In 2023, CMSCWD launched a comprehensive lakeshore protection and restoration program for the ten most popular lakes in the watershed district, developed stormwater treatment projects for Big Carnelian and Big Marine Lakes, and began planning for a future restoration project on Mill Stream in Marine on St. Croix.

Communities across the Twin Cities are currently waging a battle against time, as they work to curb the flow of salt into lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater before it’s too late.

Washington County is nearing the end of its current 10-year Groundwater Plan, and according to Stephanie Souter, Senior Program Manager with Washington County Public Health & Environment, “A lot has changed since 2014 – and I don’t just mean COVID.”

This year, Landfall is getting a big dose of flower power, thanks to Washington Conservation District and a grant from the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources “Lawns to Legumes” program. The goal is to improve pollinator habitat and beautify the community.

In Chisago and Washington Counties, 100% of the water we drink comes from groundwater. Though few people think about it when they turn on the sink, the origins of this water are intricately woven into the history of the rocks and the land.

While individual shoreline property owners may not think their actions can influence water quality and aquatic life, the cumulative impact of a majority of neighbors developing these shorelines and removing vegetation and/or rocking the shore has an extensive impact.

How can you determine if your favorite local lake is safe for fishing and swimming? In Minnesota, the Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) works with local government and volunteers to monitor water quality in lakes, rivers, and streams, and maintains a list of water bodies that are “impaired” by one or more pollutants.

Today, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System protects more than 13,000 miles of riverway in 226 rivers across the United States. The St. Croix is the only federally protected Wild and Scenic River in Minnesota and one of only two in Wisconsin.

If it feels like it never rains, it’s not your imagination. Rainfall data from May 15 – June 21 of this year show that Minnesota is experiencing all-time precipitation lows for all regions of the state. Even with the recent rain last weekend, yards and farm fields are brutally dry and turfgrass lawns are really showing the effects.

This spring, the Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District (CMSCWD) and East Metro Water Education Program conducted a mailed survey and and facilitated small-group
conversations with lakeshore landowners on Big Carnelian Lake. We gained a wealth of information from both the survey and
our conversations. Here’s what you told us!

The district’s many other activities such as monitoring, analysis and prioritization, and communications and engagement are all detailed in the district’s 2022 annual report.

Raingardens help to reduce runoff water pollution and also replenish shallow groundwater aquifers. Beautiful as they are, people sometimes have misconceptions about how raingardens work and how to care for them.

Whether you’ve got your tackle box packed and ready to go, or are waiting for a quieter day to fish, there are several simple steps you can take this fishing season to help protect our Minnesota lakes from aquatic invasive species (AIS).

Minnesota is home to 2000 known native wildlife species, 346 of which are identified as Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). In addition, there are more than 2100 species of plants and 9000 species of mushrooms and fungus that call Minnesota home.

As Tara Iyer reaches down to pull a weed from her lakeshore garden along Green Lake in Chisago County, a swallowtail butterfly alights on a nearby flower blossom. A gust of wind sends the blossom with its passenger fluttering gently up and down. Tara’s husband Shravan takes notice. “It’s so amazing seeing what’s here – butterflies, bees, birds – there’s so much life on our shoreline now,” he says.

“One thing I like to emphasize is that native rough fish play a critical ecological role in supporting clean water and charismatic animals like eagles and otters,” Winter explains. “Right now, eagles are sitting on eggs in their nests that will hatch when the suckers spawn. Eagles aren’t eating minnows or walleye. They eat suckers.”

“Sometimes we engineer ourselves into problems when we don’t pay attention to the landscape. Our tendency to cover areas with impervious surfaces and restrict the movement of our rivers and lakes works against us, and it prevents nature from doing a lot of the hard work of infiltrating, moving, and storing water for us. We need to work more with natural systems versus against them,” writes Barbara Heitkamp, an outreach educator with the Lower St. Croix Watershed Partnership and East Metro Water Education Program.

What I wouldn’t give to see a bee right now! During the summer, our gardens literally vibrate with life and you can track the passing weeks by the blooms that lure bees from one side of the yard to the other. Early in the summer, the herbs – oregano, thyme, and sage – offer up tiny, but delicious, morsels to the pollinators. Next comes the wild rose, whose pink petals are beautiful, but fleeting. Later in the summer, the virgin’s bower cascades over our wooden arbor, presenting a bountiful feast to bees and wasps of all shapes and sizes. In the fall, there is anise hyssop, aster, and goldenrod.

The Minnesota DNR has removed more than 50 dams statewide during the past thirty years and has found that an average of 73% of the lost species return to these rivers once the dams are gone. Despite the obvious ecological benefits, however, dam removal isn’t always an easy decision.

The street sweeper is an unlikely hero. Rumbling down city streets and boulevards at a leisurely 2-3 miles per hour, these hulking machines are, for most of us, a passing curiosity on an otherwise unremarkable day. As it turns out, however, these busy brooms may hold the key to cleaner lakes and rivers in urban communities around the state.