The Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP) is a voluntary opportunity for farmers and agricultural landowners to take the lead on implementing conservation practices that protect water quality. Those who implement and maintain approved conservation practices will be certified and in turn obtain regulatory certainty for a period of ten years. This program will help address concerns about changing regulatory requirements from multiple state and federal agencies.
The Minnesota Water Research Digital Library (MnWRL) is a user-friendly, searchable inventory of water research relevant to Minnesota. It includes both peer-reviewed articles as well as white papers and reports. The Library provides 'one-stop' access to all types of water research.
Motionpoems, a formerly all-volunteer startup poetry film initiative, will build capacity to present our 3rd annual screening in October 2011, renamed as THE BEST AMERICAN POETRY FILM FESTIVAL, at Open Book in Minneapolis, and will expand the impact of this annual hybrid film event on Minnesota artists and audiences.
To conserve the seats, chairs and sofas in the car Missabe, an 1893 business car from the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railroad. One set of sofa cushions needs to be recreated using historical methods and materials.
Maritime Heritage Minnesota completed a side and down imaging sonar survey of 104 miles of the Mississippi River in Aitkin County, as well as a small portion of Itasca County when the river meandered across the county line, in August 2010.
The DNR has been charged by the legislature to develop rules that protect and manage the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area (MRCCA) for natural resource, economic development, transportation, historic preservation, and other values. This project engages stakeholder groups in a public process to balance regulatory protections with local flexibility and control.
Several important milestones will be completed during this Phase (Phase II) of the Mississippi River (Headwaters) Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) project. These milestones will include the completion of the Stressor ID & Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Reports, the completion of the Zonation Modeling watershed priority planning process (through the continuation of the Civic Engagement project component), and the development of the overall WRAPS report.
This project will support the sampling of six stream sites: two reaches of the Little Rock River, two Locations on the Kanaranzi Creek, one location on the East Branch of the Kanaranzi Creek as well as one location on the Ocheyedan River.
Partner Organization: Association of Minnesota Public Educational Radio Stations (AMPERS)
This partnership project with AMPERS, a network of Independent Public Radio stations across Minnesota, has created a series of 130 radio mini-features, 90 seconds in length.
Each episode of MN90 educates listeners about Minnesota history and links an important aspect of our past to current news, events and daily life in an entertaining and informative way.
The grant provided research, writing and editing of five selected articles to be published at www.mnopedia.org. The topics chosen were: Crystal Sugar of Chaska, the Watertown Bell factory, the 1965 Floods, the Little Rapids Fur Post and the Waconia Patriot.
By adding content on Carver County history to this resource, Carver County Historical Society provides a more complete collection of their history and allows their organization to share and interpret our local history with a much broader audience.
The Minnesota Historical Society is developing a mobile application that will allow students to investigate Minnesota history anywhere, any place and anytime, using their handheld mobile devices.
In addition, the Society is designing a mobile technology component for the History Center's "Then Now Wow" exhibit (the exhibit's working title was "Our Minnesota") that will enable students to immediately apply what they've learned in exhibits.
This project will use the Spatially Referenced Regression On Watersheds (SPARROW) model as a means of assessing and characterizing the nitrogen loading situation in Minnesota. These results will be used along with other nitrogen loading characterization efforts conducted by others, so that a more complete characterization can be conducted. The results of this effort will be useful as Minnesota works to establish state-specific goals and strategies to address its contribution to Gulf of Mexico hypoxia.
The goal of the Montessori Language Nest is to engage young children and their families in strengthening their cultural wellness through language acquisition and revitalization of cultural parenting/child rearing practices. This will be accomplished through short and long term goals, measure through objectives to produced the intended outcomes.
Moose, one of Minnesota's prized wildlife species, are dying at much higher rates in Minnesota than elsewhere in North America. Recently observed increases in mortality rates amongst some moose in northeastern Minnesota have led to concern that the population there may be entering a decline like that seen in the northwestern part of the state, where moose populations fell from over 4,000 to fewer than 100 in less than 20 years. Additionally the specific causes of increased mortality amongst individual moose remain under investigation.
Native to the western United States and Canada, mountain pine beetle is considered the most devastating forest insect in North America. Trees usually die as a result of infestation and an unprecedented outbreak in the west is currently decimating pine forests there. While mountain pine beetle is not presently believed to reside in Minnesota, there are risks posed by an expanding species range resulting from warming climate and the potential for accidental introduction via lumber imports from infested areas.
