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Year in Review
2019 was another great year at the International Water Institute. We saw programs grow and new staff join our team. At the same time we saw other projects begin to wind down and beloved staff members moved on to new adventures. Some of our top highlights from 2019 are:
- 250 students and teachers from MN, ND, and MB attended the 24th Annual River Watch Forum at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks
- 1276 River of Dreams canoes were launched by students from 64 classrooms in Minnesota and North Dakota
- River of Dreams was featured in the Grand Forks Herald and Wahpeton Daily News, along with many other local newspapers
- Collection of over 1350 water quality samples in the Red and Mississippi River Basin
- Established the North Dakota PTMApp website.
- Added PTMApp data for six watersheds to North Dakota PTMApp website and for two watersheds to Minnesota PTMApp website.
- Conducted PTMApp watershed planning training.
- Initiated a Stewardship Pilot Program with 10 Red River Basin farmers to establish quantitative metrics and valid stewardship claims.
- Added Watershed delineation and hydrology report widget to the IWI Map Portal.
- Created contour datasets based on new LiDAR for central North Dakota.
- Said goodbye with heartfelt thank you to 5 Board members who's terms expired after 9 years: Paul Swenson, Genevieve Thompson, Dan Wilkens, Ken Vein, and Gary Thompson.
- Said goodbye to Andy and Michael and added new staff Phil and Taylor!
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Thank You, Marcus!
In December 2019, Marucs Langevin wrapped up his time as a Conservation Corp of Minnesota and Iowa Individual Placement with the  International Water Institute. During his time with IWI, Marcus helped out with watershed education and water quality monitoring. Marcus covered the northern part of the Red River Basin basin for several water quality monitoring projects including Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring, Flood Damage Reduction, and MN Dept of Agriculture Pesticide Sampling. A top ten spring flood followed by a record wet fall kept Marcus busy as he collected over 500 water quality samples for these projects. On the watershed education side, Marcus was instrumental in reaching several hundred students through We Are Water, River of Dreams, River Watch, River Explorers, and unique paddle trip with Wilderness Inquiry. We’ll miss Marcus’s passion and ability to never miss an important sample.
Thanks again Marcus! We wish you the best in your next career move! You and your Subaru will be missed in the north basin.
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River Watch Forum 2020: A Clear Vision for the Red River Basin
Imagining 25 more years of River Watch puts most current participants in their 40’s! That’s crazy, but that’s exactly what we are doing. Looking back over the years the most obvious thing that has changed in River Watch is the clothing styles of the participants (definitely for the better). We still use many of the same methods and protocols for collecting data to form a better understanding of our watersheds. Our passion and commitment to involve local students and teachers has only increased.
As we look ahead, we are committed to filling in our gaps. Currently our watershed education programming extends from 4th grade to 12th grade, a great success for sure, but we would still like to reach more students in more disciplines. Adult education is another area that the International Water Institute is starting to target. In the years to come, we are hoping to have programs available for all ages across the Red River Basin, which is why this year's forum project is focused on building education programs for the areas in which we have none.
The 2020 River Watch Forum is March 25th at the Grand Forks Alerius Center.
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River of Dreams Training
This past January, in order to prepare for the upcoming River of Dreams programming, new members of the IWI Monitoring and Education Team participated in the program for themselves. Team members completed the classroom portion of the program and then began their canoe preparation. Each staff member designed a canoe, wrote a dream for its journey, and launched it into the Red River in Fargo, ND. Check out their dreams and see if their canoes are spotted at riverofdreams.org!
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Welcome LaRyssa!
LaRyssa Nelson is the 2020 Monitoring and Outreach Corpsmember, serving in a partnership between the Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa and the International Water Institute. During her service year, LaRyssa will be assisting with water quality monitoring, River of Dreams, River Watch, and other ongoing projects and events.
LaRyssa received a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources with an emphasis in Wildlife Management from the University of Minnesota Crookston in 2017. Before joining IWI, LaRyssa worked as a Preserve Management Assistant for The Nature Conservancy in Glyndon, MN where she assisted in prescribed fire and other grassland management techniques. She is excited to be learning more about water quality and the education programs.
LaRyssa grew up in Circle Pines, MN and moved to Ottertail, MN after graduating college. She enjoys hunting and fishing, traveling, and crocheting in her down time.
If you see LaRyssa around the Basin, make sure you stop and say Hi!
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2019 River of Dreams Highlight Video
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