The CREST team wants to create a mobile lab with innovative, engaging educational activities that would be used to travel to underserved, underrepresented schools and community events in Northwest Minnesota
The Sand Hill watershed is a priority area because of soil loss associated with steep slopes common in the area. Portions of the Sand Hill River have been listed as impaired due to turbidity. Water quality is also a concern for fish habitat in the lower reaches of the Sand Hill River. This project is a continuation of 2011 Clean Water Fund project to implement erosion control/sediment reduction practices in the Upper Sand Hill River Watershed.
The Sand Hill River Watershed District along with the West Polk Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will install 18 rock riffles and 2 rock arch rapids to control the grade and stabilize the channelized reach of the Sand Hill River, which contributes thousands of tons of sediment downstream. The entire Sand Hill River is currently impaired for turbidity. The total project length is five miles of channel located between the cities of Fertile and Beltrami in western Polk County.
The East Polk Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) identified the Sand Hill Watershed as a priority area because of soil loss associated with steep slopes common in the area. The SWCD is working cooperatively with the Sand Hill Watershed District to keep soil from eroding, and to capture it where it does erode. The SWCD provides technical design services and receives funding from the Sand Hill Watershed District to install conservation practice such as sediment basins.
This project restored fish passage from the Red River to 50 miles of quality upstream Lake Sturgeon and Walleye habitats in the Sand Hill River by modifying four structures and modifying the Sand Hill Lake Dam which currently block access. It also enhanced in stream habitat on the SH River.
Phase 2 of this project will complete fish passage restoration from the Red River to 47 miles of quality upstream habitat in the Sand Hill River watershed and enhance stream habitat in a degraded segment of the Sand Hill River.
Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) strategic acquisition (~85 acres) will conserve Minnesota's most unique places and rare species for everyone's benefit.
This education project will continue building the next generation of conservationists in Minnesota by engaging youths and adults in science and outdoor learning through radio, podcasts, newsletters and schoolyard exploration.
Funding through this appropriation enhanced 8,359 acres of wetland habitat. Included in this work were six infrastructure projects that enhanced 871 acres and a Douglas County wetland restoration was done in cooperation with Pheasants Forever. Wetland management actions by the Region 1 Roving Habitat Crew enhanced almost 7,500 wetland acres through work on prescribed burns, herbicide applications, and removal of woody vegetation. Survey and design work in Rice County gathered information for possible future construction.
Funding through this appropriation enhanced 4,745 acres of wetland habitat. Four wetland/shallow lake infrastructure projects were competed that enhanced 1,020 acres and and another project restored 50 acres. Wetland management actions (wild rice seeding, a significant drawdown, and a major large prescribed burn) enhanced 1,997 acres. Work by the Region 3 Roving Habitat Crew enhanced 1,678 wetland acres through work on prescribed burns, drawdowns, herbicide applications, and removal of woody vegetation.
State leadership for the 4-H Shooting Sports & Wildlife Program, including staff and 4-H volunteer committee members, will provide a menu of equipment options for local programs to choose from as a means to build their Shooting Sports & Wildlife project. Local programs will submit a grant application justifying how the new equipment will help them build and grow their program, attract and engage new audiences, and provide sustainability in their local chapter.
The goal of this project is to extend, calibrate, and validate the existing Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) model for the Snake River Watershed in the Red River Basin. The contractor will produce an HSPF model that can readily be used to provide information to support conventional parameter Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Studies. The model will generate predicted output for hydrology, sediment, nutrients, and dissolved oxygen that is consistent with observed data.
Continue and finalize watershed models using Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) for the Grand Marais Creek and Snake River Watersheds and complete the calibration/validation process.
The goal of this project is to utilize the information and data collected in the Phase I project to develop a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) Report and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Study that will address water quality impairments and maintain or improve water quality throughout the Snake-Middle River Watershed. The Phase II project will allocate pollutant reductions goals, and prioritize and identify implementation strategies to maintain or improve water quality in key streams in the watershed.
This project will result in the completion of the first phase of the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) for the Snake-Middle River Watershed.
The goal of this project is to utilize the information and data collected in the Phase 1 project to develop a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study that will address water quality impairments and maintain or improve water quality throughout the Snake-Middle River Watershed. The Phase 2 project will allocate pollutant reductions goals and prioritize and identify implementation strategies to maintain or improve water quality in key streams in the watershed.
The primary goal of this project is to protect public water supplies from contamination from nonpoint-sourced pollution by providing farmers with resources to implement soil health Best Management Practices (BMPs) within a set radius of municipal Drinking Water Supply Management Areas (DWSMAs) for cities within Traverse County. The secondary goal of the project is protection of public surface waters and measurable progress towards reduction of nutrient and sediment pollution to impaired watercourses.
