On May 24, 2019, the legislature adopted 65 LCCMR recommendations as recommended, provided additional funds to two recommendations and modified one other. They also added 14 additional appropriations, primarily using funds freed up ($2.94 million FY19; $7.84 million FY20) following the repeal of M.L. 2018, Chapter 214, Article 6, Section 4 appropriation bonds. On May 31, 2019, 82 appropriations were signed into law by the Governor as M.L. 2019, First Special Session, Chapter 4, Article 2, for $64,476,000 total appropriations ($149,000 FY16, $2,940,000 FY19, and $61,387,000 FY20).
When available, we have provided links to web sites related to the project. The sites linked to this page are not created, maintained, or endorsed by the LCCMR office or the Minnesota Legislature.
Bruce Carlson
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Road, Box 25
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5083 |
Email: | bruce.carlson@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mbs/index.html |
Appropriation Language
$1,500,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for the Minnesota biological survey to complete the statewide field surveys begun in 1987 to provide a foundation for conserving biological diversity by systematically collecting, interpreting, and delivering data on native and rare species, pollinators, and native plant communities throughout Minnesota. Any revenues generated through the publication of books or other resources created through this appropriation may be reinvested as described in the work plan approved by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources according to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
The Minnesota Biological Survey (MBS) collects, interprets, and delivers foundational data on native and rare plants, animals, plant communities, and functional landscapes. These data help prioritize actions to conserve, manage, and restore Minnesota's biological diversity and ecological systems.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSMinnesota Biological Survey (MBS) baseline terrestrial plant field surveys in Lake of the Woods, St. Louis, and Koochiching counties were finished under this appropriation. This brings to completion baseline biological field surveys in each of MN’s 87 counties, an effort that began in 1987.
Lake surveys for aquatic plants occurred in eastern Minnesota with significant rare plant discoveries including new state record locations. Baseline surveys for native and rare moths in northern and eastern counties revealed numerous notable rare species including state records and species new to science.
Work continued with DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife in northwest Minnesota to update and expand on 1980-90s era MBS surveys of native prairie and savannah and associated rare species in 34 sites.
Major progress continued from previous ENRTF MBS appropriations to enter MBS field data from this long-term project into databases of the Natural Heritage Information System, preparing biological specimens for accession to the University of Minnesota Bell Museum and Entomology collections, and digitizing and archiving MBS county survey records.
Mapping and classification of native plant communities based on MBS field surveys continued in several northern counties. Over 46,000 polygons were mapped and classified for nearly 2 million acres.
The completed manuscript of the book “Ferns and Lycophytes of Minnesota” was completed and delivered to the UMN Press for publishing.
The DNR Rare Species Guide was updated with new data from field work accomplished under this and previous ENRTF MBS appropriations. A public online biodiversity data viewing and delivery platform, MN Conservation Explorer, was developed and launched.
MBS provided technical guidance to a wide range of audiences related to outcomes of this project. MBS contributed social media posts (posted to the DNR, SNA, or Nongame Wildlife Program Facebook pages) and updated its website regarding MBS survey activity and highlights.
MBS data are stored in the DNR’s Natural Heritage Information System and biological specimens accessioned to the UMN Bell Museum of Natural History. This includes information on rare species, native plant communities, sites of biodiversity significance. MBS distributes survey results on the MBS website, DNR GIS QuickLayers, and MN Geospatial Commons. Presentations, technical guidance, biological reports, and published books are delivered that describe and interpret MBS results for use by local government units, conservation groups, citizen advisory groups, scientists, land managers, and students. MBS data, products, and staff expertise are used throughout the state to assist conservation decisions.
