We will deploy acoustic detectors and revisit roost trees identified in our previous ENRTF project to measure effect of seven years of white-nose syndrome on Minnesota bats.
This project seeks to provide data on insecticide contamination in the soil and the insect community across the state and the effect of sublethal insecticide exposure on insect reproduction.
To support teachers in addressing new science standards , we propose a series of workshops across Minnesota facilitating conversation about sustainability and water conservation, specifically integrating western science and Indigenous perspectives.
This project will allow monitoring to take place on nine stream sites and characterize their water quality and determine their impaired status for biological and chemical parameters. The physical and chemical measurements will include dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, conductivity, transparency, total phosphorus, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, total suspended solids, total volatile solids, nitrite-nitrate nitrogen, chloride, sulfate, hardness and e-coli.
The Zumbro River Watershed is a major watershed in the Lower Mississippi River basin in SE Minnesota. It includes parts of six counties, covering 910,291 acres. This project will assess all 13 stream reaches in the Zumbro River Watershed to determine if they are meeting their designated uses. The monitoring will entail collecting water chemistry and field parameters.
The soil and water conservation districts within the watersheds for the Redwood and Cottonwood Rivers have been putting conservation practices on the ground for years in a long-running collaborative effort.
Funny Asian Women Kollective (FAWK) uses comedy to combat the dehumanization of Asian women. This project includes: 1) a tour performing throughout the state, particularly to rural communities with large Asian American populations; 2) provide workshop opportunities to equip communities with the tools to create their own comedic material; 3) produce two super shows in Minneapolis and Saint Paul (700+ audience); 4) allow digital production of five short films and distribution.
The Upper Sioux Community secured the services of a qualified consultant to assist in completing an application for certification as a Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO) for the National Park Service. Public input meetings were conducted as part of the preparation for the application. Having THPO status will support one of the leading Dakota communities' efforts to secure and document their history.
The society purchased 40 double-sided display racks and rack stands for a two-part exhibit. The first part of the exhibit, writing and displaying township histories has been completed. The second part, writing and displaying biographies of early settlers to each township using the 1900 census and plat maps, was only partially completed.
The Southwest Prairie Technical Service Area 5 (SWPTSA), located in the southwest corner of Minnesota, encompasses 11 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs): Cottonwood, Jackson, Lac Qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, and Yellow Medicine. This project will protect natural resources within the three major river basins of Minnesota, Missouri and Des Moines Rivers. The SWPTSA will assist member SWCDs in locating and identifying priority subwatersheds that have soil erosion and water quality issues using terrain analysis.
Turnaround Arts: Minnesota supports low performing schools in using the arts as a tool for improvement. Participating schools have demonstrated increased academic achievement, increased student and family engagement, and improved school culture and climate. At the national level Turnaround Arts is a signature program of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Turnaround Arts: Minnesota is run by Perpich Center for Arts Education and works with schools pre-K through 8th grade.
Turtle Island Skywatchers - Innovative Research and Data Visualization project works to protect Minnesota water, wildlife, and natural resources while empowering Indigenous youth as leaders and all citizens as researchers.
We will reconstruct historical lake conditions to identify factors linked to successful walleye fisheries and guide effective management in the face of warming temperatures, invasive species, and nutrient loading.
Minnesotans increasingly value native fishes. For example, >95% of bowfished species in MN are native, yet all are poorly understood. Foundational natural resource data is absolutely necessary for all stakeholders.
Our goals are to engage 100,000 underserved youth statewide in environmental education, engaging them in the conservation and preservation of Minnesota wilderness through the experiences in the outdoors.
Project goal is to develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) that will protect and improve water quality for the Minnesota portion of the Mississippi River–Reno and Upper Iowa River watersheds. This information paired with other tools (e.g. Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) models and best management practice spreadsheets) and will support restoration and protection strategy development and prioritization efforts in the 1W1P area.
1. Make Dakota Language revitalization the highest priority 2. Implement all strategies to revive the Dakota language 3. Take necessary steps to raise up a new generation of speakers
This project will restore a sub-watershed by implementing a treatment train of practices. There are 275 acres in this sub-watershed, located directly upstream of the Upper Iowa River. The topography lends itself to flashy stormwater events which leave their mark on the upland gully erosion and severely degraded streambank. The watershed operates as a funnel, bringing the high velocity water to a concentrated area and shooting it through the banks, rather than over. This has lead to a site which is void of vegetation and six streambank blowouts within a 300 foot area of streambank.
