Wakefield Lake is in the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District (RWMWD) and is impaired for excess phosphorus. Through the Wakefield Lake TMDL process, implementation activities have been identified which include partnerships with the City of Maplewood to install BMPs in the watershed to directly benefit Wakefield Lake. RWMWD has researched, monitored and field tested the use of spent lime for stormwater quality treatment.
Spring Park watershed is over 225 acres. Most of the watershed has been fully developed into a variety of residential, commercial, and institutional land uses. Project funds would be utilized to conduct a watershed analysis with the goal of identifying pollutant load sources and potential areas for structural stormwater BMPs for future retro-fit projects to reduce instances of localized flooding, reduce peak storm flows, and improve the quality of stormwater runoff discharging into Crocker's Creek.
Continue Recreation and Volunteer Specialist position initiated in 2014 to develop and implement recreation and volunteer programs. Engage 3,000 park visitors through 90 programs provided in the County Regional Parks in outreach programming. Legacy funds will leverage $42,000 in County General funds.
Continue full time position of Recreation and Volunteer Specialist. The position entails focused work in recreation programming, special events, volunteer recruitment and programming. Specifically, the position develops, implements, instructs, markets recreation and volunteer programs. Additionally, the position contributes to the overall planning, evaluation, and promotion of recreation and volunteer services for the Parks Department.
Continue to support a volunteer corps for the Tamarack Nature Center and Discovery Hollow and Garden Area. Volunteers assist with programs, assist with animal care, assist with natural resource preservation and restoration, and assist with special events and projects. Recruit, train, recognize, and manage volunteers.
This project will protect and enhance high priority habitat in fee for the Richard J. Dorer Memorial Forest in southeast Minnesota. This will include enhancing mixed deciduous forest lands through silvicultural practices and control of invasive species. The project will also provide additional opportunities for hunting in an area of the state where public hunting opportunities are limited. All projects will be done in accordance with the state forest land asset plans, RJ Dorer State Forest Plan and the SE MN Driftless Project Map.
MNHS and the Minnesota State Fair Foundation are increasing awareness and knowledge of Minnesota history by providing quality programming for visitors to the Great Minnesota Get-Together. In 2015, the partners added new visual and written content for the Minnesota State Fair History Walking Tour brochure. Audio and visual content was available with the smartphone tour component, and staff presented audio/visual content via social media throughout the fair. Some 40,000 brochures were distributed throughout the fairgrounds during the run of the fair.
The Historic Recognition Grant program will preserve, recognize, and promote the historic legacy of Minnesota, with a focus on commemoration of Minnesota's role in the American Civil War via media, materials, and public programs to underscore the Civil War-era origins of the state capitol to complement the visitor experience once the building reopens for public tours in 2017 is the second of three projects being administered by MNHS in cooperation with the state's Civil War Commemoration Task Force are in development
This agreement is for Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) to provide statewide conservation reporting system support services in order to support Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) programs. Support services will be aimed at both MPCA staff and local government recipients of grants.
The Statewide Sediment Network was established to measure the levels of suspended sediment concentrations and particle size distributions at eight sites across Minnesota to evaluate the amount of sediment carried by rivers. USGS sample collection and laboratory analysis techniques provide a more rigorous, robust, and technically accurate measure of sediment in water than the current use of total suspended solids as the measure of sediment in water.
Each fiscal year of ACHF funding, a majority of the participating regional library systems agree to allocate 10% of their ACHF funding to support statewide partnership projects. SELCO serves as the fiscal agent for statewide projects.
The Statewide Survey of Historical and Archaeological Sites focuses on tangible aspects of Minnesota's cultural heritage including historic places, archaeological sites, places with spiritual and traditional importance, and cultural landscapes. The survey focuses on the identification and evaluation of these places in order to improve their management and enhance their interpretation.
Nitrate-nitrogen (nitrate) is one of the contaminants of greatest concern for groundwater in Minnesota. This funding is being used for activities that help identify the severity and magnitude of nitrate contamination and implement practices at the local level to reduce nitrate in groundwater. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is working with many local partners and passing funding through to local government units (counties, cities, soil and water conservation districts) to address this concern.
The MDA's technical assistance helps ensure that current and accurate scientific information is made available and used to address water quality concerns in agricultural areas of Minnesota. This funding has been used to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation practices, share information from research and demonstration sites and enhance outreach and education to the agricultural community and local government partners.
Stearns County Ditch 26 (CD 26) is a 20 mile channelized section of Getchell Creek, a primary tributary to the Sauk River that is impaired for turbidity, E.coli and aquatic macroinvertebrate bio-assessment. The Stearns County Ditch 26 Drainage Management Project will address the stormwater runoff concerns identified within this public drainage system. Alternative intake structures to manage nutrients and mitigative measures will be taken to retain water on the upland properties and minimize flow rate and velocity.