Mike Davis
MN DNR
2109 North Lakeshore Drive
Lake City, MN 55041
Phone: | (651) 314-6302 |
Email: | mike.davis@state.mn.us |
Appropriation Language
$500,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources to restore native freshwater mussel assemblages, and the ecosystem services they provide, in the Mississippi, Cedar, and Cannon Rivers and to inform the public on mussels and mussel conservation. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Reestablishing historical mussel assemblages through laboratory propagation began in 2016 at the MNDNR Center for Aquatic Mollusk Programs (CAMP). Since then, CAMP has released 9,541 sub-adult mussels from five species in three watersheds; restoring ecosystem services and enhancing Minnesota rivers with each mussel.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSMinnesota’s native mussels are critically important to aquatic ecosystems but have been lost or diminished in many water bodies. Harvest for pearls and buttons, pollution, dams, and destabilized waterways have caused mussel populations to decline dramatically, 80% of Minnesota’s species are affected. Improvements from Clean Water Act implementation, stream restoration work, and protective laws are creating opportunities to reverse this trend. However, dams that limit fish movement are still hindering mussel recolonization, because mussels rely on fish as hosts to complete their life cycle. Thus, conservation methods such as laboratory propagation and reintroduction are needed to help mussel populations recover, and ultimately, restore ecosystem benefits. CAMP has implemented this work for three watersheds in Minnesota, which were chosen based on historical records, habitat, and fish communities. We constructed several propagation systems specifically designed for juvenile recovery and culture over time, improving our success along the way. Since 2016, CAMP has produced more than 1.5 million juvenile mussels. Due to the challenges of culture, survivorship varies between species and years. Juvenile survival after 90-days ranged from 0 – 84%. Newly metamorphosed juveniles were placed into various culture containers including a recirculating system, static system, or a flow-through system. Survival rates vary between systems, and within systems. Factors such as dissolved oxygen, ammonia, pH, and conductivity are monitored throughout growing period. Overall, survival is highest in the flow-through system, however, the system requires the most person-hours per juvenile. From July 2019 until June 2021, CAMP has released 7,038 sub-adult mussels from five species in three watersheds. Since our first ENRTF grant CAMP has released more than 9,500 sub-adult mussels. Mussels will enhance water clarity and improve habitat in the Cannon, Cedar, and Mississippi Rivers for years to come.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONCAMP’s efforts to restore native freshwater mussels were featured in several news articles, including an Episode 1 of Season 3 on MN DNR Prairie Podcast. The Star Tribune and Cedar Watershed District discussed our efforts to reclaim stretches of the river with mussel populations. Moreover, CAMPs newsletters reach more than 5,000 users. Lastly, with the upcoming launch of Clam Counter App for IOS and Android platforms, a digital field guide and general information regarding mussels will be available to all smartphone users.
Matthew Etterson
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory
6770 Haugen Lane
Duluth, MN 55803
Phone: | (218) 590-7029 |
Email: | metterso@d.umn.edu |
Web: | https://www.hawkridge.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$250,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory to quantify the exposure and health risk of two environmental neurotoxins to Minnesota raptors.
These results are a first look at polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Minnesota’s Birds of Prey. Among vertebrates, birds appear to be most vulnerable to PFAS effects, which can result in reproductive failure. Birds of prey are vulnerable to PFAS because of their position atop both aquatic and terrestrial food webs.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSPolyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of chemicals used in industrial processes and fire suppression. Mercury (Hg) enters the environment from point-source releases due to industrial processes and through combustion of coal for power generation. Both Hg and PFAS are present locally at highly contaminated sites and ubiquitously due to atmospheric deposition. Due to their predatory nature, birds of prey are at unique and elevated risk of exposure to both PFAS and Hg that concentrate in animal tissues; with each link in their food chain, predators consume and concentrate these toxicants contained in their prey. We collected blood and feather samples from 355 birds of prey at two Minnesota locations, Hawk Ridge in Duluth, and The Raptor Center in St. Paul. We analyzed blood plasma for up to 40 PFAS chemicals and feathers for total mercury concentration. Our objectives were to (1) collect baseline data on exposure of MN raptors to Hg and PFAS and (2) to test specific hypotheses about patterns of exposure in relation to ecological variables such as diet, age, sex, and species identity. As expected, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was the PFAS of highest concentration across all species and in each individual species, typically at concentrations ten or more times that of other PFAS. Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) had the highest exposure, probably reflecting the greater representation of aquatic prey (fish) in its diet. However, Cooper’s Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) had comparable exposures and they consume entirely terrestrial prey. Among ecological variables, species identity offered the greatest explanatory power, followed by a measure of species’ tolerance of human activity, which may serve as a proxy for likelihood of exposure. These results will prove invaluable for understanding and managing both human and ecological exposures to PFAS and Hg in Minnesota.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONDr. Etterson has presented results at internal meetings of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s PFAS Working Group at the Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, Duluth, MN. Final PFAS results were received from the contract laboratory on 29 June 2022, just prior to the close of the project period and we expect dissemination activity to increase considerably over the next year. Dr. Ponder will present some results from this work at the upcoming International Ornithological Congress in Durban, South Africa, August 2022. We expect at least two manuscripts will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals for publication in the coming year.
