 The Minnesota River Board voted
March 11 to develop a new structure of governance that would expand board
membership to include representatives of other conservation organizations and
citizen groups. The proposed membership structure would be allocated among the
13 watersheds in the basin, and no longer by individual county. Based on
recommendations from a consultant, the action marks a turning point following
much discussion and speculation about the future of the River Board. The
board's executive committee and external review team representing watershed,
citizen, producer, and conservation organizations will develop a more detailed
recommendation and proposed budget prior to the May 20 meeting.
In January the consultant,
Cindy Bigger, conducted three stakeholder focus group meetings. "There was
great consensus that what is currently in place is not working, and would need
to be restructured and or reorganized if it is to continue and hope to be
effective," her report states. In addition to restructuring, the
recommendations include: Hire a full-time director and staff, revisit its
mission, create stable financing, work better with state legislators, use
committees, and become involved in the Blueway nomination for the Minnesota River.
"If the recommendations are not implemented... the MRB should be
disbanded," the recommendation states.
In discussing the proposal at
Monday’s meeting, a variety of agency and citizen representatives noted the
many accomplishments of the River Board since its formation in 1995. However,
some also said that the governance structure of counties in total control
eroded support from other agencies and citizen groups. County concerns about
outside control and unwillingness to use tax levies to support a budget,
hampered effectiveness. "We need to be pro-active for the river, and not
just protecting our own interests," said John Schueller, board chair and
Redwood County commissioner. Successes included lobbying for state and federal
funds to get 100,000 acres of floodplain into the Conservation Reserve
Enhancement Program.
The staff of the
Water Resources Center at Minnesota State University, Mankato were commended
for effectively conducting River Board business on a part-time basis over the
past eight years, and their excellent work to offer conferences and workshops was
strongly noted. More background information about the Minnesota River
Board, and progress reports on the re-structuring process, are/will be
available on the River Board website. A compilation of all the
focus group comments will be posted soon.
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The program for the Watershed Network spring meeting is beginning to take shape. The event is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., Thursday, April 18 at the Redwood Falls Pizza Ranch. Here is what we have so far:
- Stephanie Johnson, Houston Engineering (confirmed-Jan Voit)
- Lake Pepin full-cost accounting (confirmed-Shaina Keseley)
- Drainage policy update (tentative)
- Latest videos from H2O videos (John Hickman)
A more detailed invitation will be distributed several weeks beforehand. Other meeting topic ideas are welcome and can be sent to Forrest Peterson, forrest.peterson@state.mn.us. The watershed network serves professional staff with all water management organizations and welcomes anyone interested in water quality work. See topics of past meetings on the Watershed Network .
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The Minnesota River Watershed Alliance voted unanimously on Jan. 15 to submit a
pre-proposal for nominating the Minnesota River basin to the National Blueway
System. The Blueway proposal also leads the list of Alliance projects for
2013. The proposal draft details the nature of the Alliance, and its numerous partnerships,
activities, accomplishments, and resources. The vision and primary goals of the Blueway program are:
Conservation and integration of land and water management, natural resource
restoration and adaptive management; outdoor recreation and environmental
education, sustainable and compatible economic activity, and enhanced and
expanded stakeholder engagement. While the Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service will provide support for the effort, “it’s a citizen-led initiative,”
says Charlie Blair of the FWS office in Bloomington. If the proposal succeeds on a timely basis, the Minnesota River would become the
third National Blueway System in the U.S., following the Connecticut River and
White River. CURE drafted a letter of support for the Minnesota River
nomination. An announcement about designation could occur in June, followed by
an event in July. Work on the nomination will continue at the next MRWA meeting, 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 16 at the Southwest Initiative Foundation office, 15 3rd Ave. NW, at the intersection of Hwy. 7 and 3rd Ave.
in Hutchinson.
