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COVID-19 Preparedness Plan
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Our office is now open with special restrictions in alignment with recommendations from the CDC and MDH. Whenever possible, please call ahead to conduct business over the phone or schedule a time to meet in person. At our office, please ring the doorbell and follow our hygiene and social distancing guidelines. Our office may be intermittently closed during business hours due to lack of available staff. The most reliable way to reach staff is still via email. Please review our COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for more detailed information.
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The Anoka Conservation District is grateful to have Mollie Annen join our team. As a District Technician, Mollie plays a large role in water resource monitoring, implementing habitat enhancement projects, inspecting best management practices, and assisting the public in natural resource management.
Before coming to ACD, she worked for Landbridge Ecological as a restoration technician
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and completed a six month seasonal position with Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District. Before that, she completed basic training and advanced individual training to become a water purification specialist for the Minnesota Army National Guard. She started her career serving one term with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa and then working two years for Applied Ecological Services as a restoration technician.
When she is not at ACD, Mollie enjoys camping and hiking, especially in northern Minnesota. She also loves using the amazing bike trails around her house in Minneapolis.
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2019 Water Almanac and Annual Report
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The 2019 Anoka Water Almanac and the 2019 ACD Annual Highlights Report are both available to view on our website.
Read the 2019 Anoka Water Almanac by clicking here.
Read the 2019 Annual Highlights report by clicking here.
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New Video: “Our Lakeshore Connection"
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"Our Lakeshore Connection" was published on June 12, 2020. The video was co-produced and sponsored by members of the Anoka County Water Resource Outreach Collaborative and several local Lake Associations. Watch the video on Youtube here.
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This year, in addition to following city restrictions (e.g. odd/even watering schedules), try actively managing your irrigation controller. Active management consists of adjusting run times based on local conditions. For example, during periods with sufficient rainfall, watering duration and frequency can be reduced.
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During these times, you can simply turn your irrigation system off. In contrast, during periods of extreme heat and drought, supplemental watering may be necessary. Watch your yard for signs of drought before turning on your irrigation system, and rely on rainfall as much as possible. When you need to use your irrigation system, water your lawn one time or less per week with a good soaking to encourage deeper root growth, and schedule watering times in the morning to reduce evaporation associated with midday heat and wind.
An alternative to active management is a smart irrigation controller. Smart irrigation controllers use an internet connection to actively monitor local precipitation patterns and automatically adjust watering frequency and duration accordingly. Regardless of whether you choose active management or a smart irrigation controller, both are effective options for reducing water use and saving money.
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Riverview Heights Park Planting
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ACD partnered with the City of Fridley and MN GreenCorps to replace turf with native plants at Riverview Heights Park, a park along the Mississippi River and within the dispersal zone of the endangered rusty patched bumblebee. Native plantings have multiple benefits. Their long roots retain and infiltrate more water aiding water quality and they provide habitat for pollinators and songbirds.
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Watch out for the Invasive Plant: Leafy Spurge!
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Now is a good time of year to spot the invasive plant, Leafy Spurge! Please report any sightings on EDDMaps: www.eddmaps.org. Biological control is an option for reducing large infestations of leafy spurge. Adult leafy spurge beetles feed on the leaves and lay eggs at the base of spurge plants. Larvae feed on the roots over the winter until they pupate and emerge as adults the following summer. Read more about this invasive plant here.
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While taking precautions to ensure social distancing guidelines were followed at our annual Tree Sale, we distributed over 20,500 bare root tree and shrub seedlings in bundles of 10 and 25 to over 300 residents in one day. Thank you to everyone who purchased trees this year! Customers who ordered this year will receive notice of next year’s sale automatically. If you didn’t order trees this year and would like to be on the contact list for next year's sale, please email your first and last name, phone number and email address to kathy.berkness@anokaswcd.org.
A time lapse video of the Tree Sale can be found on our Facebook page: @AnokaConservationDistrict
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"Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) and a $3 million legislative allocation of Clean Water Funds make permanent easements an option for willing landowners within the nine-county Rum River watershed." Read the full story with comments from ACD staff Carrie Taylor and Jamie Schurbon here. |
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With a new partner and a second round of MN Board of Water and Soil Resources grant funding, the Anoka Cooperative Weed Management Area (ACWMA) will continue to combat invasive buckthorn, wild parsnip, and other nonnative species that threaten to choke out native plants and degrade wildlife habitat. Read more here. |
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"Many years later, and not knowing why, I opted for a career in natural resource management. The river that I took for granted, I sought to understand. The river that took care of me, I sought to nurture. The history we shared, I sought to extend." Read more from District Manager, Chris Lord, here. |
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A Decade of Competitive Clean Water Funding: How Do Local Partners Stack Up?
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During the first 10 years of competitive Clean Water Fund awards, 582 local government units submitted 2,064 successful project proposals and secured over $279M in funds to make our water resources better. In the first decade of Clean Water Fund awards, Anoka Conservation Districts comes in at a respectable 7th of 582. With 18 successful grant applications totaling just under $4M, we've been able to do a lot of work for those who live, work and play in Anoka County. Read the full story here.
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Upcoming Events
July 20th, 2020
5:00PM
July Board of Supervisors Meeting
Email Kathy.Berkness@AnokaSWCD.org for meeting agenda and teleconference meeting link.
August 13th, 2020
8:00AM - 1:30PM
Smart Salting for Roads Certification Training
WEBINAR - email Emily.Johnson@AnokaSWCD.org for link
August 17th, 2020
5:00PM
August Board of Supervisors Meeting
Email Kathy.Berkness@AnokaSWCD.org for meeting agenda and teleconference meeting link.
September 21st, 2020
5:00PM
September Board of Supervisors Meeting
Email Kathy.Berkness@AnokaSWCD.org for meeting agenda and teleconference meeting link. |
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Ask a Conservationist
Have a question you'd like answered by Anoka SWCD staff? Leave your question in this form and we'll try to answer it in our next newsletter.
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