David E. Anderson
U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and University of Minnesota
200 Hodson Hall, 1980 Folwell Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 626-1222 |
Email: | dea@umn.edu |
Web: | http://mncoopunit.cfans.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$300,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to document the movement and habitat use of Minnesota trumpeter swans to provide foundational information necessary for trumpeter swan management and conservation. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2023, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Julia Ponder
U of MN - Raptor Center
1920 Fitch Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 624-3431 |
Email: | ponde003@umn.edu |
Web: | https://www.raptor.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$350,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for the Raptor Center to evaluate how to best harvest timber in the boreal forest to enable wildlife with small home ranges, such as spruce grouse, to thrive in a changing landscape. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2023, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Tiffany Wolf
U of MN
495 Animal Science/Veterinary Medicine, 1988 Fitch Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 625-0492 |
Email: | wolfx305@umn.edu |
Appropriation Language
$400,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to identify key habitats and vectors of brainworm transmission between deer and moose that may be targeted by resource management to mitigate moose exposure to this deadly condition.
We created new knowledge regarding the ecological context of Parelaphostrongylus tenuis transmission that will aid wildlife and forest managers considering management actions as they try to conserve Minnesota’s at-risk moose population.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSParelaphostrongylus tenuis, or brainworm, is an important cause of adult moose mortality in Minnesota. Our team employed innovative approaches to better understand P. tenuis transmission between white-tailed deer and moose for targeted management. In Activity 1, we conducted spatial analyses of movement data from collared deer, moose, and wolves on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation (GPIR) to explore seasonal habitat use by deer and moose under different levels of predation risk. We found that habitat overlap between moose and deer increased seasonally from winter to summer, primarily due to use by deer in association with wolf predation pressure. Importantly, predation risk resulted in greater spatial separation of deer and moose, resulting in reduced P. tenuis risk to adult moose. In Activity 2, we applied advanced molecular techniques to moose and deer feces to detect gastropods (i.e., snails and slugs) consumed (an understood mechanism for P. tenuis transmission). We detected gastropods in five moose samples out of more than 160 samples screened. We identified two species of upland, ground-dwelling snails in samples collected in autumn (Punctum minutissimum and Zonitoides arboreus) and one species of aquatic snail detected twice in samples collected during summer (Helisoma trivolvis). This is the first empirically documented consumption of gastropods by moose. Finally, in Activity 3, we produced novel P. tenuis genomic data, to which we applied habitat analyses to identify transmission patterns across the GPIR. We found that landscape likely influences P. tenuis transmission, with features such as wetlands and natural mineral licks playing an important role relative to the other landscape features. Our research has been published in Science Advances and Journal of Wildlife Diseases, presented to numerous scientific and lay audiences, covered by local and national media (e.g., Duluth News Tribune, MPR, Smithsonian Magazine), and considered in the drafting of the DNR’s current moose management plan.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONWe disseminated project findings through presentations, papers, and popular media. The primary resources for managers/scientists are peer-reviewed papers on the non-lethal effects of predators on brainworm transmission and on moose gastropod consumption. We disseminated our work to scientists and managers at conferences and seminars. We also created an infographic about moose gastropod consumption that is available on YouTube. Our dissemination outside the academic setting includes organizations such as the Minnesota Native Plant Society, Cook County High School, Fox and Hounds Club and media outlets such as Outdoor News, Minnesota Public Radio, Smithsonian Magazine, WTIP radio, and Duluth News Tribune.