Native to the western United States and Canada, mountain pine beetle is considered the most devastating forest insect in North America. Trees usually die as a result of infestation and an unprecedented outbreak in the west is currently decimating pine forests there. While mountain pine beetle is not presently believed to reside in Minnesota, there are risks posed by an expanding species range resulting from warming climate and the potential for accidental introduction via lumber imports from infested areas.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) uses a watershed-oriented approach to assess surface water quality and define restoration and protection measures. Each of Minnesota's 81 major watersheds is assessed intensively every 10 years, based on a staggered schedule that addresses, on average, eight watersheds per year. To increase the amount of data directly available to the public online, and to make internal operations more efficient, the MPCA started a multi-year Watershed Data Integration Project (WDIP).
This project supports monitoring and assessment activities by MPCA EAO staff and includes lab analysis, equipment, and fieldwork expenses associated with monitoring and assessment activities.
Lake Monitoring: Lakes are monitored for nutrients, clarity and other information to provide the data needed to assess the aquatic recreation use support.
This project supports monitoring and assessment activities by MPCA Environmental Assistance and Outcomes staff and includes lab analysis, equipment, and fieldwork expenses associated with monitoring and assessment activities.The ambient groundwater monitoring network describes the current condition and trends in Minnesota's groundwater quality.
This project supports activities by MPCA technical staff that provide technical assistance , project oversight, coordination and other agency activities associated with assessing, listing and cunducting TMDL studies throughout the State of Minnesota. Project funding also includes lab analysis, equipment, and fieldwork expenses.
The MPCA will administer grants to local units of government to study and implement solutions that protect basins and watersheds of Minnesota before water quality standards are exceeded.
This project supports monitoring and assessment activities by MPCA EAO staff and includes lab analysis, equipment, fieldwork, data management, and interpretation expenses associated with monitoring and assessment activities.The ambient groundwater monitoring network describes the current condition and trends in Minnesota's groundwater quality.
This project supports monitoring and assessment activities by MPCA EAO staff and includes lab analysis, equipment, and fieldwork expenses associated with monitoring and assessment activities within the described priority watersheds. Lake Monitoring: Lakes are monitored for nutrients, clarity and other information to provide the data needed to assess the aquatic recreation use support. Biological and Water Chemistry Stream Monitoring: Monitoring to assess the conditions of streams in each watershed.
Staffing support to evaluate the performance of existing stormwater infiltration sites, as identified in the Minimal Impact Design Standards (MIDS) project. Monitor the range of existing infiltration devices in Minnesota and compare to design criteria, maintenance records, and quantify year-round infiltration rates. Develop and refine pretreatment options and standards for municipal stormwater treatment.
This project supports activities by Minnesota Pollution Control (MPCA) Watershed Division staff that provide technical assistance, project oversight, coordination, outreach and other agency activities associated with assessing, listing and conducting Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies throughout the State of Minnesota. Project also includes lab analysis, equipment, and fieldwork expenses associated with TMDL work at the MPCA.
Staffing support for the development of permits that provide for implementation of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements at wastewater facilities and stormwater permittees.
The Clean Water Council was created through the Clean Water Legacy Act (Minn. Stat. Ch 114D) which was signed into law June 2, 2006. The council’s role is to advise on the administration and implementation of the Clean Water Legacy Act. See the Council’s FY18-19 Clean Water Fund and Policy Recommendations Report (December 1, 2016). The 28-member Clean Water Council (Council) represents organizations with a major role in achieving clean water, enabling consensus building and coordination on a wide array of issues critical to the people of Minnesota.
The Minnesota Historical Society partnered with the Metropolitan Airports Commission, the NWA History Centre and the Airport Foundation MSP to exhibit a collection of photographs that document the first 50 years of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
"Views Across Time," shows MSP's transition from auto speedway to major U.S. airport. The exhibit, located on Concourse C, is on display through September, 2011.
199 issues of the monthly periodicals, The Student and The Mankatonian, from Mankato state Normal School (1888-1913) were digitzed to preserve them and make them more readily available to researchers, geneologists and the MN public at large.
Digitized copies were placed in the University Archives Digital Collections at Minnesota State University, Mankato and at the MN Reflections site as part of the Minnesota Digital Library.
This project will develop a plan that identifies several stormwater best management practices (BMPs) for the City of St. Bonifacius and surrounding rural areas. Implementation of these BMPs will improve water quality in Mud Lake and Halsted's Bay. A watershed model (EPA-SWMM and P8) will be developed to determine existing phosphorus and sediment loading from the City of Bonifacius and adjacent rural areas draining to Mud Lake. Model output will be used to identify several potential locations for stormwater BMPs throughout the city and surrounding areas.
The goal of this project is to analyze and document database architecture, platform, table structures, systems and data fields at six Minnesota agencies (Board of Soil and Water Resources, Department of Natural Resources, MN Department of Agriculture, MN Department of Health, Metropolitan Council, and MN Pollution Control Agency) for 30+ databases related to water.
