All Projects

The Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Forest Resources Council work with forest landowners, managers and loggers to implement a set of voluntary sustainable forest management guidelines that include water quality best management practices (BMPs) to ensure sustainable habitat, clean water, and productive forest soils, all contributing to healthy watersheds. This project will monitor the implementation of these forest management guidelines and BMPs on forested watersheds in MN.

This leadership workshop series will provide the participants (citizen leaders) with knowledge, skills, processes and tools that can help to strengthen their current efforts and nurture new ones.

This project will build the first comprehensive list of Minnesota moths and butterflies. Information gained through surveys and outreach efforts will inform land managers and inspire public appreciation.

To increase arts and cultural heritage programming at the Norman County Fair by building a stage and performance area.

BWSR will administer funding to eligible County projects that provide funds and other assistance to low income property owners to upgrade or replace Noncompliant Septic Systems. BWSR will also manage annual reporting completed by each County.

The goal of this project is to develop a TMDL for all impaired stream reaches within the Crow Wing Watershed and for Eighth Crow Wing Lake.

The Crow Wing River Watershed consists of approximately 1,959 square miles in the north to north central portion of the Upper Mississippi River Basin in Central Minnesota. The watershed encompasses all or parts of Becker, Cass, Clearwater, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Morrison, Otter Tail, Todd and Wadena Counties. The dominant land use within the watershed is forested (41%), agriculture (32%), grass, shrub and wetland make up 17%, water (7%) and urban (3%).

This project will create and optimize eDNA assays to detect the presence of 8 endangered or threatened mussel species around Buffalo Slough near Prairie Island Indian Community.

Geologic atlases provide maps/databases essential for improved management of ground and surface water. This proposal will complete current projects and start new projects to equal about 4 complete atlases.

Get the Lead Out is focused on protecting common loons and wildlife through education and outreach about the danger of lead fishing tackle and promoting lead-free tackle alternatives.

Per Minnesota Laws, 2011, 1st Special Session, Chapter 6, Article 4, Section 2, Subd. 6, "These amounts are appropriated to the commissioner of administration for grants to the named organizations for the purposes specified in this subdivision.

Per Minnesota Laws, 2009, Chapter 172, Article 4, Section 2, Subd. 5, "Funds in this subdivision are appropriated to the commissioner of the Department of Administration for grants to the named organizations for the purposes specified in this subdivision. Up to one percent of funds may be used by the Department of Administration for grants administration. Grants made to public television or radio organizations are subject to Minnesota Statutes, sections 129D.18 and 129D.19."

The goal of this project is to extend the input timeseries for the existing Crow Wing, Redeye, and Long Prairie, watershed Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) models and refine the calibration.

Minnesota’s use of groundwater has increased over the last two decades. An increasing reliance on groundwater may not be a sustainable path for continued economic growth and development. The DNR is establishing three pilot groundwater management areas (GWMA) to help improve groundwater appropriation decisions and help groundwater users better understand and plan for future groundwater needs associated with economic development.

This project will support new exhibit components, including an agriculture heritage exhibit, that will showcase the farming way of life and the importance of family farms for the country's food source. It includes workshops and hands-on learning in roles such as gardener, farmer, processor, seed agronomist, farmers market vendor, and consumer.

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,

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.

Replacement of State Trail Bridge over the Crow Wing River in the Community of Akeley.

Preventative conservation products were used by the HCHS to preserve a part of their collection using limited funds.

UV filter sleeves and acid-free barrier boards were installed to mitigate deterioration of artifacts in the Heritage Room of the Hubbard County Historical Museum due to lighting, moisture and dust.

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.

To strengthen a large partnership, including American Indian partners, as they improve and make available more historic information about the Minnesota River Valley.

This project will support construction of three watershed framework models built using the Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF). These executable models will simulate hydrology at the subbasin scale. An HSPF model will be built for each of these major watersheds: Crow Wing River, Redeye River, and Long Prairie River.

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 goal of this project is to continue and finalize HSPF watershed model construction and complete the calibration/validation process.

The Hubbard County Community Partners Conservation Program will give community groups the resources necessary to build interest in, and awareness of, the water quality challenges facing their lakes and empower them to make positive improvements in the form of reduced stormwater runoff. Through the design of a collaborative effort, the Hubbard Soil and Water Conservation District and Local Water Plan Task Force will enable Hubbard County residents and lake home owners to work together to address the effects of development with stormwater runoff solutions.

To engage the residents of Hubbard County in the arts and encourage them to exhibit their work in the Open Class Building. Funds will additionally be used to restore the one room school house.

The Hubbard County Surface Water Monitoring Leech Lake River Watershed 2023-2024 Project will include water quality and temperature profile monitoring of 12 lakes and 8 stream sampling sites in the Leech Lake River watershed area of Hubbard and Cass counties.The lakes include Garfield, Hart, Gillet, Twenty-One, Nelson, Halverson and McCarty in Hubbard County and Little Sand, Upper Trelipe, Lower Trelipe, Crystal and Howard in Cass County. In Hubbard County, the stream sites include 2 sites on the Necktie River and 2 sites on the Kabekona River.

This project will include water quality monitoring on two rivers and twenty lakes found within the Crow Wing River Watershed. ‏Rivers included are Fishhook and Straight River; lakes included are Mow, Big Bass, 11 CROW WING (MAIN), 11 CROW‏WING (EAST), Tenth Crow Wing, Third Crow Wing, Fourth Crow Wing, First Crow Wing, Shallow, Deer, Waboose, East‏ Crooked, Middle Crooked, West Crooked, Dead, Ojibway, Upper Twin, Pickerel, Moran, Little Mantrap, Portage. Water quality ‏sampling will be conducted according to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency work plan parameters.

This project will continue HSPF watershed model construction beyond the initial framework development. The consultant will add representation of point source discharges to the model. The consultant will also compile flow data for the purposes of calibration and validation. Finally, an initial hydrologic calibration will be performed and submitted for approval.

This project will complete spatial and temporal revisions of 6 Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) models, the recalibration and validation of 7 watershed HSPF models, and the revision of the drainage network and point source representation of the Pomme de Terre HSPF model.

The goal of this project is to construct, calibrate, and validate two (2) watershed models using Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF).

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.

With only 1% of Minnesota’s native prairie remaining, many prairie plant and animal species have dramatically declined. Of the 12 butterfly species native to Minnesota prairies, two species, the Poweshiek skipperling and the Dakota skipper, have already largely disappeared from the state and are proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act despite being historically among the most common prairie butterflies and having their historic ranges concentrated in Minnesota.

With only 1% of Minnesota’s native prairie remaining, many prairie plant and animal species have dramatically declined. Of the 12 butterfly species native to Minnesota prairies, two species, the Poweshiek skipperling and the Dakota skipper, have already largely disappeared from the state and are proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act despite being historically among the most common prairie butterflies and having their historic ranges concentrated in Minnesota.

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.

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.