Lower Minnesota River Watershed District

Did you know the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District Board Meetings are open to the public and held at the Government Center in downtown Chaska? You can also find an online meeting link below to view important District updates from our Board and other staff. Join or tune in tonight at 5:00 pm for a bonus Board Manager Workshop featuring information on LMRWD rules and regulations which govern the District’s work. The traditional monthly Board Meeting will start at 7:00 pm.

https://lowermnriverwd.org/meetings

We are still searching for community leaders to join our Citizen Advisory Committee! Hop on board to learn more about gardening with native plants, stormwater treatment, and the protection of local water resources including the Minnesota River. Use the link below to apply or learn more🌿

https://lowermnriverwd.org/makeadifference/citizen-advisory-committee

Stay tuned for interesting research from Nine Mile Creek Watershed District on chemicals leaching from firework debris🎆

We're thrilled to be a part of US Environmental Protection Agency funded research on the occurrence of perchlorate after 4th of July firework shows. Perchlorate—a contaminant found in fireworks at high concentrations—has the potential to pollute drinking water sources when released into lakes. Yesterday was a beautiful day to bust out the canoe and collect some water samples on Lake Normandale!

The Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD) is feeling the impacts of flooding along the Minnesota River caused by heavy rains this spring and summer compounded with land use changes (agricultural and urban development) that have decreased water storage across the Minnesota River Valley. The river crested in most areas on Friday, June 28 and through the weekend. Floodwaters are now receding, but the river is still listed at the highest rating of “Very High” on the MnDNR website for most reaches, which is considered dangerous. Impacts have been felt throughout the watershed district, with Valleyfair cancelling its Fourth of July fireworks due to flooding. Visit our website to learn more about impacts to local resources and how the LMRWD works to address flooding:
https://lowermnriverwd.org/

Pictured: MN River Bottom Trail near the Bloomington Ferry pedestrian bridge (taken July 3rd)

Have you seen our interns out in District creeks and streams this summer? Ashley (pictured) and Josie are working on gathering geomorphic assessment and habitat data for viable trout streams within the LMRWD. Check back later this summer for their findings and the 2024 Trout Stream Project report!

Shoutout to our City of Chanhassen, Minnesota Government residents!🍁

Want to get involved in your local watershed district and help to educate your community on water resource protection? Join our CAC at https://lowermnriverwd.org/makeadifference/citizen-advisory-committee

Get to know your watershed districts: Lower Minnesota River Watershed District.

Watersheds are land areas that channel rainfall & snowmelt to creeks, streams, & rivers. Chanhassen is part of four districts, including the Lower MN River Watershed District. They steward an 80-square-mile territory that includes the Minnesota River Valley from the City of Carver to the confluence with the Mississippi River near Fort Snelling & the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport.

The LMRWD's unique resources include:
🐟Trout lakes & streams
💧Calcareous fens
🛡️Bluffs that are protected to minimize erosion & loss of property
🛶The Minnesota River, which provides recreational & commercial navigation opportunities.

Want to see what watershed district you're in? Click here to view an interactive map: https://ow.ly/l1B150R9lwp.

We’ll be at the Savage Farmers Market this Sunday from 8am - 1pm! Bring Dad on by for tips on native plantings and how to apply for cost share funds to help with your next water quality improvement project😎

4800 123rd St W, Savage, MN 55378

We were featured in the Eden Prairie Local News for our education booth that was hosted by LMRWD Citizen Advisory Committee members at the 2024 Arbor Day Walk and Green Fair🪴

Be sure to check us out at other local events this summer and come chat about native plantings, your next water quality project, and how to receive help in making it happen through watershed grant funds!

https://www.eplocalnews.org/2024/04/30/photo-gallery-eden-prairie-celebrates-arbor-day/

We're still looking for active community members to join our CAC! If you're interested in learning more about how to join our Citizen Advisory Committee, follow the link https://lowermnriverwd.org/makeadifference/citizen-advisory-committee

Check out this great restoration planting project at the Olson Schools in Bloomington completed with help through LMRWD funding🌱

With another school year coming to an end, the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD) would like to highlight a few of the awarded educator mini grants that helped to fund opportunities for local educators to engage youth in water resource science. (Pictures 1-3)

(1) Prior Lake High School used grant money to fund an excursion to the Credit River in Savage, MN, to collect macroinvertebrates, or bugs, that live in the water. They were also able to purchase identification keys to identify the water bug species and discuss how water pollution affects the diversity of macroinvertebrates.
(2) Minnesota Valley Refuge Friends was able to use grant funds to provide watershed education with hands-on experiments to Bloomington 5th grade students, which revolved around watershed processes, stormwater education, and pollution source identification.
(3) Pilot K**b STEM Magnet School used grant funds to bring the Zoomobile program from the Minnesota Zoo to their STEM fair this spring and teach students and parents the importance of protecting our natural resources.