Nicholas McCann
U of MN
B52 Skok Hall, 2003 Upper Buford Circle
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (763) 286-2215 |
Email: | mccan062@umn.edu |
Appropriation Language
$500,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to map habitat use and diseases of urban foxes and coyotes, evaluate risks these animals may pose to people and pets, and generate information needed to reduce human-wildlife conflicts.
This study provides information to residents and managers about coyotes and foxes. Our results reveal key insights, including about habitat requirements, the expansion of coyotes, and relationships between disease prevalence and free-roaming cats. They suggest outreach efforts to reduce free-roaming pets and management to increase natural vegetation in residential greenspaces.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSWe delivered 17 presentations to colleges (e.g., Anoka Ramsey Community College and Macalester College), grade schools, and municipalities (e.g., Cities of Bloomington). We also provided 12 interviews to news outlets and podcasts (e.g., MPR, BBC, and Three Rivers Park District's "Wandering Naturalist" podcast), content for two Friends of the Mississippi River newsletters, and led over 60 volunteers into the field and coordinated with two UMN courses (60 students total). To further disseminate information, we created a University website, Facebook page, and iNaturalist page for the project, and we have drafted one scientific manuscript (set to be published this year).
Heather Arends
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Road Box 45
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5376 |
Email: | heather.arends@dnr.state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lands_minerals/aggregate_maps/index.html |
Appropriation Language
$700,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources to map the aggregate resource potential for four counties and make this information available in print and electronic format to local units of government for use in planning and zoning.
Michael Joyce
U of MN - Duluth NRRI
5013 Miller Trunk Hwy
Duluth, MN 55811
Phone: | (218) 788-2656 |
Email: | joyc0073@d.umn.edu |
Appropriation Language
$190,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth to build, install, and evaluate den boxes as habitat enhancement for fishers and other cavity-nesting wildlife in managed forests where a lack of large trees may be threatening population survival. The final outcome for the project must include guidelines and best practices for use of den boxes for fisher habitat.
Fishers used some den boxes, but it appears fishers find natural cavities to raise young. Den cavity availability alone is likely not causing the fisher population decline. Den boxes were used by many other wildlife species. Installing den boxes could be locally beneficial and increases public involvement with wildlife.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe fisher population in Minnesota declined by 50% from 2000-2015. Large cavity trees are critical habitat resources that female fishers use to raise kits. Previous research on fishers in Minnesota suggested that lack of large cavity trees could be one factor limiting the fisher population. We evaluated whether den boxes could provide critical habitat for fishers where natural cavities are rare. Our objectives were to build, install, and monitor fisher den boxes to describe use of den boxes by fishers and other wildlife, determine what factors influence whether fishers use den boxes, and to develop guidelines and recommendations for using den boxes to improve habitat. We built and installed 99 den boxes during fall and winter 2019-2020 and captured over 3 million images of wildlife visiting and using den boxes. Fishers visited 41% of den boxes and used 11% of den boxes on 43 different occasions. Use by fishers was lower than in other studies. Low use rates by fishers could indicate cavity availability is not limiting fishers, but additional work is needed to more fully understand why fisher use of den boxes was low and to evaluate other potential causes of the fisher population decline. Habitat suitability at den box sites was not associated with use by fishers. Fisher presence at den boxes increased over time, and fishers should continue to find and use den boxes in the future. Martens, red squirrels, gray squirrels, flying squirrels, and weasels also used den boxes to rest, store food, avoid predators, and care for young. Frequent use of den boxes by other wildlife demonstrates the value of den boxes to wildlife despite low use by fishers. Den box plans and guidelines we developed have allowed many members of the public to build and install their own den boxes, increasing public involvement with wildlife.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONWe created den box building instructions and guidelines for den box installation. Throughout the project, we shared these documents directly with 120 members of the public and resource managers who requested information on the project. Project results were disseminated to technical and non-technical audiences through presentations, print and broadcast media, social media posts, and a Minnesota fisher den box project website we developed. Results are also summarized in a master’s thesis. We are currently finalizing a technical report and three manuscripts using data from this project that will be submitted to scientific journals and shared with wildlife managers.
