The overall goal of this project is to perform water quality monitoring and load calculation duties to accomplish Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) monitoring efforts at the seven sites within the Redwood and Cottonwood River watersheds as well as the Minnesota River site near Morton. To accomplish this goal the requested funds will provide for technician’s time, mileage, lab costs, supplies, as well as equipment calibration and upkeep.
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 Redwood River watershed is one of the last remaining watersheds to complete Cycle I of the Watershed Restoration & Protections Strategies (WRAPS) process. The scope of this project upon completion is have two reports developed; a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies report and a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the entire watershed.
The goal of this project is to continue best management implementation according to the Redwood River Phase II Implementation Plan (1999) and install phosphorus and total suspended solids (TSS) reducing conservation practices that will help achieve the Lower Minnesota River dissolved oxygen Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), and the Minnesota River Turbidity TMDL. The proposed implementation of conservation practices include: water and sediment control basins, grassed waterways, grade stabilizations and streambank stabilizations.
In 2017 and 2018, Redwood-Cottonwood Rivers Control Area (RCRCA) will collect water chemistry samples from the 10 lakes and 24 stream sites identified in the Redwood and Cottonwood River watersheds. Six samples will be collected at 10 lakes from May through September in 2017; five samples will be collected at 5 lakes in 2018 from May through September. Eleven samples will be collected at each of the 24 stream sites following the Basic Regime in 2017. Sixteen samples at each stream site will be collected in 2017 and 2018 following the E.coli monitoring regime.
The Redwood and Cottonwood River Watersheds have been assessed and many reaches have been impaired for turbidity, bacteria, and low dissolved oxygen. This project will accelerate conservation efforts to reduce overland runoff sediment, bacteria, and nutrient loadings contributing to water quality impairments in targeted subwatersheds.
The Redwood River and Cottonwood River watersheds encompass approximately 2,020 square miles of southwestern Minnesota in the Minnesota River Basin. Land use in these watersheds is mostly agricultural and area geology makes them prone to erosion. Surface water issues within the two watersheds are a concern of local leaders. The counties and Soil and Water Conservation District leaders formed the Redwood Cottonwood Rivers Control Area (RCRCA) Joint Powers Board in 1983 to address sedimentation, water quality and quantity, and erosion issues.
Partner Organizations: Winona County Historical Society and Theatre du Mississippiona
Winona County Historical Society and Theatre du Mississippi will partner to produce a new interpretive program for the Historic William Bunnell House in 2015. They will conduct research to produce an hour-long script based on the lives of families who lived in the house and the period they lived there. This new program will create a purpose for a house museum which has been languishing.
The Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Wetlands Partnership Phase VI protected and restored 1,391 acres of previously drained wetlands and adjacent grasslands on 15 conservation easements.
To provide a variety of programming at the Winona County Fair that preserves and promotes Minnesota's history and cultural heritage. Art demonstrations will feature painting, watercolor, drawing, oils, spinning, weaving, and quilting. Visitors will be able to view antique tractors and learn about their history and restoration process. Children can watch a marionette show and learn about ventriloquism. The fair will feature a bluegrass band and a dog sledding display.
Minnesota Trout Unlimited, the Minnesota Land Trust, and The Nature Conservancy will combine their expertise within 12 targeted watersheds to increase the resilience of remnant populations of brook trout unique to Southeast Minnesota. We will protect 535 acres and restore/enhance 95 acres of instream and adjacent upland habitats to address stream degradation (floodplains, gullies, slopes, and bluffs), slow runoff, increase infiltration, and keep aquatic habitat productive.
Under the CREP partnership with USDA, 71 easements were recorded on a total of 4,365 acres to restore previously drained wetlands and adjacent uplands. The easements were accomplished with local implementation done by SWCD, NRCS and FSA staff within the 54 county CREP area and leveraged federal funds for both landowner payments and cost share for conservation practice installation.