The LMRWD is committed to funding community members leading education and outreach opportunities in our local schools. We are thrilled to see the creativity and enthusiasm these educators bring to this critical work. If you are interested in pursuing an educator mini-grant or know someone who might be, watch for updates on our website: https://lowermnriverwd.org/makeadifference/educator-mini-grants.

A Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD) technical team performing fieldwork was thrilled to observe Small White Lady's-slipper flowers blooming in Seminary Fen. While the flowers have been observed in various fens throughout the LMRWD, these small orchids are a rare find and prefer open and saturated places like wet prairies and fens. They have lost much of their original habitat in the state and are now considered a species of special concern in Minnesota. If you are lucky to see one or several, please leave them where they bloom for the flowers to become pollinated and produce seeds to spread and cultivate new plants. While fens are unique resources located right in the Twin Cities, they are also fragile ecosystems. We recommend appreciating them by staying on trails and looking for flora from afar. Have you ever found a rare plant species during nature viewing? Tell us about it in the comments!

If you know of any recent graduates interested in a natural resources career, the Minnesota GreenCorps is a great place to get started growing your professional skills! Applications due by June 13

We are thrilled to be hosting a MN GreenCorps member starting in September. This individual will be working on native plant and chloride pollution education along with stormwater practice inventory and assessment.

If you are interested in becoming a GreenCorps member, the application process is now open! There are 58 AmeriCorps positions statewide. The service term is September 2024 through August 2025. Learn more by visiting the link in the Minnesota GreenCorps bio or at https://www.pca.state.mn.us/business-with-us/minnesota-greencorps.

Are you interested in becoming an active participant in protecting our water resources like the Minnesota River? Lower Minnesota River Watershed District is looking for interested community members to join our citizen advisory committee (CAC). By serving on the CAC, you will advise the District on key initiatives and be a part of watershed-wide efforts to improve our local communities. Follow the link below to fill out an application or reach out to learn more!

https://lowermnriverwd.org/makeadifference/citizen-advisory-committee

Available Today! The Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD) released its 2023 Annual Report, filled with progress updates on our work to protect, improve, and maintain critical natural resources. Learn more about the people, projects, and programs that make the watershed unique.

The full report is available at: https://tinyurl.com/5t37nnsz.

Eagle Creek is the closest “fishable” trout stream to downtown Minneapolis, and it is a pristine water resource of the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District. What better way to spend Earth Day than protecting this unique stream?

This upcoming Saturday, April 20th, (9 AM-12:30 PM), the Twin Cities Chapter of Trout Unlimited is hosting a trash pickup along Eagle Creek. Trash bags are provided, and the cleanup will be followed by a burger lunch! Please bring boots and gloves. More event information including meeting address and registration details can be found at: https://mntu.org/event/earth-day-cleanup-on-eagle-creek/. Registration for this event will close 24 hours before the event.

Thank you in advance for your participating in protecting our water resources. Happy Earth Day!

Looking for a way to help protect unique resources within the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District? The Minnesota Native Plant Society is hosting volunteers on Sunday, April 14 from 8am-12pm to cut and treat the buckthorn, an invasive species that threatens the growth of native plants. Calcareous fens are extremely rare wetlands that are home to a variety of flora and fauna. With only hundreds in known existence around the world, the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District is lucky to be home to six fens, including Seminary Fen, located between Chaska and Chanhassen.

