtained at each location during each sampling event.
Eight locations will be monitored in support of the Vermilion Community College (VCC) Surface Water Assessment Grant (SWAG). Water samples, field measurements, field images / pictures, and other measurements and observations will be obtained at each location during each sampling event.
Veterans on the Lake Resort, a not-for-profit resort, will provide a barrier-free setting for a memorable outdoor recreation experience for disabled persons, with priority to disabled veterans, veterans, their families, friends and supporters; designed with veterans in mind, recognizing what they have contributed to and sacrificed for our nation; ensuring that they can fully participate in Minnesota's outdoor cultural heritage.
Projects:
Well drilling to provide larger reservoir of water to meet peak demand
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare planning documents for the preservation of the Lyric Building, a contributing property in the Virginia Commercial Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and reused as an arts facility.
Wolf survival and predation in summer are almost unknown but critical to deer, moose, and wolf, management. We'll study wolf predator-prey ecology, share charismatic natural history, and promote Voyageurs' region.
Wetlands in large lakes in the Voyageurs National Park area have been degraded by invasive cattails, which reduces biodiversity, degrades fish/wildlife habitat, and outcompetes wild rice/manoomin. Phases 1&2 of the project entailed refinement of restoration methods. We will continue mechanical treatment methods in Phase 3 to remove invasive cattails and other vegetation, including use of contracted harvesting machines, NPS owned-cutting machines, and hand crews in more inaccessible areas.
Minnesota Sea Grant seeks to create a science-policy fellowship program to train Minnesota's science-policy workforce and advance Minnesota's water resource policy, emulating Sea Grants successful federal-level fellowship program.
We propose robotics-based educational activities for middle-school youth on water quality in Minnesota. Youth will gain skills for measuring water quality and communicating results through group study and hands-on projects.
Tetra Tech will work to support the science needed when planning in Minnesota for water storage practice implementation. The goal is to provide practical water storage recommendations that can be incorporated into smaller scale planning within major watersheds (HUC 8), as well as larger scale planning for the Sediment Reduction Strategy for the Minnesota River and South Metro Mississippi River.
Effective groundwater management requires accurate knowledge about the water budget, which is the amount of water stored within the system in aquifers and the amount of water flowing through the overall hydrologic system including water flowing at the surface, water flowing from above ground down into aquifers, and water flowing between aquifers below the surface.
Vermilion Community College will assist the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) with meeting the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) development objectives of collecting data and completing watershed assessments for the Rainy River Headwaters, Vermilion River, and Little Fork River watersheds. Services will include providing support for field water monitoring, other field sampling and measurements and related field data management, analysis, and assessments in these watersheds.
The Yellow Medicine One Watershed One Plan has identified Protecting and Preserving Groundwater Quality and Quantity as one of the three priorities addressed in the Plan. Seven priority sub-watersheds have been identified as priority areas, as well as two townships that have been identified by the Department of Agriculture to have vulnerable groundwater areas. Our goal is to provide 50% cost share to seal 34 abandoned wells that are located in these priority areas.
Fourteen oral history interviews were conducted with people knowledgeable about the establishment of the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD), early conditions and relevant local environmental issues of the early 1970’s.
Twenty six easements protecting 1,173.3 were recorded which exceeded the original proposal by 173 acres (15%). 11.6 miles of shoreline were protected which exceeded the 8 acre goal by 30%. Total expenditure was $1,355,000 which was 17% lower than originally budgeted. No fee-title land acquisition opportunities on wild rice lakes that fit within DNR and other government agency land plans were available during this time period thus DU did not expend any of the $100,000 budgeted for fee-title acquisition. Instead the program focused on RIM easements.
This Phase III continuation of the Wild Rice Shoreland Protection project acquired 98 acres for Yaeger Lake Wildlife Management Area (total acquisition was 285 acres but a portion was funded with other LSOHC money, only the portion funded with this grant is reported here) and 14 RIM easements protecting 600 acres for a total of 698 acres of wild rice shoreland habitat in the Northern Forest Section. This exceeded this Phases overall goal by acres for RIM.
Increasing wildfires in Minnesota are mobilizing mercury and degrading water in wilderness lakes, potentially causing increased mercury concentrations in fish. We will develop approaches to protect our lakes and fish.
This project entailed the reconstruction and resurfacing of 0.4 miles of the segment of the Willard Munger State Trail that spans from Grand Avenue to 93rd Avenue in Duluth, MN.
This project entailed reconstruction and resurfacing of 1.1 miles of the segment of the Willard Munger State Trail that spans the trail terminus to Grand Avenue in Duluth.
The Western Lake Superior Sanitary District completed the fabrication and installation of an exhibit in the reception area of the main Administration Building that chronicles the history of the Sanitary District and the St. Louis River using photographs, text and three-dimensional objects. The Grant amount was adjusted to remove a traveling exhibit component not critical to the success of the project.
Having completed one year in a new and expanded facility, the Duluth Children’s Museum focused on deepening and enriching the visitor experience. Minnesota Arts and Cultural Legacy funding allowed the Museum to focus on intensive educational program services; the rotation of the exhibits to bring fresh and new experiences to the visitor; and investment in a new tracking and reporting system, Altru by Blackbaud, a project begun with a previous Legacy grant.
To offer a new exhibit in the fair’s conservation building on 4-H and paint a mural related to the new exhibit. The Yellow Medicine County Fair has purchased display cases for their new 4-H exhibit. The exhibit consists of 4-H items from the past and present and the mural provides a history of county fairs.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) requires the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to carry out the Total Maximum Daily Load Program (TMDL) in the state of Minnesota. Minnesota has an abundance of lakes and river reaches, many of which will require a TMDL study. In an effort to expedite the completion of TMDL projects, the MPCA has decided to construct watershed models. These models have the potential to support the simultaneous development of TMDL studies for multiple listings within a cataloging unit or 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code watershed.
This project will monitor four lakes and 18 stream sites within the Yellow Medicine River Watershed to collect surface water quality data to determine the health of the watershed's streams and lakes and if they are in need of restoration or protection strategies. The sites will be monitored according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) Water Monitoring Standard Operating Procedures.
