The North Saint Louis Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will support the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in developing a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) for the Saint Louis River watershed. Work will include monitoring, data collection to fill data gaps, and engaging citizens on pertinent water quality issues.
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.
This project upgraded 20 electric campsites at Scenic State Park to 50 amp service, and electrified 20 new campsites. This is a substantial improvement in providing this important service to RV campers.
This Legacy grant will focus on the too-often neglected local school districts that have generally not participated in the CDM SSP at the same level as distant schools in surrounding counties. A new CDM interactive exhibit is badly needed to draw back visitors who have been looking for something new at the Museum for children.
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.
The goal of this project is the continued development of an overall strategy for reduction of turbidity/TSS, with sets of sediment reduction initiatives and actions for various sources, to address the Minnesota River Turbidity TMDL and the South Metro Mississippi River TSS TMDL. The overall strategy will be used to help establish a path towards achieving the required reductions of turbidity/TSS.
The Children’s Discovery Museum (CDM) continued aggressive School Service Program (SSP) enrollment strategies to reach the seven new counties of Becker, Lake of the Woods, Mahnomen, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Todd, and Wadena. A new Wizard of Oz exhibit was mounted in time for the 75th Anniversary Celebration, June 10-14, 2014.
This pilot program protected 1,210 acres of wild rice lake shoreland habitat in the Northern Forest Section by securing 14 permanent RIM conservation easements and four fee-title acquisitions, surpassing our goal of 700 acres, and doing so $250,202 under budget.
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 Children's Discovery Museum in Grand Rapids will build on recent enrollment momentum and further increase participation with its School Service Program, which takes down the economic barriers for visiting school groups. The Legacy grant will fund more educators and facilitators, curriculum development, scholarship aid, transportation assistance, art and teaching supplies, and the addition of a new exhibit to the museum.
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.
Clean well 228834 to decrease draw down and bring capacity of well back to normal range. Pull well pump and televise well, Jet well casing and screen, jet and chlorinate well, final televising and set up well pump