Recent efforts by Carver County Water Management Organization Staff have centered on removing point sources of bacteria in both Bevens and Carver Creeks. These efforts have shown improvement in water quality; however the creeks are still above the state standard for E. coli. Early results from field surveys have pinpointed areas where livestock have uncontrolled access to streams. Five sites over a twenty mile stretch of Bevens Creek have shown evidence of livestock access to streams and associated damage to streambanks.
To contract with qualified professionals to prepare construction documents for the preservation of the Bigfork Village Hall, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Garlic mustard is a non-native, invasive plant species that is severely threatening native plant communities and degrading wildlife habitat in forest and riparian zones throughout the state. The plant is considered the highest priority species for development of long-term management solutions such as biological control, which involves using natural enemies of a non-native species from its native region to control or reduce the impact of the species in the areas where they are invasive.
This project will focus, on a sub-regional scale, on water quality improvements targeted at concentrated runoff flows generated from upstream, developed portions of the City of Forest Lake. This project will work to modify an existing wetland complex located in publicly owned Bixby Park of Forest Lake to increase water quality treatment potential and storage capacity. The project will also incorporate an innovative iron-enhanced sand filter which will remove dissolved phosphorus, resulting in a 206 pound/year reduction of phosphorous and a 27 tons/year removal of sediment.
With limited funds and limited staff time available for targeting critical service areas and implementing Best Management Practices (BMPs), Geographic Information System (GIS)-based tools that pinpoint locations where BMPs will have the highest effectiveness are increasingly important. The Blue Earth County/SWCD Watershed Implementation Targeting project will utilize LiDAR topographic data to determine areas of high importance for BMP implementation. The county is located in the Blue Earth, LeSueur, Watonwan and Middle Minnesota watersheds where there is a high density of impaired waters.
Vegetated buffer and filter strips along waterways is a practice that addresses many surface water concerns. Establishing permanent vegetation along waterways is an implementation priority in the Blue Earth County Water Management Plan and required by local ordinance and Minnesota Rules. Minnesota Shoreland Rules, Chapter 6120 and the County Shoreland Ordinance contain standards for agricultural uses in shoreland. Agricultural uses are permitted in shoreland areas if steep slopes and shore and bluff impact zones are maintained in permanent vegetation.
Ravine, stream bank and bluff erosion contribute significant amounts of sediment to rivers and streams. The MPCA report, Identifying sediment sources in the Minnesota River Basin, found the Blue Earth and Le Sueur watersheds contribute as such as half of the sediment to the Minnesota River, even though they account for only one-fifth of its drainage area. These watersheds contain the majority of the bluffs in the basin as well as many large
ravines.
This Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) project will develop a TMDL Report and Implementation Plan defining the sources contributing to the impairments and outlining the steps necessary to bring Bluff Creek back to meeting water quality standards.
In 2002 and 2004, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency listed Bluff Creek for turbidity and biological integrity. A Total Maximum Daily Load report and implementation plan were finalized and approved in 2013. This project was identified as a high priority site for culvert restoration and bank repairs.
This project will develop a Final TMDL report and Implementation Plan for the Bluff Creek Watershed. The main outcomes of this project are the development of a Final TMDL Report approved by MPCA and EPA and a Final Implementation Plan approved by MPCA.
This project will develop a watershed approach plan, including impaired waters allocations, for the Mustinka Watershed, located at the headwaters of the Red River of the North, in western Minnesota, lying partly in Grant, Stevens, Ottertail, Big Stone, and Traverse counties. The watershed approach plan will set water quality goals for the watershed, recommend allocations for achieving total maximum daily loads where waters do not meet state standards and are listed as impaired.
A 3-volume boxed set of "Patriots of Brooklyn: Suppressors of the Great Slave Rebellion" was published by the Brooklyn Historical Society. The books document the historic role that 200+ soldiers from Brooklyn Township played in the American Civil War. The books are a valuable reference resource for local residents and historians.