1. A completion of a Dakota Language Survey of adult Upper Sioux Community members 2. The development of a Dakota Language Game Application 3. The development and implementation of Dakota Language Lesson Plans for three age groups for both in-person classes and on-line classes (adult, youth, and preschool) 4. The development of an online Dakota Language teaching tool of basic terms and usage that will be art of an existing website project being created by the Upper Sioux Community Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO).
1. A completion of a Dakota Language Survey of adult Upper Sioux Community members 2. The development of a Dakota Language Game Application 3. The development and implementation of Dakota Language Lesson Plans for three age groups for both in-person classes and online classes (adult, youth, and preschool) 4. The development of an online Dakota language teaching tool of basic terms and usage that will be part of an existing website project being created by the Upper Sioux Community Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO)
The three (3) long-range goals of the Upper Sioux Community regarding the preservation and continuation of the Dakota language and culture are directly tied to the Mission Statement adopted in 1996 and delineated in the 2008 Dakota Language Revitalization Tribal Resolution that promises to: 1) Make Dakota Language revitalization the highest priority 2) Implement all strategies to revive the Dakota language; and 3) take necessary steps to raise up a new generation of speakers.
The 2,165 acres of the Upper Sioux Indian Community are impacted by invasive species and are heavily infested with invasive buckthorn. The Tribe is requesting funds to restore and enhance 144 acres of oak savanna, floodplain forest, forested bluff lands, and granite outcroppings on tribal lands. Activities include buckthorn removal and installation and enhancement of native and culturally significant plants.
The three (3) long-range goals of the Upper Sioux Community regarding the preservation and continuation of the Dakota langauge and culture are directly tied to the Mission Statement adopted in 1996 and delineated in the 2008 Dakota Language Revitalization Tribal Resoulution that promises to: "1) [m]ake Dakota Language revitalization the highest priority 2)... implement all strategies to revive the Dakota language; and 3)... take necessary steps to raise up a new generation of speakers."
Use mobile AI-assisted technologies to survey lake visitors. Assess perceptions of water quality and perceived threats. Combine survey data with water quality data and trend monitoring to inform lake management.
Minnesota Sea Grant seeks to create a science-policy fellowship program to train Minnesota's science-policy workforce and advance Minnesota's water resource policy, emulating Sea Grants successful federal-level fellowship program.
We propose robotics-based educational activities for middle-school youth on water quality in Minnesota. Youth will gain skills for measuring water quality and communicating results through group study and hands-on projects.
Tetra Tech will work to support the science needed when planning in Minnesota for water storage practice implementation. The goal is to provide practical water storage recommendations that can be incorporated into smaller scale planning within major watersheds (HUC 8), as well as larger scale planning for the Sediment Reduction Strategy for the Minnesota River and South Metro Mississippi River.
This project will educate and assist landowners to seal unused wells by providing cost-share funds of 50% up to $1,000 per well located in highly vulnerable groundwater areas in 10 southeast Minnesota counties. Groundwater is the primary source of drinking water and due to the karst geology in SE MN groundwater is more vulnerable to contamination.
The Yellow Medicine One Watershed One Plan has identified Protecting and Preserving Groundwater Quality and Quantity as one of the three priorities addressed in the Plan. Seven priority sub-watersheds have been identified as priority areas, as well as two townships that have been identified by the Department of Agriculture to have vulnerable groundwater areas. Our goal is to provide 50% cost share to seal 34 abandoned wells that are located in these priority areas.
To offer a new exhibit in the fair’s conservation building on 4-H and paint a mural related to the new exhibit. The Yellow Medicine County Fair has purchased display cases for their new 4-H exhibit. The exhibit consists of 4-H items from the past and present and the mural provides a history of county fairs.
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 will monitor four lakes and 18 stream sites within the Yellow Medicine River Watershed to collect surface water quality data to determine the health of the watershed's streams and lakes and if they are in need of restoration or protection strategies. The sites will be monitored according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) Water Monitoring Standard Operating Procedures.
The Yellow Medicine River Watershed District will contract with the Water Resource Center at the Minnesota State University - Mankato to complete a Geographic Information System (GIS) terrain analysis for the watershed using recently completed LIDAR data in southern Minnesota. Analysis will concentrate on the impaired reaches of the Yellow Medicine River Watershed and its tributaries. This inventory will utilize the State of Minnesota LiDAR elevation datasets to create many datasets through the analysis of this elevation data.
