We will assess the environmental quality of prairies across Minnesota. On-the-ground surveys and contaminant risk assessments will help inform partner management actions, endangered species recovery plans, and pollinator reintroduction efforts.
This grant to the City of Morris provides public improvements for the beneficial use of wastewater effluent, where beneficial use is defined as the use of stormwater or wastewater effluent from a publicly owned wastewater treatement plant to replace the use of groundwater.
The Berger Fountain, known as the dandelion fountain to most, was installed in 1975 by Benjamin Berger and has been a beloved neighborhood landmark in Loring Park and a favorite location for wedding photographers and children ever since. Ben Berger was a park board commissioner and, after seeing a dandelion fountain in Australia, fundraised to build a sister fountain right here in Minnesota.
This project will support a co-creative engagement program with Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe children, families, and educators, highlighting the art, culture, and heritage of North Central Minnesota from the perspectives of Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe children.
This study will leverage our current bioacoustics monitoring framework to assess avian diversity at the statewide scale through a citizen science acoustic monitoring program, with a focus on private lands.
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 involves the extension and update of the Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) model for the Bois de Sioux and Mustinka watersheds.
This project will develop a watershed approach plan, including impaired waters allocations, for the Mustinka Watershed, located at the headwaters of the Red River of the North, in western Minnesota, lying partly in Grant, Stevens, Ottertail, Big Stone, and Traverse counties. The watershed approach plan will set water quality goals for the watershed, recommend allocations for achieving total maximum daily loads where waters do not meet state standards and are listed as impaired.
This full-scale pilot will evaluate supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) for managing PFAS in biosolids and water treatment residuals. SCWO can destroy PFAS in a variety of wastes and recover energy.
We will partner with urban municipalities and school districts to support planting of climate-resilient tree species. Activities include planting trees, gravel bed nursery creation, tree assessment and mapping, and community.
Funds are to be used to protect, enhance and restore water quality in lakes, rivers and streams and to protect groundwater and drinking water. Activities include structural and vegetative practices to reduce runoff and retain water on the land, feedlot water quality projects, SSTS abatement grants for low income individuals, and stream bank, stream channel and shoreline protection projects. For the fiscal year 2012, BWSR awarded 12 local governments with funds.
Funds are to be used to protect, enhance and restore water quality in lakes, rivers and streams and to protect groundwater and drinking water. Activities include structural and vegetative practices to reduce runoff and retain water on the land, feedlot water quality projects, SSTS abatement grants for low income individuals, and stream bank, stream channel and shoreline protection projects. For the fiscal year 2012, BWSR awarded 13 local governments with funds to complete 143 projects. More information is available in the detail reports below.
While aspen is one of the most dominant forest types, predicted future conditions will negatively impact aspen growth. Increasing tree diversity can provide increase ecological and economic resilience.
Revitalizing the old deer yards into Caribou Yards is a transformative initiative aimed at creating habitats for a herd of caribou. The need for this project arises from the closure of the old deer yards, which were previously inhabited by white-tailed deer until the last one passed away of old age. Subsequently, the fencing surrounding these three habitats has weathered and suffered damage during the years of inoccupancy.
Most if not all people in the Rum River watershed get their drinking water from groundwater meaning groundwater quality is of utmost importance. The purpose of this project is to complement citizen and decision maker awareness of the relationship between unsealed wells, groundwater and drinking water. This project proposes to provide resources that will enable these landowners to take action on their land to protect groundwater quality by sealing unused and abandoned wells.
Pileated Woodpeckers are keystone habitat modifiers that support an array of game, non-game, and conservation concern species. Additional information is needed to understand cavity dynamics for these species.
The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota (CMSM) will build upon a strong foundation of Minnesota Arts, Culture and Heritage (ACH) learning experiences made possible with prior MN Legacy funding support to:
The goal of this project is to extend the existing Chippewa River Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed model. The contractor will produce an HSPF model with meteorological, point source, and atmospheric deposition input timeseries extended through 2020.
The Chippewa River Watershed Association (CRWA) will lead programs to tell a watershed story on the state of our waters and efforts needed to protect or restore them. The CRWA will partner with local offices on existing local educational efforts and will support these types of events. Activities will focus on priority areas and information sharing as outlined in the Chippewa River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) Public Participation Plan.
The purpose of this project is to create a shared plan for the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) process with roles, responsibilities, commitments and deliverables clearly understood by all (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Chippewa River Watershed, and local partners). The MPCA and the Chippewa River Watershed Project (CRWP) will be working together to ascertain the level of involvement that local units of government and other partners want to engage in for the second round of the WRAPS process.
The goal of the Chippewa River Watershed Protection project is to protect unimpaired areas of the watershed. This will be accomplished through education and outreach with landowners and through implementation of best management practices.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) developed the Chippewa River Watershed Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report in 2016 that addresses impairments 48 separate impairment listings for 16 stream reaches and 25 lakes in the watershed. The purpose of this project is to support the development of TMDLs for additional streams reaches and lakes that were not previously completed. MPCA has identified 12 waterbodies with aquatic recreation or aquatic life impairments that need to be addressed through the development of new TMDLs.
The Chippewa River Watershed Project (CRWP) will work with the Minnesot Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to conduct watershed pollutant load monitoring at four sites in the Chippewa River watershed and one site in the neighboring Pomme de Terre River watershed to aid the MPCA in measuring and comparing regional differences and long-term trends in water quality. Our goal is to collect quality data and complete load calculations for five sites using the MPCA's Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) established protocols.
This project will complete a comprehensive and sustainable Major Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies report for the Chippewa River, its tributary streams, and the many lakes in the Chippewa River watershed that is understandable and adoptable by local units of government and residents.
This project aims to reduce pollutant loading to Mille Lacs Lake by working with the City of Wahkon to develop a comprehensive stormwater management plan for the City of Wahkon, located on the south side of the lake. Wahkon has no stormwater facilities and pollutant laden runoff flows into Mille Lacs Lake, untreated. This project will delineate and model stormwater flow in the City of Wahkon watershed, prioritize and target BMPs in the city watershed and conduct outreach to keep all stakeholders informed and build buy-in for future project implementation.
Rising temperatures and increased precipitation contribute to decreased oxygen and increased methane in Minnesota lakes and wetlands. We will identify impacts on water quality and methane emissions, providing management guidance.
