All Projects

Sixteen more portraits of Minnesota governors will be cleaned and protected with the addition of high-quality, non-glare/UV filtering plexiglass. The portraits of Minnesota’s governors grace the halls of the Minnesota State Capitol and provide an important legacy of the state’s past and present leaders.

State law (M.L. 2011, First Special Session, Ch. 6) directs restoration evaluations to be conducted on habitat restoration projects completed with funds from the Parks and Trails Fund (M.S. 85.53). The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is responsible for convening a Restoration Evaluation Panel containing at least five technical experts who will evaluate a sample of up to 10 habitat restoration projects annually. The Panel will evaluate the restorations relative to the law, current science, stated goals and standards in the restoration plans, and applicable guidelines.

In the North Fork Crow River Watershed, land use is mainly row crop agriculture with an extensive drainage system. Many of the existing tile lines have open intakes that transport sediment and nutrients to open ditches that drain to the North Fork Crow River. The river flows into Rice Lake which has elevated phosphorus levels. Studies show a major source of phosphorus loading comes from animal manure. Field applied manure has potential to runoff to open tile intakes being a direct path to surface water.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The SRRWD has successfully acquired fee title to 257 acres of land that encompasses the headwaters of the Shell Rock River located at the Albert Lea Lake outlet. This 257 acre parcel will now be a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Management Area (AMA) guided by an Aquatic Management Plan.

This program annually evaluates a sample of up to ten Outdoor Heritage Fund habitat restoration projects, provides a report on the evaluations in accordance with state law and delivers communications on project outcomes and lessons learned in restoration practice.

To engage children in various activities by providing marionette shows to teach the history of marionettes, and a spelling bee.

The purpose of this project is to increase awareness of environmental stewardship practices by providing six subgrants to local community partners. This program aims to engage the public, provide education on conservation practices and install up to eight conservation practices. This includes rain gardens, vegetative buffers and wetland restorations. Each subgrant will reduce the movement of sediment, nutrients and pollutants, retain water on the land and increase environmental awareness to the residents of Rice County.

This project will complete the final Implementation Plan, semi-annual and final reports and hold project meetings. The Implementation Plan will identify target areas and priorities for implementation strategies to improve water quality for Bluff Creek. This project will build the groundwork so Bluff Creek will meet water quality standards for aquatic life in the future.

Nitrogen is a serious problem in Minnesota's Mississippi River Basin and the Dodge Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) plans to address this problem through the instillation of six nitrogen reducing agricultural best management practices in the Dodge/Steele Joint County Ditch No. 11 system, also known as the Ripley Ditch system. Agriculture drainage, through the use of agricultural tile drainage systems, has been identified as the number one leading source of nitrogen in the Mississippi River Basin.

This work will determine the feasibility of alternatives to monitor roadside swales.

Acquire 20 acres that would provide an essential corridor between the original park and the recent expansion.

To compile a comprehensive baseline inventory that can be integrated in planning.

Develop parking area, rest room, bridge, observation deck, open play field, trails and horseback riding facilities.

to acquire 3 miles of the Rocori Trail, connecting the cities of Richmond and Cold Spring, and eventually connecting to the Glacial Lakes State Trail

The Root River Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) project will continue existing efforts to calculate seasonal pollutant loads for the Root River. The Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will assist the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) with water quality monitoring and pollutant load calculations for five subwatershed sites. Samples will be collected using procedures described in the WPLMN standard operating procedures.

To produce the documents necessary to nominate and register the historic St. Rose of Lima Church to the National Register of Historic Places.

To create an area dedicated to arts, cultural heritage, and MN history exhibits at the Roseau County Fair. The display will rotate annually; for 2012, the Roseau County Historical Society will display pictures and video of the 2002 flood in Roseau County, and displays of old washing machines and saws used by the logging industry.

The goal of this project is to develop a Roseau Lake Water Quality Improvement Report that will include a prioritized, targeted, and measurable implementation plan that will improve water quality in the Roseau Lake watershed. The project will result in development of site specific implementation actions through use of the Prioritize, Targeting, and Measuring Application (PTMApp) and the Drained Wetland Basin Inventory terrain analysis methods.

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.