One Watershed, One Plan for Cannon River
The concept of One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) is making its way across the State of Minnesota. The Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) initiative was launched in 2014 with five pilot watersheds. In 2016, the program was opened up to all watersheds, and the Local Government Units (LGU) within the Cannon River Watershed applied for and received a planning grant. Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is participating in the planning process and is taking a lead role as administrator.
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The vision of 1W1P is to “align local water planning on major watershed boundaries with state strategies towards prioritized, targeted and measurable implementation plans.” In order to accomplish this task for the Cannon River Watershed, six Counties, six SWCDs, one Watershed District and one Watershed Management Organization have come together to facilitate the writing of a plan.
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The process will be led by a Policy Committee comprised of a representative from each LGU governing boards. Throughout the process, there will be input from an Advisory Committee, which will include stakeholders. There will be many opportunities and methods for public input and involvement.
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A Local Work Group, comprised of LGU employees, is currently in the process of coordinating the development of the Advisory Committees, as well as selecting a consultant. Once the Policy Committee formally selects a consultant, planning for the Cannon River Watershed will begin. The planning process is anticipated to be a year and a half process, with a goal of having a final plan approved by BWSR at the end of 2018.
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Stay tuned to learn about opportunities to get involved in the 1W1P process! More information on the statewide 1W1P program can be found on the BWSR website or local information can be found on the Cannon River 1W1P website.
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Buffer Law - Common Alternative Practices
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Buffers provide multiple benefits for water quality, including stabilizing the bank, absorbing nutrients, preventing erosion and sedimentation into ditches, streams, rivers and lakes, and filtering pollutants such as excess pesticides and fertilizers. In some situations, alternative practices will provide comparable water quality benefits and may be more appropriate to fit site conditions and land management objective than installing a buffer strip.
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In April, BWSR released six alternative practices to provide landowners other comparable water quality protection options under the buffer law. The six alternative practices are not intended to be the only options for implementation, or to address all scenarios. These were developed to provide SWCD staff an efficient and consistent means of buffer law implementation with landowners across the state. The common alternative practice examples include:
- Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program
- Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Field Office Technical Guide Practice Standards Filter Strip (393/391)
- Public waters with 50’ buffer standard
- Grassed Waterway/Cultivated Watercourse
- Public waters with 50’ buffer standard
- Negative slopes or concentrated inflow
- Public ditches with 16.5’ buffer standard
- Negative slopes or concentrated inflow
- Public waters with 50’ buffer standard
- Conservation Tillage/Cover Crops with Vegetated Filter Strip
- Public waters with 50’ buffer standard
More detail on common alternative practices can be found on the BWSR website or by contacting Dakota County SWCD staff at (651) 480-7777 or via email.
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Sub-watershed Analysis leads to Project Dollars
The Trout Brook Watershed in Dakota County was the focus of a recent effort to identify specific projects which will have a direct benefit to water quality in Trout Brook. The effort, called a sub-watershed analysis (SWA), was completed in 2016 and included computer modeling of the watershed to identify priority locations and practice types, field verification of potential projects, development of project concepts and cost estimates, and calculation of the benefit of potential projects. A detailed report summarized and ranked the projects by cost-effectiveness.
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This SWA report provided the supporting information to assemble a high quality grant application for Clean Water, Land & Legacy Funding (CWF). In fact, the Trout Brook grant application was ranked number one out of seventy-two applications that received funding across the State. The grant funding will be used to implement top-priority practices that will improve surface water quality within Trout Brook, a designated trout stream and tributary to the Cannon River.
The Trout Brook Sub-watershed Analysis can be found on the Dakota SWCD website.
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The Dakota County SWCD Board has prioritized these top locations within Trout Brook watershed, making the identified projects eligible for increased cost share rates to provide greater incentive for landowners to implement the beneficial projects. Dakota County SWCD staff will be making efforts to coordinate with landowners and operators in the Trout Brook watershed.
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Landscaping for Clean Water Workshops
Please join us for our final Landscaping for Clean Water Introduction Workshop in 2017! This workshop will be held on Tuesday June 20th starting at 6:15pm at the
Dakota County Library located in Farmington.
At the free workshop, you will learn how to create a beautiful and environmentally beneficial native garden, raingarden, or shoreline planting that help to keep our lakes, rivers, and wetlands clean! Creating landscaped areas by planting low maintenance native plants or creating a raingarden to filter pollutants and increase habitat for pollinators is the secret to leisurely living and great looking yards!
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Pre-registration for the workshop is required
To register, please call the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District at
(651) 480-7777 or register by clicking the button below!
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Score Your Shore - Shoreline Grading Tool
Score Your Shore is a survey tool developed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) to help citizens assess habitat conditions of developed lake lots. The protocol is designed for use by lakeshore property owners to self-assess habitat and stewardship on their land and adjacent aquatic areas. This tool may also be used by organizations, such as lake associations, to assess multiple sites on a lake. Score Your Shore provides an objective and systematic method to assess the type, quantity and quality of the existing shoreland habitat.
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The Score Your Shore tool will enable you to:
- Assess the amount of habitat at developed lake sites
- Generate awareness of what makes a high quality functioning shoreline buffer
- Provide a system to recognize landowners with functioning shoreline buffers.
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Self-guided materials, including a manual and a quick guide, are available to view and download from the MN DNR website, free of charge. Groups may adapt these basic materials to meet their specific assessment needs.
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Local Engagement Opportunities
- Voluntary opportunity for farmers and agricultural landowners to take the lead in implementing conservation practices that protect our water
- Citizen volunteers monitor wetlands in their community, providing data used by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to track wetland health throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area
Citizen Stream Monitoring Program
- Interested citizens help determine the condition of Minnesota streams by expanding the water-quality monitoring network, serving as a critical component of Minnesota’s watershed approach to protection and restoration
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The Importance of Pollinators
Bees and other insects pollinate a wide variety of fruits, nuts, vegetables, animal forages, fiber crops and native plants. Unfortunately, the health and numbers of native insect pollinators (wild bees, flies, wasps, moths, butterflies, and other pollinating insects) have declined due to a number of factors, including exposure to pathogens, parasites and pesticides, as well as habitat fragmentation and disappearance of floral resources.
Each of us can do something to help pollinators. Simple acts, such as planting more pollinator-attractive flowers, leaving ornamental grasses uncut in the fall to provide overwinter habitat, or using pesticides only when necessary, can make a big impact. For more information, check out the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's website or learn more about backyard conservation practices through the Dakota County SWCD.
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