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The Chippewa River Watershed Project has submitted an application for the Shakopee Creek subwatershed to become one of three pilot watershed for the Agricultural Water Quality Certification Project (AWQCP). Pilot
areas could receive significant funding from multiple agencies to enhance water
quality in their areas. Projects will be a maximum three-year duration to
enable diverse sample conditions in weather, production systems, practice
implementation, and other factors including emphasis on replication of
successful AWQCP implementation and operation locally. - in the Shakopee Creek subwatershed. A well-established watershed project with extensive landowner and local government participation support the request, in a subwatershed where agriculture is the dominant land use - 81 percent.
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In the spotlight |
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 In 2005 a group of citizens and representations from agencies and citizen groups met with the idea of creating an alliance focused on the protection and restoration of water resources in the Minnesota River basin. Primary organizational support for the Minnesota River Watershed Alliance came from the Friends of the Minnesota Valley, Citizens for a Clean Minnesota River, and Clean Up the River Environment. "The idea was not to
be an organization, but a collective network which would be open to any
ideas and participants based as much as possible on the democratic
process," says Scott Sparlin, one of the initial organizers. Other than an ad hoc steering committee, without a formal organization and stable budget, Alliance participants have continued to meet quarterly, and have created many notable achievements. Currently, the Alliance is the leading sponsor for the nomination of the Minnesota River Basin to the National Blueway System.
Over the past eight years, the Alliance has persevered with the enthusiasm and commitment of a core of about 30 people. Until recently, financial support from various organizations allowed the services of professional meeting facilitators. Each January, members
discussed and voted on project priorities for the coming year. With energetic
followup and hard work, the lists became realities. Projects include: Securing
public finances to enroll 15,000 acres in the Conservation
Reserve Enhancement Program; the Paddler Patch program, which
recognizes individual achievement in paddling the mainstem and tributaries;
publication of the River Talk newsletter; inspiring the organization of the Minnesota
River-Lake Pepin Friendship Tour; and a long list of communication and
networking activities on numerous issues involving the river basin. The
Alliance also inspired the development of the video, River Revival: Working Together to Save the Minnesota River , narrated by Ron Schara,
aired on KARE television and viewed by more than 300,000 people..
Everyone is welcome to attend MRWA meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 16 at the Southwest Initiative Foundation office, 15 3rd Ave. NW, Hutchinson, and will be sponsored by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association. A potluck supper begins at 6 p.m. followed by the meeting at 7 p.m. Special guest will be Doug Albin, MCGA member and recent recipient of the "River Keeper" award from Clean Up the River Environment.
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James Fett is moving from the Blue Earth County SWCD to the
Mower County SWCD, where he will be focusing on improving the Cedar River Watershed. He has served on the steering committee for the Minnesota River Watershed Alliance, and also the Watershed Network His new phone number is 507-521-3388.
Chad Anderson has resigned as director of the Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District, and has started a new job with Merjent, an environmental consulting company. Margaret Peters is serving as acting director. New technician on the staff is Mike Behan, a recent St. Cloud State University graduate. On Feb. 19, Vanessa Glieden Henjum gave a presentation to the Kandiyohi County board on shoreland restoration in the MFCRWD.
The Wabasha County SWCD has posted a position opening for a feedlot technician assistant. Letters of interest will be accepted through 4:30 pm Tuesday, March 26. For additional information, contact the
Wabasha SWCD office at 651-565-4673 or jennifer.george@mn.nacdnet.net.
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The Water Governance Evaluation Project, authorized by
the Legislature in 2011, evaluates water-related statutes, rules, and
governing structures to streamline, strengthen, and improve sustainable water
management. The report was developed through a collaborative process
among the five state agencies with primary responsibility for water management,
along with the Metropolitan Council, and in consultation with the University of
Minnesota Water Resources Center. Participants reviewed some 40 years of
previous studies, surveyed knowledgeable staff, and discussed strategies with
local government organizations.
The report presents a suite of recommendations to
streamline, strengthen, and improve sustainable water management, including
many opportunities that state agencies themselves are ready to pursue. One set of recommendations focuses on how
water management services are organized and delivered at the watershed, state,
and regional levels. For example, the report recommends establishing the 2012
“one watershed–one plan” legislation as the preferred option for local
watershed management in Greater Minnesota and defining essential watershed
management services for defined watershed outcomes.
