This program will protect and restore approximately 400+ acres of forest and wetland wildlife habitat in central Minnesota (Cass County) through fee title acquisitions of industrial forest tracts. Title of lands acquired will be held by Cass County in fee.
This project has protected forest wildlife habitat in central Minnesota through fee title acquisition of key forest tracts. Title of lands acquired is held by Cass County in Fee.
Project has protected forest wildlife habitat in central Minnesota through fee title acquisition of key forest tracts. Title of lands acquired will be held by Cass County in fee.
Landowner-donated conservation easements in Aitkin, Cass, and Crow Wing counties permanently conserved 260 acres and 3.6 miles of critical shorelands for the protection and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and continued public recreational enjoyment of these aquatic resources.
Protected 585 acres of forest wildlife habitat in central Minnesota through fee title acquisition of key forest tracts. Title of lands acquired is held by Cass County in Fee.
The Pinelands Sands Aquifer Phase 1 project protected 567 acres of priority forest habitat in the Pinelands Sands Aquifer including high quality dry pine woodlands to prevent habitat loss, protect water quality in the aquifer, and provide access. Lands protected include 352 acres of forests which will be added to the Badoura State Forest and 215 acres which will be part of the newly established Jack Pine Woodlands Scientific and Natural Area.
This project protected 282 acres of forest wildlife habitat in central Minnesota through fee title acquisition of key forest tracts. The title of the acquired lands will be held in fee by Cass County.
This project protected 277 acres of forest wildlife habitat in central Minnesota through fee title acquisition of key forest tracts. The title of the acquired lands will be held in fee by Cass County without a PILT obligation.
This program will bring focused conservation to one of Minnesota's priority aquatic resources, Lakes of Outstanding Biological Significance. These threatened lakes possess outstanding fisheries and provide habitat for a variety of Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN); yet, at present, no habitat protection program specifically targets these priority resources.
This proposal serves to protect 580 acres and enhance 140 acres of forest habitats within Minnesota's public forests through fee title acquisition of strategic private forest land inholdings in State, County and National Forests. Successful efforts will 1) greatly increase management efficiencies and effectiveness of surrounding public forest lands, 2) address primary forest habitat management concerns of forest habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation, and 3) serve to address critical forest and recreational user access needs.
We will characterize environmental drivers contributing to the decline of wild rice using lake sediment cores to reconstruct historical wild rice abundance in relation to lake and watershed stressors.
The International Water Institute (IWI) will monitor 42 sites (3 basin, 12 major watershed, and 27 subwatershed) in the Red River and Upper Mississippi River Basins intensively during the contract period. There will also be 5 sites in the Red River Basin where mercury samples will be collected and sent to Minnesota Department of Health for analysis. The IWI will collect water samples across the range of flow conditions targeting sample collection at times of moderate to high flow.
With a population of 162,000 that expands by approximately 300,000 annually through tourism, the Brainerd Lakes area is truly a beloved “up north” destination in Minnesota. Brainerd’s emerging Region 5 Children’s Museum (working title) envisions a more connected Minnesota and will actively bring together people from diverse backgrounds in shared experiences through the exploration of northern Minnesota’s rich art, culture, and heritage.
The Norway Lake Dam was removed and replaced with a rock-arch rapids in 2022 by the City of Pine River. Replacing the high hazard dam with a rock riffle enhanced fish passage, biological connectivity, habitat, safety, aesthetics, fishing, and recreational access to the river. The riffle pools and channels enhanced recreational opportunities wading, fishing, paddling and other water-based fun.
We propose identifying hot spots of groundwater chloride pollution of surface waters due to excessive road salt use, which is a long term source increasing chloride impairment of surface waters.
The Mille Lacs Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will assist the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) with water quality monitoring and pollutant load calculations at two sites in the Rum River Watershed. Approximately 20-25 grab samples per site between ice-out and October 31, 2019 will be collected along with field measurements and observations. Samples will be collected using procedures described in the Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) Standard Operating Procedures and Guidance (SOPG).
The purpose of the project is to collect data to represent the ambient condition of the lakes and streams of the Rum River Watershed within Mille Lacs, Isanti and Sherburne Counties that is needed to determine if thresholds set to protect designeated uses, such as aquatic recreation and aquatic life, are being met .
This project will gather watershed data necessary for the development of a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy with parameter-specific targets that will maintain or improve water quality in the Rum River Watershed. Local Partners will lead various portions of this project and a hired onsultant will be subcontracted to write selected TMDL protection plans.
This project will focus on Watershed Restoration and Protetion Strategy (WRAPS) and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report development for the Rum River Watershed, which includes Mille Lacs Lake (the second largest lake in Minnesota) and the Rum River of which Mille Lacs Lake is the headwaters. The project will produce a plan that partners and citizens will be able to implement, a framework for citizen engagement, and a set of watershed management activities that will achieve water quality standards for all impairments within the watershed.
The Wild and Scenic Rum River is a State Water Trail linking Mille Lacs Lake to the Mississippi River. Providing habitat for SGCN across two ecological provinces, the Rum also supports game fish and waterfowl. Land conversion, drainage, increased runoff, accelerated bank erosion, and invasive species threaten ecosystem stability of the Rum River corridor.