Under the CREP partnership with USDA, 28 easements were recorded on a total of 2,390 acres to restore previously drained wetlands and adjacent uplands. Two easements are RIM wetland easements that were required to complete wetland restoration work on an adjacent easement secured with 2018 Wetlands funding. The landowners received the RIM-Only payment rate. The easements were accomplished with local implementation done by SWCD, NRCS and FSA staff within the 54 county CREP area and leveraged federal funds for landowner payments and conservation practices.
The Clean Water Fund (CWF) and Outdoor Heritage Fund (OHF) were used together to secure easements on buffer areas. 84 easements have been recorded for a total of 1,441 acres and are reported in the output tables for the final report (acre total does not include Clean Water Fund acres). The total acreage from both CWF and OHF sources for recorded easements is 2,793.2 acres. Only the OHF acres are being reported in this final report to be consistent with the approved accomplishment plan.
Using the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) program, this project addresses the potential loss of grassland habitats from conversion to cropland and accelerates grassland protection efforts not covered by other programs. Working in coordination with 11 established Prairie Conservation Plan Local Technical Teams (LTTs), and local SWCDs this proposal will enroll 936 RIM acres (approximately 12 easements), focusing on Minnesota Prairie Plan identified landscapes.
The Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Wetlands Partnership Phase V protected and restored 2,041 acres of previously drained wetlands and adjacent native grasslands on 23 conservation easements. All easements have been recorded. $35,000 of funds from other sources were also used.
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.
To hire qualified professionals to complete re-roofing and preventative masonry work on the Second National Bank, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The Root (HUC 07040008) and Upper Iowa/Mississippi River – Reno (HUC 07060002 and 07060001) watershed Hydrologic Simulation Program – FORTRAN (HSPF) models currently simulate hydrologic and water quality processes through 2015. In order to support work to update the existing WRAPS report, the two HSPF models will be extended through 2021.
The contractor will use the Scenario Application Manager (SAM) tool to build water quality restoration scenarios for the Root River watershed using the Hydrologic Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) model. The SAM tool simulates total suspended solids (TSS) and nitrogen reductions based on implementation of various best management practices.
This grant will fund about 80 project in six sub-watersheds (Headwaters of the Middle & South Branch, Money Creek, Headwaters of Upper Iowa River, Mill Creek, south Fork Root River, and Carey Creek). Projects to include grassed waterways, water and sediment control basins, grade stabilization structures, livestock waste projects, streambank projects and cover crops. Funding will also support staff time for project development and technical assistance for the cost-share projects.
This grant will fund an expected 44 projects in 4 subwatersheds (South Fork Root River, Crooked Creek, Rush-Pine and portions of the headwaters of the Middle and South Branch Root) and 2 DWSMAS (Chatfield and Utica). Projects include grassed waterways, WASCOBs, grade stabilization structures and cover crops, plus field walkovers, project development, and technical assistance. The anticipated sediment reduction from this work will be 2,285.5 tons, or 2.2% of the 10-year goal for the entire planning area.
The purpose of this project is to assess the amount of land in the Root River watershed that is treated by structural best management practices (BMPs); more specifically, Water and Sediment Control Basins. The 2016 Root River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report recommended reducing sediment loss from upland areas and reducing nitrate loading to streams from runoff. Understanding the location and density of these BMPs will is important for targeting future watershed protection and restoration efforts.
The Nature Conservancy acquired in fee 3 properties that added 143 acres to the RJ Doer Memorial Hardwood Forest. The Minnesota Land Trust protected 3 properties with perpetual easements totaling 526 acres. The Nature Conservancy enhanced 396 acres of high priority habitat (bluff prairie and oak savanna) on existing state forest and Scientific and Natural Area lands, and an additional 35 acres on new fee acquisitions.
TMDL project in the Root River Watershed that will support surface water assessment, analysis of data, interpretation of southeast Minnesota's karst landscape, stressor identification, TMDL computation, source assessment, and implementation planning.
The goal of this project is to complete the construction, calibration, and validation of an Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed model for the Minnesota portions of three watersheds: Root River, Upper Iowa, and Mississippi River-Reno.