A second set of recommendations is organized around specific
water resource topics: public waters/wetlands, groundwater, land use, and
landowner/land occupier efforts to stem nonpoint source pollution and soil
loss.
The
full report and a brief summary can be viewed on the MPCA
website.
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A
new study by a team of researchers at the Science Museum of Minnesota and
several major universities, published on-line March 1, 2013 in the journal Hydrological Processes, has shown that the extensive network
of ditches and underground tiling used to enhance agricultural yields has had
the unintended consequence of increasing river-channel erosion and sediment
loads. The purpose of the three-year study was to determine why stream flow has increased in some agricultural
watersheds and not in others and to determine if these hydrologic changes
triggered an increase in erosion of stream channels. After constructing a detailed water budget, the
researchers found that artificial drainage could be identified as the major
driver of increased river flow, exceeding the effects of precipitation and crop
conversion. For more detailed information on the
study, go to: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hyp.9738/abstract. The study was lead by Shawn Schottler, senior scientist at the St. Croix Watershed
Research Station of the Science Museum of Minnesota, and was co-authored by
Jason Ulrich of the University of Minnesota (Dept. of Biosystems and
Bioproducts Engineering), Patrick Belmont of the University of Utah (Dept. of
Watershed Science), Richard More from Minnesota State University-Mankato
(Water Resources Center), J. Wesley Lauer at Seattle University (Dept. of Civil
and Environmental Engineering), and Daniel Engstrom and James Almendinger, also
from the St. Croix Watershed Research Station.
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Over the past six months, the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance has been developing a Local
Resource Management Scorecard to compare conservation efforts across the
Minnesota River Basin, which contribute to the reduction of sediment, both in
the Minnesota River and in Lake Pepin. Although the Scorecard is still a work in progress, and by design, will require
regular updates and changes as new information becomes available, visitors can find much information on the counties that have been
uploaded. (http://www.lakepepinlegacyalliance.org/scorecard-2/)
For a brief overview of the project, including comments from county
commissioners and a guide to using this web tool, watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=opFA7u5Jv1c
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The Prairie Enthusiasts, Inc. has assembled an outstanding program for its 25th annual conference, Saturday, March 16, at Minnesota State University. With the theme, “Pollinators: Future of our Food & Native Plant Communities,” the conference and banquet will bring together enthusiasts from throughout the Midwest to celebrate our prairie heritage. DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr will present the opening presentation, "State of the State of Minnesota Prairies and Grasslands." Mankato Free Press reporter and canoe enthusiast Tim Krohn will share his experiences canoeing 335 miles down the Minnesota River in 1998 and again in 2008. There will be concurrent sessions including a Water Tract, Prairie Tract, and Animal Tract. The event will be at the Centennial Student Union on the Minnesota State University-Mankato campus. The Prairie Enthusiasts web page has more details and registration information.
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Research shows various sources and remedies for excess sediment
The Farmer, March 2013
'Forever Green Ag Initiative' would diversify
Minnesota's crop landscape
The Farmer, 2/11/13
March 16: Prairie Celebration, 10-3, Minnesota State University-Mankato student center.
March 21: Chippewa River Watershed Project annual meeting, 5 p.m., Starbuck community center.
March 26-27: Ag drainage management workshop, Best Western, North Mankato.
April 16: Minnesota River Watershed Alliance, 6 p.m., Southwest Initiative Foundation office, 15 3rd Ave. NW, Hutchinson.
May 17-19: Minnesota River history celebration, Granite Falls.
May 20: Minnesota River Board. Location to be announced.
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Watershed
Network News welcomes news from partners about funding opportunities, project
updates and events. Email your news to forrest.peterson@state.mn.us.
Please note that the MPCA has switched to a new service, called GovDelivery. To
ensure delivery of these messages, please add mpca@public.govdelivery.com to
your address book or safe sender list. Please forward this to any other
interested parties. Past issues are located on the Watershed Network publications webpage.
Forrest Peterson
Information Officer
MPCA-Willmar office
320-441-6972
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