This project proposes to increase the adoption of cover cropping in southwest Minnesota to address issues of loss of diversity and environmental degradation. By generating important information on cover crops,
To acquire fee title to 16 parcels to allow for the extension of the state trail from Harmony south to the Iowa state boarder with a spur to Niagara Cave.
Overall Project Outcome and Results
This project contained two types of habitat enhancement that resulted in the enhancement of a total of 72 acres of habitat.
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe is working within the Leech Lake Reservation boundaries to address loss and degradation of aquatic habitat for wild rice and waterfowl. Efforts will include regulating water levels on shallow lakes by controlling beaver activity and conducting periodic water level draw-downs, reseeding of approximately 200 acres of wild rice, and implementing adaptive management based on analysis of wild rice productivity.
With this appropriation, the Minnesota Land Trust plans to protect approximately 500 acres of critical shoreline habitat along Minnesota's lakes, wetlands, rivers, and streams by securing permanent conservation easements and dedicating funds for their perpetual monitoring, management, and enforcement. Lands being considered for permanent protection in this round of funding are located in Becker, Beltrami, Blue Earth, Itasca, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Le Sueur, Otter Tail, Pope, and Wabasha counties.
This project will sample and monitor 18 sites for chemical, physical and bacteriological parameters for two years in coordination with the 2015-16 Surface Water Assessment Grant (SWAG) work plan proposal. Headwaters Science Center (HSC) will be the project lead and recruit volunteer students from Trek North, Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig, and Deer Lake high schools as well as to two AmeriCorps volunteer crews. An experienced Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) environmental scientist will be the project lead responsible for oversight and full compliance to MPCA protocols.
Evaluation of Minnesota raptors, in rehabilitation and free ranging settings, for current or previous exposure to highly pathogenic avian influenza virus to better understand outbreak impacts to raptor populations.
This project will continue to develop, and calibrate/validate the hydrology of an HSPF watershed model for the Thief River watershed. The consultant will add representation of point source discharges to the model. The consultant will compile flow data for the purposes of calibration and validation. An initial hydrologic calibration will be performed and submitted for approval. The consultant will produce an HSPF watershed model that can readily be used to provide information to support conventional parameter TMDLs.
This project will construct, calibrate, and validate three HSPF watershed models. The consultant will produce HSPF models that can readily be used to provide information to support conventional parameter TMDLs. The consultant will clearly demonstrate that these models generate predicted output time series for hydrology, sediment, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen which are consistent with available sets of observed data.
The project will investigate why, when, and where different species of harmful algal blooms release toxins into the water using hyperspectral microscopic imaging towards developing early warning remote sensing tools.
This project will enhance the current program, integrating new invasive carp control and detection methods to monitor and remove invasive carp to avoid establishment in Minnesota.
Winter sport fishing for trout is a vibrant industry, but can be impacted by changing climate. We seek to understand how to conserve trout habitat, especially focusing on winter management.
Minnesota has 15.9 million acres of forest land managed by a variety of county, state and federal agencies, and private landowners for timber production, wildlife habitat, and ecological considerations. Forest managers rely on inventory data to make effective planning and management decisions. Because forests are continually changing through natural and human processes, forest inventory data is periodically updated. However, doing so is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor and, as a result, much of Minnesota’s forest inventory data is currently out of date.
