Replace worn and inaccessible picnic tables in state parks and state recreation areas. To date, picnic table purchases have been completed for 39 (51%) of all state park and recreations areas.
MNHS continued to support opportunities to help students, teachers and the public learn about Minnesota and the Civil War. Funding provided ongoing support and coordination. Production of 10 short films focused on this era yielded two documentaries repeatedly aired by Twin Cities Public Television. Topics included Dred Scott and Harriet Scott, Governor Ramsey and Minnesota's entry into the war, the Battles of Antietam, Nashville and Gettysburg, women warriors, perils and prison camps and the election of 1864, among others. Teachers were made aware of these resources via statewide workshops.
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.
The Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District's (SWCD) Stump and Sagatagan Lakes Subwatershed Stormwater Treatment Projects will retrofit sub-catchment drainage areas on St. John's University (SJU) campus that drain untreated stormwater runoff directly into Stump and Sagatagan Lakes. This area of the region has been identified as ecologically significant by the Nature Conservancy's Eco-Regional Plan and the MN DNR's County Biological Survey.
The project will develop, adopt, and implement an agricultural erosion control ordinance for Steele County. Project funds will be used to hire a consultant to assist in this endeavor to gather input from citizens, organize meetings and develop a draft ordinance. County staff will assist with organizing meetings, holding hearings, and the formal process of adopting the developed ordinance.
In FYs 14 and 15, MNHS staff reviewed thousands of Native American items and records resulting in the identification of nearly 500 objects as culturally sensitive. This material will require a higher standard of research, care and preservation. In addition, MNHS staff visited elders and professional staff at two tribal communities in the state explicitly to discuss culturally sensitive material. In FY 15, MNHS received a formal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act claim to repatriate approximately 36 items.
The Stewart River is a state protected water and a Designated Trout Stream. In 2010, it was identified as a high priority watershed during the update of the Lake County Water Management Plan. The river empties into Lake Superior near the drinking water intake for the City of Two Harbors.
This project will restore five severely eroding streambank sites along a 1.5 mile reach of the Stewart River. Commitments have been secured from the five property owners, including the Lake County Highway Department, to complete the project.
To hire a qualified historian to write an evaluation to determine eligibility for listing the Stickney Building in the National Register of Historic Places.
This project will continues the successful 2010 Stormwater Retrofit Partnership. This resulted in the retrofit of 18 sites including eleven bioretention cells and seven snowmelt management areas. These retrofits provided treatment for 28 acres of urban drainage area - reducing total suspended solids, total phosphorus and stormwater volumes.
Bald Eagle Lake is a popular recreational lake known for its fishery on the Metropolitan Council's Priority Lakes List. The lake is negatively impacted by excess nutrients and restoring its water quality is a local priority.
This project will collect stormwater runoff from an approximately 900 acre area and re-use it to irrigate an existing golf course. This innovative project will provide a multitude of environmental benefits for Bald Eagle Lake including significant runoff volume reduction, groundwater recharge and phosphorus load reduction.
This project is located in an area in the City of Isanti that developed before modern-day stormwater treatment requirements. It will result in the installation of a new stormwater pond in a historic core neighborhood. The urbanized drainage area presently has no other stormwater treatment, except for street sweeping. The new stormwater pond will reduce discharges from a 55 acre site draining to the State Scenic and Recreational Rum River by 12 pounds/yr for phosphorus and approximately 3 tons/yr of sediment.
To repoint masonry and restore first floor façade and architectural details on the Stranger's Refuge Lodge #74 IOOF, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, to be reused as the public library.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) each collect similar information on streams in Minnesota such as water quality, fish species presence, or the quality of fish habitat. For example, the DNR might sample stream fish to assess whether the agency’s management activities such as fishing regulations or stocking are creating good angling opportunities for the public, while MPCA might sample fish to assess whether a stream meets regulatory standards for a healthy fish community.
This project will generate water quality data for 10 stream locations MPCA designated for their 2012 and 2013 open-water sampling seasons (8 by NRRI-UMD and 2 via subcontract to the North St. Louis SWCD). The overall project goal is to collect event-based physical and chemical data sets for 10 agency-prioritized stream sampling sites in NE Minnesota for calculating pollutant loads and for incorporation into the overall State database for MPCA assessment purposes.
Stream flow information is essential for understanding the state of Minnesota's waters. Clean water funding has allowed the DNR to expand a network of stream gages that support planning and implementation for clean water protection and restoration. These gages are also used as part of the interagency Flood Forecasting/Warning System. This expanded stream gaging network has also significantly increased the real time data available to recreational water enthusiasts via the internet.
To improve the lighting in the arts area that features textiles, photography, culinary, gardening and hobbies exhibits, and the antique automobiles display area. Funds will also be used to hire a strolling performer during the fair.
In the design phase, this new 5,000-square-foot exhibition will focus on the history of the explosive growth of the Twin Cities suburbs, particularly in the years after WW II, and the aspirations driving the suburban dream. This exhibit will open October 10, 2015, and run through March 20, 2016.
Pell Creek is a tributary to the Cottonwood River, one of the thirteen major watersheds in the Minnesota River Basin and the largest watershed in Redwood County. The dominant land use is agricultural, chiefly row-crops with some livestock production. The vast majority of the wetlands have been drained through a highly intricate and efficient system of tiling and ditching.
To host a children's show about life on the farm through songs and stories, and offer a presentation about, and create a display area of, antique horse drawn machinery used by farmers from the Le Sueur County area.
The Le Sueur Watershed Technician will provide highly focused targeting of conservation programs and practices in this key watershed. The technician will enhance current staff capabilities in the Le Sueur watershed by collecting landowner contact information, producing landowner mailings about funding opportunities, and meeting one-on-one with landowners to discuss conservation concerns they may have. This has been a highly successful method for targeting projects, project identification, landowner contact, and project follow through.
