Watonwan County Projects

This listing is produced by the Minnesota State Lottery from information provided by project managers and the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources. While we attempt to provide the most current information, specific project locations and allocations do change. Information on projects for the current biennium, in particular, should be regarded as preliminary.

Minnesota River Basin Initiative: Local Leadership - 1999-01 biennium with an extension to June 30, 2002. The Minnesota River has been the subject of many studies and many projects over many years. This project, administered by the Minnesota River Basin Joint Powers Board, was designed to encourage local leadership within each of the 13 major Minnesota River watersheds, implement projects on a cost-sharing basis to improve the river’s water quality and display the results on the Minnesota River Basin Data Center website http://mrbdc.mnsu.edu/index.html. In Watonwan County, Trust Fund money was used to help finance the repair of 300 feet of Butterfield Creek bank in Riverdale Township to reduce the amount of phosphorus and sediment entering the waterway.

Mussel Resource Survey - 1999-01 biennium. During the first two years of this project (this biennium), biologists and other staff from the Department of Natural Resources sampled 886 sites in 32 Minnesota rivers, 64 tributaries and 12 lakes including one site on the North Fork of the Watonwan River and seven sites on the Watonwan River in Watonwan County during September of 1999.

According to the website for this project, http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ecological_services/nhnrp/mussel_survey/index.html, freshwater mussels, commonly called clams, occur throughout the world but reach their greatest diversity in North America where about 300 species are found. Unfortunately, within the last 100 years mussel communities have declined in abundance and diversity due to dam construction, stream channelization, water pollution and sedimentation, over harvesting and the recent introduction of the exotic Zebra mussel. In response, groups such as the American Fisheries Society and The Nature Conservancy have identified mussels as the most imperiled group of animals in North America. The primary goal of this project is to build the information base necessary to sustain freshwater mussels in Minnesota. Building this base of information is expected to take about six years to complete.

Minnesota River Implementation Project - 1993-95 biennium. This Pollution Control Agency project works with landowners and governmental agencies to reduce the high amounts of pollution in the Minnesota River. The goal is to use land management practices that reduce the amount of pollutants and runoff that empty into the river from a 30-county area. The project includes an educational program being used by 15 high schools that brings attention to water quality.

RIM Critical Habitat Match - 1993-95 biennium. This program provides matching funds to those who want to buy or improve critical fish, wildlife and native plant habitats in Minnesota. Some of these funds are being used to buy natural areas for scientific study, education and nature observation; others are helping restore waterfowl populations to their 1970s level. In Watonwan County, the Department of Natural Resources used this program to add 7 acres to the Wood Lake Wildlife Management Area.

Insecticide Impact on Wetland and Upland Wildlife - 1991-93 biennium. Watonwan County was used as a site for a Department of Natural Resources’ study on the extent of the effects that insecticides have on wetland and upland areas. Other study areas were in Kandiyohi, Ramsey and Stevens Counties.

Minnesota River Basin Water Quality Monitoring - 1991-93 biennium. This Pollution Control Agency project sought to identify the sources of nonpoint pollution threatening the water quality and uses of the Minnesota River and its tributaries including the Watonwan River and Perch Creek. The results are used to direct state and local pollution programs.

Sealing Abandoned Wells - 1991-93 biennium. Ninety-seven wells were sealed in Watonwan County through this grant program matching state and county funds. Lead agency: Board of Water and Soil Resources.

South Central Minnesota Surface Water Resources Atlases and Data Bases - 1991-93 biennium. This project gathered data to produce the following maps: general land survey, surface hydrology, weather station locations, point source pollution, incorporation of new land-use maps, population data from the 1990 census, county soil maps and cancer and epidemiology maps. The Watonwan County project developed surface hydrology atlases and a database. Lead agency: Mankato State University.