Ducks Unlimited successfully completed this Phase 4 our land acquisition/restoration program to protect shallow lakes and restore wetlands by purchasing and restoring 1,004 acres of land with drained wetlands and land on shallow lakes as additions to state Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) for the MNDNR throughout southern Minnesota.
The Shell Rock River Watershed District’s Watershed Habitat Restoration Program will restore, enhance, and protect 5393 acres of critical shallow lake, wetland and stream bank habitat benefiting fish, waterfowl and wildlife populations, preserving an outdoor legacy for future generations.
The proposed project area covers roughly one hundred square miles within Sibley County, but also includes a small portion of Nicollet County where Judicial Ditch 1A runs into the south branch of the Rush River. One lake and seven streams are part of the proposed project monitoring sites. Of the seven stream locations, two are part of the High Island Creek Watershed, while the remaining five are part of the Rush River Watershed. The lone lake, Lake Washington, falls within the Bevens Creek Watershed.
This project replaced the waterlines at the Sibley State Park that service the toilet/shower buildings and the drinking water supply in the Oak Ridge camground.
The Wright Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will expand its partnership with its USDA partners; this will be the first time that SWCD staff will conduct compliance spot checks for USDA Highly Erodible Land plans. This activity will add a level of certainty that these plans are in compliance.
This project will reduce phosphorus loading from the watershed tributary to Silver Lake. The project includes a combination of structural water quality improvements in the SLV-10 subwatershed north of the lake, retrofits (including iron enhanced sand filtration) to the Silver Lake bioretention basin, small scale best management practices (BMPs) throughout the watershed, and educational signage in Joy Park. The elements of this project will reduce phosphorus loading to Silver Lake by a combined 15 pounds per year or 40% of the current watershed load.
An effective regulatory program is key to the successful implementation of local land use and water management plans. Yet, county, watershed, and other state, tribal, and local agencies charged with enforcement and permit review often work in silos and infrequently coordinate with each other or share information. This leads to higher enforcement costs, conflicts between agencies, redundancy of inspections, property owner frustration, and reinforces negative stereotypes of regulatory agencies.
The Roseau River Watershed District in partnership with the Roseau County SWCD will complete a study to target and prioritize sites contributing impairments within legal drainage systems. Project partners will utilize data developed by the International Water Institute (IWI) Water Quality Decision Support Application that establishes multivariate scoring of each site based on all relevant features contributing to surface water degradation.