Learn more about the event and register by April 12th: https://lowermnriverwd.org/

Located in Savage, MN, Eagle Creek is one of the unique trout streams found in the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD). Twin Cities Trout Unlimited - TCTU is looking for volunteers this Saturday, March 23 at 9:00am to remove buckthorn, an invasive species that crowds out native plants, to continuously restore and protect Eagle Creek. TCTU will continue to lead work on the creek throughout the spring, with beaver dam removal on April 6 and an Earth Day trash cleanup on April 20th. To learn more about the volunteer events and sign up, visit: https://www.twincitiestu.org/events.html

To learn more about Eagle Creek and LMRWD’s recent protection work, visit our website at https://lowermnriverwd.org/projects/eagle-creek-bank-stabilization

Volunteers wanted! Join us to protect Seminary Fen this Sunday, March 3, 2024, from 9am-12pm. Buckthorn is an aggressive invasive species that threatens to push out native plants in Seminary Fen, a unique wetland complex located between Chaska and Chanhassen, MN.

The volunteer group will be cutting and treating buckthorn and stacking the cuttings. Tools will be available for all participants. Meet up with other volunteers and the leaders from the Minnesota Native Plant Society at the parking lot on the north side of Flying Cloud Drive. We will celebrate a job well done with coffee! Learn more at:
Seminary Fen SNA Volunteer Event - Minnesota Native Plant Society (mnnps.org)

A reminder to our consultant partners: the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD) is accepting its biennial request for service providers. There are a variety of opportunities to serve the LMRWD, in areas ranging from legal, technical, and education outreach. All proposals and applications must be received by the end of the day on March 6, 2024.

Check out the Bids & RFPs page on our website to learn more: https://lowermnriverwd.org/projects/bids-rfps

We appreciate your interest in supporting the organization!

Last call! Applications for our mini-grant program are due tomorrow, February 23. Funds can be used for supplies like waders or your dream environmental field trip. Please visit our website for more information and to apply!

Are you looking to bring additional water resources science into your classroom? Look no further than the Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD)! LMRWD is currently accepting applications for its Educator Mini-Grant program. If you are an educator or know one looking to grow their students' water resource knowledge, we encourage you to apply. The deadline for applications is February 23, 2024. Spread the word! 🤓

This program provides a maximum $500 reimbursable grant for educators within LMRWD partner cities. Activities must have a water resources or wildlife habitat component. Please visit our website for more information and to apply: https://lowermnriverwd.org/makeadifference/educator-mini-grants

The Star Tribune published a piece by Joseph Barisonzi, Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD) Board of Managers President, highlighting the Minnesota River's urgent need for basin-wide protection. Read the full opinion exchange here: https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-river-needs-urgent-basin-wide-protection/600340382/

Based on recent findings from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Manager Barisonzi highlights a collaborative approach to improving the river's water quality. You can get involved by joining LMRWD on social media and exploring volunteer opportunities on our website.

News Feature! Read about Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD) in Eden Prairie Local News: https://bit.ly/49hVBPQ

The news story highlights the importance of community involvement from Board of Managers volunteers like Jesse Hartmann, who served from 2018-2023. Jesse's dedication demonstrates the lasting impact that private citizens can make on their local community and environment. Are you interested in getting involved in protecting natural resources? Find volunteer opportunities on our website and follow along on social media! 🌱

The had a great 2023. We hope you did too!

Check out this great video from our friends at the Washington Conservation District about how excessive salting harms our waterbodies—and what you can do to help.

Hold the Salt to Protect Minnesota Water Minnesotans love their lakes, but we've got a growing problem with salt pollution. This short, fun video explains the problem with easy-to-understand cartoon...

It’s the ! Are you ready for some snowshoeing or skiing? Did you know you can also find areas for snowmobiling in the ? Get out and enjoy your local Minnesota River watershed! Tag a friend and have some winter fun! How do you connect to the Minnesota River? lowermnriverwd.org/recreation/land-activities-trails

Chloride from deicing salt is polluting our local waterbodies at increasing rates. Just 1 teaspoon of salt is enough to permanently pollute 5 gallons of water. Learn steps to use less salt and be salt smart this winter. lowermnriverwd.org/makeadifference/chloride

Please join for its upcoming Board meeting. Board meetings are held at the Carver County Government Center on the third Wednesday of every month. They begin at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Can’t make the meeting in person? You can join the meeting virtually by using the link on the meeting page. All board packets are on our website. lowermnriverwd.org/utility-nav/meetings/agendas-minutes

Remember, ice is never 100% safe. Check ice thickness frequently this winter. bit.ly/3VymZDl
lowermnriverwd.org/recreation/water-activities-fishing