The goal of the project is the 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.
This project will monitor six sites within the Minnesota River Basin: Hawk Creek near Maynard, Hawk Creek near Granite Falls, Beaver Creek near Beaver Falls, Yellow Medicine River near Granite Falls, Yellow Medicine River near Hanley Falls, and Spring Creek near Hanley Falls. The sites will be monitored according to MPCA’s Major Watershed Load Monitoring (WPLMN) Standard Operating Procedure, which is the procedure being followed for sites currently monitored by the Hawk Creek Watershed Project (HCWP).
To provide professional development for two staff members at the national American Association for State and Local History Conference in St. Paul, September 17-20, 2014.
These funds are being used to systematically collect data and produce statistically valid estimates of the rate of soil erosion and tracking the adoption of high residue cropping systems in in the 67 counties with greater than 30% land in agricultural row crop production. Designed to establish a long term program in Minnesota to collect data and produce county, watershed, and state wide estimates of soil erosion caused by water and wind along with tracking adoption of conservation measures to address erosion.
These funds are being used to systematically collect data and produce statistically valid estimates of the rate of soil erosion and tracking the adoption of high residue cropping systems in counties with greater than 30% land in agricultural row crop production. Designed to establish a long term program in Minnesota to collect data and produce county, watershed, and state wide estimates of soil erosion caused by water and wind along with tracking adoption of conservation measures to address erosion.
The purpose of the Watershed Based Funding is to address priority concern 1, mitigate altered hydrology and minimize flooding and priority concern 2, minimize the transport of sediment, excess nutrients, and bacteria. The goal for the 2018/2019 is to reduce 300 tons of sediment per year, increase storage by 100 acre-feet per year, reduce nitrogen by 16,000 pounds per year and to reduce phosphorus by 800 pounds per year. Grant funds will also be used for technical staffing in order to have the capabilities of implementing the priority BMPs in the seven priority sub-watersheds.
Provides grants to Soil and Water Conservation Districts that focuses on increasing capacity to address four resource concern areas?Soil Erosion, Riparian Zone Management, Water Storage and Treatment, and Excess Nutrients.
Provide contract management to ENRTF pass-through appropriation recipients for approximately 115 open grants. Ensure funds are expended in compliance with appropriation law, state statute, grants policies, and approved work plans.
This proposal accelerates the strategic permanent protection of 1,003 acres (241 wetlands and 762 grasslands) of Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) open to public hunting in Minnesota. Pheasants Forever (PF) will strategically acquire parcels that are adjacent to existing public land or create corridors between complexes. All acquisitions will occur in the prairie, prairie/forest transition, or metro regions.
This proposal will accomplish shallow lake and wetland enhancement and restoration work throughout Minnesota, with a focus on the prairie region. Over 4,000 acres of wetland habitat will be impacted. The proposal is comprised of two components - (1) projects to engineer, construct and/or implement shallow lake and wetland enhancement activities, including cattail control, and (2) an expansion of the Wetland Management Program to increase its capacity to identify and implement needed management work for small wetlands in the prairie region.
The Minnesota Land Trust proposes to permanently protect 550 acres of high quality habitat in southwest Minnesota by securing conservation easements within scientifically prioritized habitat complexes by filling key unmet gaps in the available land protection toolbox. Working with willing landowners the Land Trust will use its innovative bid model to maximize conservation benefit and financial leverage in project selection.
This Phase 2 partnership will accelerate USFWS wildlife habitat easements to restore and protect 775 acres of private grasslands and pothole wetlands in west-central Minnesota, and restore 50 additional prairie-wetland acres too. These "working land" conservation easements allow delayed haying and grazing while protecting restored wetlands and prairie grasslands for nesting ducks, pheasants, and other wildlife.
The program was to accelerate the protection of 1,230 acres of prairie grassland, wetland, and other wildlife habitat as Waterfowl Production Areas open to public hunting in Minnesota. Over the course of the appropriation, we acquired 14 parcels for a total of 1,240.79 acres which exceeded our total acre goal of 1,230 acres by 10.79 acres. Breaking down acres by ecological section we acquired 160 acres in the forest/prairie and 1,080.79 acres in the prairie. We have a balance that will be returned to the Fund despite exceeding our acre goals.
Many of Minnesota's wetlands have been lost and the remainder degraded. The original proposal planned for 15,000 acres of wetland/shallow lake enhancement to provide critical habitat for each life stage of waterfowl and wetland wildlife. The six projects subsequently completed with this appropriation enhanced 13,800 acres of wetlands and shallow lakes in the Prarie and Forest/Prairie Ecosections of Minnestoa.
This program will complete the initial WMA site development on 1,500 acres of land acquired in the Accelerated Prairie Grassland WMA and Accelerated Wetland WMA Acquisition programs to meet standards for inclusion in the Outdoor Recreation System. This program will also accelerate the restoration, enhancement and management of at least 5,180 acres of native prairie vegetation on existing public lands.
This program will accelerate the improvement and protection of shallow lakes and large wetland habitat critical to migratory waterfowl and other wildlife in Minnesota by improving water quality and rejuvenating aquatic ecology in turbid shallow lake basins. DU will enhance eight (8) or more strategically-selected shallow lakes that have been legally designated by for wildlife management purposes by Minnesota DNR that total 6,000 wetland acres by engineering and implementing construction of water control structures, pumps, and fish barriers on their outlets.
This program will acquire and develop approximately 730, acres of new Wildlife Management Area (WMA) lands. New WMA acquisition acre targets by LSOHC Sections will be consistent with the recommendations of The Citizens Advisory Committee report of 2002? Wildlife Management Area Acquisition The Next 50 Years. Additionally, this program will protect 275 acres of native prairie as state Scientific & Natural Areas (SNAs) and perpetual Native Prairie Bank (NPB) easements.
