Promising new carp deterrent system is tested in the Mississippi River along with an existing deterrent and predators; 99% blockage is suggested and Fish and Wildlife Service is a partner.
This on-going program is for detecting, mapping and controlling invasive plant species and re-establishing native vegetation in their place on lands administered by the Division of Parks and Trails. Control of invasive plant species furthers progress to preserve and restore the quality of native plant communities on Parks and Trails lands as well as helps prevent the spread of invasives to new locations.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has been monitoring for contaminants of emerging concern in Minnesota's surface water since 2007. These contaminants include a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and other chemicals that can harm fish and wildlife and human health. One group of these chemicals, disinfection by-products, are formed when water is treated with chlorine. Some of these chemicals are cancer-causing and highly toxic.
Funding supports an Irrigation Specialist to develop guidance and provide education on irrigation and nitrogenbest management practices (BMPs). In this position, Dr. Vasu Sharma provides direct support to irrigators onissues of irrigation scheduling and soil water monitoring. She is collaborating on the development of new irrigationscheduling tools that help irrigators manage water and nitrogen resources more precisely. These tools help reducenitrogen leaching losses in irrigated cropping systems.
In summer 2020 Isuroon will be piloting a new program, designed by and for young Somali people. The focus is on creating a space for Somali youth to discuss the realities of being a first- or second-generation immigrant with the compounding factors of their racial, linguistic, ethnic and religious identities. This space will provide resources on how to both heal and lead in and through the arts and nature.
This contract is for Itasca County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to assist in the public participation activities in Rainy Basin Watersheds of Little Fork and Big Fork.
The project involves installation of a number of stormwater best management practices in the road right-of-way and on adjacent public property during reconstruction of Johnny Cake Ridge Road and installation of the Dakota County North Creek Greenway. Practices implemented will include boulevard raingardens, tree trenches, and underground sediment collection practices.
Ka Joog and Afro American Development Association (AADA) will partner to create a platform for Somali American youth to learn traditional Somali artistic mediums and present their learning through public presentations that will ignite community conversations. Art clubs and public forums will be implemented in Hennepin, Ramsey, and Clay counties and will promote inter-generational dialogue on taboo topics within the Somali American and cross-cultural acceptance with non-Somali audiences.
Otter Tail County will partner with the Buffalo-Red River Watershed District and the West Otter Tail and Wilkin SWCDs to stabilize the outlet of Judicial Ditch No. 2 which has become the most critically eroding gully contributing sediment to the Otter Tail River. When stabilized, sediment to the river will be reduced by 988 tons per year, and total phosphorus will be reduced by 840 pounds per year. The sediment reduction associated with this project is 7 percent of the 6,868 tons per year goal set by the Lower Otter Tail River Total Maximum Daily Load.
The primary goal of the Humanities Center’s Education Initiative is to increase student engagement and success; the foundation is strengthening the teacher-student relationship. Drawing upon the multiplicity of experiences and cultures represented in schools, educators gain insight into how to engage every student authentically and respectfully.
Revise Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) lesson plans about karst geology and groundwater protection, to align with new Minnesota Science Standards (2019) and provide grade level recommendations. The project will add or remove activities so that the lessons better support grade-specific standards and approaches to learning. The plans will also provide recommendations regarding communicating to local teachers in southeast Minnesota and how to support the use of the lesson plans.
In 2010, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency listed Keller Lake as impaired for excess nutrients. An in-lake alum application was identified as the primary phosphorus load reduction option for controlling internal phosphorus load in Keller Lake. A recently completed in-lake management feasibility study report indicates that the in-lake alum application is the most cost-effective implementation project that remains for Keller Lake.
The purpose of this work is to develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs; a federal clean Water Act requirement) for streams and lakes in the Kettle River and Upper St. Croix watersheds. This and other technical information will be used to develop a separate report called a Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report.
Minnesota's twelve 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 $2.5 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant. Kitchigami Regional Library (KRL) is a consolidated regional public library system in north central Minnesota.
Minnesota's twelve 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 $2.5 million Minnesota Regional Library Legacy Grant. Kitchigami Regional Library (KRL) is a consolidated regional public library system in north central Minnesota.
We assessed, designed rehabilitation features and permitted 7200 linear feet of river reach in prime spawning areas. We completed construction on over 2200 linear feet of the reach.
SPECIFIC ITEMS:
*Installed approx. 400 feet of toewood bench.
*Graded approx. 500 feet of shoreline to allow river access to floodplain.
The Big Fork River Watershed Assessment will include the waters of the Big Fork, Sturgeon River, Caldwell Brook, Bear River, and Bowstring River. This Assessment will also include Mirror Lake, Battle Lake, Bass Lake, Larson Lake, Gunn Lake, Coon Sandwick Lake, Busties Lake, Dead Horse Lake, North Star Lake, Burns Lake, Big Ole Lake, Big Island Lake, Bello Lake, Maple Lake, Long Lake, Jessie Lake, Trestle Lake, Clear Lake, Dora Lake, Moose Lake, Shallow Pond Lake, and Island Lake.
Previous research by the St. Croix Watershed Research Station (SCWRS) has identified lake physics (temperature and oxygen) and nutrient recycling (nitrogen and phosphorus) as key drivers of lake algal blooms. SCWRS will conduct monitoring consistent with the prior research efforts by re-deploying three moored buoys to collect data throughout the 2019 ice-free season, including surface water samples. Additionally, SCWRS will deploy an in situ flourometer to measure total algae and cyanobacteria concentrations and will collect and analyze cyanobacterial toxins.
The purpose of this project is for Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District to continue to assist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s watershed approach and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) process in the Rainy River Headwaters and Cloquet River watersheds. As part of this, Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District will lead efforts to increase levels of civic engagement and community participation in support of the current WRAPS process.
The goal of this project is to reduce peak stormwater flow discharge, sediment and phosphorus from directly entering Lake Pepin by installing two stormwater infiltration basins treating a total of 15.8 acres of developed residential and commercial area in Lake City in conjunction with the Highway 61 road reconstruction project scheduled for 2020 reducing total phosphorus by 13 pounds per year and sediment by 2 tons per year.
