Minnesota Watersheds will again host a movie night during the Annual Conference. Watersheds are asked to submit a 3 to 5-minute video by November 15. Watersheds are also invited to set up a table during the trade show to showcase your work. There are 10 spots available. The “Best Picture Award” and the “Best Booth Award” will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday evening.
The 2023 Minnesota Watersheds Annual Conference will be held November 29 – December 1 at the Arrowwood Conference Center in Alexandria.
The conference begins on Wednesday, November 29 with workshops.
Staff Development Workshop is geared toward the topics of communication with your board, performance appraisals, and managing difficult conversations.
The Water Management Workshop will cover the roles of watershed districts and watershed management organizations in watershed management, watershed planning and plan implementation, laws that govern government officials, and real-world examples of on-the-ground projects. We encourage board and staff to attend this workshop.
The Drainage Workshop will include a variety of topics such as multi-purpose drainage management, effective communication in drainage, information on appeals, an update on the Drainage Work Group (DWG), watershed districts and county financing, and an update on case law impacting drainage authorities.
Our annual trade show kicks off at 4:00 p.m. on November 29, followed by the “Night at the Movies”, and a welcome reception.
Concurrent education sessions, the trade show, and our annual banquet and awards presentations will be featured on Thursday, November 30.
The event closes on Friday, December 1 with our annual business meeting, at which the budget and resolutions are adopted, as well as changes to the bylaws.
The following stories were either found in the news or submitted by members and feature news related to watersheds and/or the work of Minnesota’s watershed organizations. Sharing stories with one another is a great way to learn and expand our knowledge. We encourage you to contact each other to learn more.
How Clean is the River?
This report by the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association provide information that allows five states to more effectively identify problem areas, target management actions, and measure progress in protecting water quality. The full report can be found here. (By the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association, August 2023)
State of Minnesota Water Reuse Phase 2
State work on developing a path forward for promoting safe and sustainable water reuse is resuming. Minnesota Watersheds are represented on the Steering Team by Forrest Kelly, Capitol Region Watershed District and Karen Kill, Brown’s Creek Watershed District.
Mark Doneux Receives Dave Ford Award
On October 17 at the Minnesota Water Resources Conference, Capitol Region Watershed District Administrator Mark Doneux received the Dave Ford Award for significant long-term achievement or public service in Water Resource management.
Building Resilience from the Watershed Up
This report was prepared for the State Resilience Partnership – a network of organizations led by the American Flood Coalition. A section on watersheds in Minnesota can be found starting on page 12.
Public information meeting scheduled
The Buffalo-Red River Watershed District has scheduled an information meeting to discuss the Upper Buffalo Rive Restoration Project. (By DL-Online, October 18, 2023)
Half mile of berms built in Dobbins
East of Austin, the Cedar River Watershed District constructed two berms to capture stormwater and snowmelt in the Dobbins Creek watershed. (By Tim Ruzek, Cedar River Watershed District, October 17, 2023)
Pope and Stevens County Water Fest
The North Fork Crow River and Middle Fork Crow River Watershed Districts support the Pope and Stevens SWCDs with Water Fest. (By Holly Kovarik, Pope SWCD, October 5, 2023)
Bois de Sioux Watershed District Update
This article contains an update on projects undertaken in the Bois de Sioux Watershed District. (By Jamie Beyer, BDSWD Administrator, September 28, 2023)
Minnesota Watersheds Board and Committees Update
Resolutions Committee. The Resolutions Committee met on October 10. The committee reviewed the six resolutions that were submitted and made recommendations to the Minnesota Watersheds Board. Meeting notes can be found here.
Finance Committee. The Finance Committee met on October 11 to review the draft FY24 budget. The committee unanimously approved moving the budget to the Minnesota Watersheds Board. Meeting notes can be found here.
Bylaws-Manual of Policy and Procedures (MOPP) Committee. The Bylaws-MOPP Committee met on October 16. The committee made recommendations for changes to the bylaws. Meeting notes can be found here.
Minnesota Watersheds Board. The Minnesota Watersheds Board met on October 23 via Zoom. The minutes of the August 21 regular meeting and August 28 special meeting were approved, as well as the treasurer’s report. Reports were given by the Minnesota Watersheds President and Executive Director, as well as the Minnesota Association of Watershed Administrators, BWSR, and Clean Water Council.
