Jackson SWCD will collect water chemistry data at three sites; West Fork Little Sioux River, Little Sioux River, and the Loon Lake Outlet. A full suite of lab and field parameters will be collected May - September in 2011 and 2012 at all three sites.
The St. Paul Historic Preservation Commission hired a qualified consultant to complete the local Historic Preservation Site Designation form for the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company Historic District. After commission review and a public hearing the proposed historic district was recommended for approval to the St. Paul City Council. The City Council adopted the Jacob Schmidt Brewing Company Historic District as a Heritage Preservation Site along with the Preservation Program. The ordinance was adopted in July, 2011.
To conduct a conservation survey of 95 works of Francis Lee Jaques housed at three Minnesota museums.
A conservation survey was conducted for the artworks of Francis Lee Jacques from the Bell Museum, the Jacques Art Center and the St. Louis county Historical Society. Nine out of 95 works out were identified and prioritized based on condition. Each of the nine works received a treatment proposal and an estimate for its conservation needs.
This project acquired 40 acres of land within the Jay Cooke State Park boundary on its western side. The land may serve as western access to hiking trails in the future.
To document perceptions of identity and legacy through 15 oral history interviews with residents of a Jewish long-term care system in the Twin Cities. The project focused on capturing quickly disappearing histories from people who grew up in Minnesota’s immigrant communities or came to Minnesota as Russian immigrants or Holocaust survivors.
The 14,080 acre watershed of JD#30 and JD#18 drains into the Thief River four miles upstream of Thief River Falls. The City of Thief River Falls draws their drinking water from the reservoir the Thief River supplies. This reservoir is filling with sediment faster than anticipated. It was first estimated that the reservoir would require dredging every 50 years. The last dredging was needed in only 35 years at a price tag of $1.1 million. Treatment of the water for drinking is a major expense to the City.
The goal of this project is monitoring, assessment and data collection in six un-assessed streams and three lakes in the Snake River watershed, in addition to the implementation of sixteen approved Best Management Practices (BMP's), ten forest stewardship plan developments, community outreach, education and civic engagement activities.
This project will gather watershed data necessary for the development of a comprehensive watershed management plan with parameter-specific thresholds that will maintain or improve water quality for the Kawishiwi Watershed.
The Kelle's Creek septic system assessment project will examine septic systems throughout the Kelle's Creek watershed to identify those systems that are non-functioning, non-compliant, or an imminent threat to public health and safety. Preliminary prioritization of the septic systems within the watershed will be based on the Washington County GIS database, followed by outreach to landowners to identify willing participants. Ultimately, this project will include inspection of up to 150 septic systems within the Kelle's Creek hydrologic boundary.
Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment raises revenue for Clean Water, Outdoor Heritage, Parks and Trails, and Arts and Cultural Heritage. Libraries are beneficiaries of a portion of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Funding.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
To capture the experiences of several generations of Kittson County war veterans, six individuals with direct combat or combat support experience, were interviewed. The transcriptions of each first-person narrative were printed and are now part of the Kittson County Historical Society permanent archives. Supplemental materials including photographs and additional information were used to highlight each story and to bring the reader deeper into the stories. A presentation notebook was created and a copy presented to each interviewee.
In order to update a control system that had surpassed its life-expectancy and to maintain a proper museum environment, the SCHS upgraded the HVAC system control software and front end computer. They were replaced with a new KMC LAN controller and Total Control software. The new system provides improved emvironmental control and energy conservation.
To initiate research at five adjacent archaeological sites in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which will inform an eventual National Register of Historic Places nomination.
The goal of PH II-Knife River Habitat Rehabilitation project was to improve instream habitat, stabilize slumping streambanks and restore the immediate riparian zone.
Instream habitat and streambank stabilization was achieved by rehabilitating a 2200-foot stretch of stream utilizing Natural Channel Design methodology. This project reduced turbidity by stabilizing four slumping streambanks and creating instream habitat in two areas for adult trout spawning and two areas for 1+ juvenile rearing. Riparian plantings also occurred in this area.
Project between Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and United States Army Corp of Engineers at Knowlton Creek Watershed to address a large amount of sediment deposited into the St. Louis River Area of Concern (AOC).
