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.
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare construction documents to stabilize the balcony railing of the circa 1902 Fairmont Opera House, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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 provide administrative support to the Clean Water Partnership (CWP) loan program. By initiating the CWP loan program in Sibley County it will provide low interest loans to bring 21 non-complaint or failing existing systems into compliance by replacing them with new single sewage treatment systems.
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 goal of this project is to develop and write the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report for the Blue Earth River Watershed to provide restoration strategies to improve water quality for impaired waters and protection strategies to maintain the quality of water for water bodies meeting standards.
The goal is to facilitate strategic networking, learning, and implementation in targeted groups to assess, build, and leverage community capacity (i.e. community resources and values) to increase best management practice (BMP) adoption to restore and protect water quality in the Blue Earth River watershed
This Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) project will develop a TMDL Report and Implementation Plan defining the sources contributing to the impairments and outlining the steps necessary to bring Bluff Creek back to meeting water quality standards.
This project will develop a Final TMDL report and Implementation Plan for the Bluff Creek Watershed. The main outcomes of this project are the development of a Final TMDL Report approved by MPCA and EPA and a Final Implementation Plan approved by MPCA.
THA erected an interpretive marker at the site of the former Carlos Boynton Land Company Ranch to provide public access to the story surrounding the ranch.. Volunteers provided the labor to dig the post hole, install the post and mount the weather-proof marker.
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.
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.
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 nine member Counties and Soil and Water Conservation Districts of the Greater Blue Earth River Basin Alliance (GBERBA) will be able to enhance our effectiveness to provide elevated levels of technical assistance, education and outreach in the areas of urban stormwater, wellhead protection, nutrient management, conservation agronomy, drainage and agricultural best management practices to reduce nonpoint source pollution in the Blue Earth, Le Sueur and Watonwan River Watersheds.
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.
This project builds partnerships among natural resource professionals, college, middle and high schools to work collaboratively to increase youth exposure to outdoor experiences, environmental issues, and natural resource career paths.