Actions taken:
The draft FY23 budget, resolutions, legislative platform, and proposed bylaws changes were moved to the membership for consideration at the annual conference.
The Executive Director was directed to work with Maddy Bohn to prepare a new contract and develop a reasonable template for Summer Tour expectations. The contract will be reviewed by legal counsel before it is brought to the board for approval.
The Board affirmed registration rates for the annual conference for non-member WDs and WMOs: an extra charge of $100 for the whole conference, $50 for the workshops, $25 for the banquet, and a $35 fee for the MAWA meeting.
Employment Announcements
Watershed Job Openings. Do not forget that Minnesota Watersheds will post job openings for members on its website and promote them on social media. It is one of our most popular pages so email Maddy at mnwatershed@gmail.com to get yours listed today.
There are currently no job postings.
State Agency Advocacy Update
October Partner Meetings
Drainage Work Group. The DWG met on October 12. Meeting notes can be found here. Meeting highlights include:
Minnesota Watersheds and the Association of Minnesota Counties memo. The memo was discussed at length. A subcommittee to discuss notification was formed. Members include Carly Griffith, Don Arnosti, Ted Suss, Brian Martinson, Alex Trunnel, Randall Doneen, and Jan Voit.
Notification concepts. Tom Gile gave an overview of the concepts he developed. He will have a draft document ready before the November DWG meeting.
Runoff and Sediment Repair Cost Apportionment. Ashlee Ricci and Chris Otterness gave a PowerPoint presentation on the use of an RDSO concept in Rice Creek WD.
Outlet Adequacy Subcommittee. The draft report will be available before the November DWG meeting. Members were given a homework assignment to read 103E.261, Subd. 4 and 103E.015, Subd. 4. There is foundational disagreement between drainage authorities and environmental groups on whether these statutes constitute part of outlet adequacy.
Clean Water Council. Marcie Weinandt provided the following update on the October CWC meeting. The CWC met on October 16 and expressed how pleased they were to see the amazing and effective metro watershed projects on the recent CWC Tour. They continued discussion regarding planning for the 2024-25 CWC funding recommendation and an updated strategic plan. Topics included impaired waters list, nearly and barely; social measures, protection and restoration strategies, including the incorporation of the BWSR Nonpoint Priority Funding Plan. You can follow the work of the Council and better still, the many projects funded by the CWF.
BWSR. The BWSR Board met on October 25. The agenda and August meeting minutes were approved. Reports were given by the BWSR Chair, Executive Director, and state agencies. Advisory comments were also provided. Board action included approval to develop a Request for Proposals for the FY24 and 25 Cooperative Weed Management Area Program, Multi-purpose Drainage Management Grants, and Soil Health Program Grants. The 2024 Board meeting schedule was also adopted. Click here for meeting notes.
CWC Policy Committee. The CWC Policy Committee met on October 27. Following the discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion, the committee reviewed their draft drainage policy and took comments from attendees. A PowerPoint presentation was given on a 50-Year Water Plan Scope of Work. Click here for meeting notes.
Education and Training
Education, Grant, and Training Opportunities
NEVER STOP LEARNING! Continuing education is a pivotal component to organizational success. Minnesota Watersheds is committed to connecting you with high quality training whether it is offered at our events or through our partners. Check out the Minnesota Watersheds online training calendar for information regarding upcoming education and training events.
Climate Pollution Reduction Grants: This EPA grant program is a $5 billion investment that provides states, local governments, and tribal nations with resources to plan and implement reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollution.
BWSR offers a searchable library of recorded modules, webinars, videos, and other resources to find professional development information on a variety of topics.
Minnesota Watersheds offers an online library in the Members Only section of our website.
Please forward opportunities that would be of value to our members.
To assist members with key dates for the Resolutions, Finance, and Legislative Committees, as well as information related to dues, and the annual conference and annual business meeting, a schedule of key dates has been developed.
Contact Us - Let's Talk
Minnesota Watersheds Board members are available to meet with you at one of your future board meetings. They also welcome the opportunity to meet with you one-on-one to hear about your successes and ideas where Minnesota Watersheds could be of assistance. Contact information is on our website.
We enjoy working with Minnesota Watersheds members and greatly appreciate your support!
To download a copy of this Newsletter, or to view previous Newsletters, follow this link.
meetings. They also welcome the opportunity to meet with you one-on-one to hear about your successes and ideas where Minnesota Watersheds could be of assistance. Contact information is on our 