A professional quality book documenting the stories of refugees in Minnesota is now in print. The book, "This Much I Can Tell You", was self-published by the Minnesota Council of Chuches Refugee Service. It is a compilation of eighteen stories told by local refugees, from nine different countries, who have resettled in Minnesota after fleeing their country of origin. The 980 books printed through this project make important refugee histories accessible to a wider Minnesota audience.
THA erected an interpretive marker at the site of the former Carlos Boynton Land Company Ranch to provide public access to the story surrounding the ranch.. Volunteers provided the labor to dig the post hole, install the post and mount the weather-proof marker.
The Crow Wing Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) will engage citizen and nonprofit groups to enhance, improve, and protect Crow Wing County (CWC) lakes and rivers. To do this, the SWCD will partner with the University of Minnesota Extension, MN DNR, CWC, nonprofits, and lake associations to implement a mini grant program and provide grant funds to 20 community groups.
The Briggs Lake Chain Association (BLCA) is one of Sherburne County's most proactive lake associations. This sub-grant will provide for approximately 20-30 stormwater reduction best management practices on strategically targeted parcels previously identified as contributing to degraded water quality through Total Maximum Daily Loads, aerial lakeshore analysis and site-reviews conducted by the BLCA.
Brown's Creek is the namesake of Brown's Creek Watershed District (BCWD) and a designated metro trout stream. But in recent years the stream hasn't been home to as many trout and cold-water insects as we would hope. The creek is too warm and too muddy.
Brown's Creek is one of the few remaining cold water fisheries in the Metropolitan Area; however, it is impaired due to high suspended solids and high water temperatures. To understand the extensive and complex in-stream temperature and local climate data already collected by the Brown's Creek Watershed District, this grant will facilitate the development of a thermal model to determine thermal sources and cost-effective management projects and practices to reduce thermal loading to Brown's Creek.
The ESNDC developed a 39-minute audio/video tour of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, a distinctive natural landscape on the Mississippi River floodplain on St. Paul's East Side. Experts were asked to advise on the project and then narrate a specific tour stop using their expertise to comment on aspects of its ecological history and/or cultural value.
The tour was publicized on the Lower Phalen Creek Project website, on the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary Facebook page and in the local nespaper.
Partner: Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums (MALHM)
MALHM fosters collaborative local history projects, communicates curatorial and educational information and encourages professionalism among local and specialized historical organizations in Minnesota. This partnership provides a means to evaluate MALHM's mission, vision and goals for continued relevancy, to implement a secure means of communication for member history enterprises and to develop a two-day intensive annual training.
The Burandt Lake Stormwater Reuse System (BLSRS) project will install a water reuse system to capture untreated storm water and reduce pollutants entering Burandt Lake. This collaborative project with Carver County, Carver County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), City of Waconia and Independent School District 110 will retain and reuse an estimated 48% of the annual storm water runoff (1.25 million gallons) currently generated from eight acres of adjacent residential neighborhoods.
Two buses, each holding 52 people, were rented to take people to the Minnesota State Capitol and the Minnesota History Center. The plan is to include people from Mahnomen, Frazee, Ulen, Lake Park, Cormorant and Detroit Lakes on this trip. Buses leave at approximately 6:00 am from Detroit Lakes with arrival at the Capitol/History Center scheduled for approximately 10:30 am. One busload will tour the capitol while the other bus tours the History Center. After tour the groups would switch venues - First Capitol group would go to tour the History
This project saw the electrification of campsites in Camden State Park. In all there are 12 new electric sites (20/30/50 amp) and 29 upgraded sites (20/30amp to 20/30/50amp).
The Floyd chain of lakes is of economic significance to the Detroit Lakes region providing great game fishing, boating and other summer and winter recreational opportunities. Decades of nutrient loading into North Floyd from the surrounding Campbell Creek area has led to a decrease in water quality. The same is true for the Buffalo River portion of this project area.
The I Can Camp! program provides people new to the outdoors with a safe and comfortable way to learn the basics of tent camping, through first-hand experience, providing all equipment and instruction, combined with conservation education and hands-on outdoor recreational skills activities. The DNR offered and conducted two, overnight workshops each week from June 4 through the September 4, 2011.