Lac qui Parle-Yellow Bank Watershed District will collect water chemistry samples from the three lakes and twenty-nine stream sites in the Lac qui Parle and Minnesota Headwaters watersheds following the MPCA’s Intensive Watershed Monitoring (IWM) plan for lakes and streams. Eleven samples will be collected at each lake from May through September during 2015 and 2016. Eleven samples will be collected at each of the twenty-nine stream sites in 2015. In addition, sixteen samples at each stream site will be collected in 2015 and 2016 following the E.
Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment raises revenue for Clean Water, Outdoor Heritage, Parks and Trails, and Arts and Cultural Heritage. Libraries are beneficiaries of a portion of the Arts and Cultural Heritage Funding.
This project will complete data collection on 11 lakes over a 2 year period in the Pomme de Terre Watershed. The data collected will be be used in the Major Watershed Project proposed for this watershed.
A traveling exhibit was developed to display museum-quality copies of fragile artifacts recovered from the archaeological site: Roosevelt Shores 21-CW-173. The exhibit tells the story of 2000 years (up through the late 1800's) of American history at the site.
In the second phase of an oral history project, Life in Lake Sarah, four additional residents were interviewed and recorded. The recordings were transcribed along with two earlier interviews. The six recordings were compiled in booklet form and added to the permanent collection of the Murray County Historical Society.
The Lake Superior Beach Monitoring and Notification Program exists to test recreational beach water and notify the public if bacteria levels become unsafe. This project will expand the Beach Program to include additional outreach efforts, sanitary surveys and testing of new technologies to improve the Beach Program. Monitoring results will be used to inform the public, find the sources of bacterial contamination and address polluted runoff from improper waste disposal.
Improved levels of civic engagement and community participation in support for the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) processes in the St. Louis River, Lake Superior South, and Cloquet River Watersheds. Monitoring plans and compiled field data will be provided and summarized that will aid in the future completion of Total Maximum Daily Load Reports (TMDLs) in these watersheds and in the Lake Superior North Watershed.
This project will determine pre- and post-settlement nutrient trends from sediment chronology, fossil diatom assemblages, and from sediment profiles representing human history in the region (i.e., at least 150 years). Project activities include sample collection; sample preparation; diatom analysis; database creation and management; and data interpretation. Sample cores will be taken on the Lake of the Woods in five major bays (i.e., Four-mile, Muskeg, Sabaskong, Little Traverse, and Big Traverse) in the southern basin.
Prepare Lake Vermilion State Park for development and public use by completing a master plan and providing immediate day-use opportunities. This program area describing development accomplishments on Lake Vermillion State Park is now being reported as part of "New State Park and State Recreation Area Development," searchable on this site.
Minnesota’s 12 regional public library systems, which encompass 350 public libraries in all areas of the state, benefit from a portion of the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Through State Library Services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, each regional public library system receives a formula-driven allocation from the annual $3 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant.
To hire qualified consultants to evaluate submerged cultural resources in Lake Minnetonka for possible inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
Faribault County Soil and Water Conservation District will develop two watershed plans using charettes, an intensive planning process used to engage citizens, conservation agencies, and others to collaborate on a vision for the development of a drainage watershed scale plan. The process allows landowners, producers, businesses, townships, cities and the county to partake in a comprehensive plan directly relating back to concerns and solutions related to surface water and nonpoint source pollution.
When completed, this Lake County-wide culvert inventory project will have multiple direct benefits to water quality protection, natural resource planning, and municipal asset protection. This inventory will be used to provide local and state authorities accurate information on the condition of road crossings, better calibrate hydrological modeling tools crucial to the inter-agency Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) process, and assess how road crossings in Lake County are affecting the water and sediment transport capacity of our waterways.
The goal of the Lake Volney Targeted Restoration project is to improve the water quality draining to Lake Volney, which is impaired for excess nutrients. The project contains eight priority areas and will install a variety of Best Management Practices, including stormwater basins, ag retention, wetland enhancement, and more.
The sixth largest fresh water lake in the United States, Lake of the Woods has sustained significant shoreline erosion through a number of high water events, high inflows from the Rainy River, sustained strong NW winds, and erodible soils on the southern shore. This project implements strategies to protect and enhance private shoreline on the lake by addressing long-term shoreline management.