David E. Andersen
U of MN
1980 Folwell Avenue, 200 Hodson Hall
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 626-1222 |
Email: | dea@umn.edu |
Web: | http://mncoopunit.cfans.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$171,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to evaluate red-headed woodpecker survival and habitat needs and to use this data to develop and disseminate a long-term oak savanna management plan that supports red-headed woodpeckers and other oak savanna habitat-dependent species.
Our project results provide important information on the factors associated with red-headed woodpecker habitat use, survival, and productivity in savanna ecosystems, which can aid ongoing habitat management and conservation efforts intended to conserve and restore this species in Minnesota.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSRed-headed Woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) are charismatic cavity-nesters that breed in savannas and open forest systems across the eastern and Midwestern United States and south central and eastern Canada. Historically, they were common across the Midwest, but populations have experienced dramatic regional declines. Habitat restoration initiatives have been challenged by a general lack of information on the factors that make savannas desirable for this species. With collaborators from the University of Toledo in Ohio, we studied red-headed woodpecker demography, habitat associations, and migration ecology from 2017 – 2020 in Ohio and Minnesota to elucidate critical periods, locations, life stages, and habitat characteristics associated with population growth rates and to provide habitat restoration and management recommendations for land managers and the public (separate funding sources for research in Ohio). Our results indicate that red-headed woodpecker productivity is higher in landscapes with both open and closed-canopy forest and that even in large stands of oak savanna, productivity near the center of those stands is predicted to be lower than in savanna closer to other forest types. GPS tracking data show detailed information on the migratory and overwintering locations and behaviors of adult red-headed woodpeckers, which, to our knowledge is the first reported data of its kind for this species in Minnesota. Our results provide information on snag density around nest trees, the importance of nest tree wood hardness, and habitat use by adult and fledgling woodpeckers. We have also gained considerable information on the community of predators that may impact red-headed woodpecker nest survival through our trail camera project, now hosted on Zooniverse. We have engaged with thousands of volunteers from around the world to share more about our research through our cavity camera project. Our best management practices are based on current results and we intend to update our recommendations in consultation with collaborators and other experts.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONWe presented our research at professional conferences (the Annual meeting of the Minnesota Ornithologist’s Union, the American Ornithological Society Annual Conference, and at the Toledo Museum of Natural History Forum on Local Natural History and Research). We also presented eight invited talks to public audiences through the University of Minnesota, Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, multiple local Audubon Chapter organizations, and a Naturalist club in Brandon Manitoba in Canada. Our research project was featured in articles in the following newspapers and magazines: Terrain.org, University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences, and the Minneapolis Star and Tribune.
We are also currently in the process of preparing three manuscripts for publication in the peer-reviewed, scientific literature focused on red-headed woodpecker nest survival and nest site selection, landscape productivity, and mating system:
Nathaniel Miller
Audubon Minnesota
1 Water St. #200
St. Paul, MN 55107
Phone: | (651) 739-9332 |
Email: | nmiller@audubon.org |
Web: | http://mn.audubon.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$124,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the National Audubon Society, Minnesota office, to establish benchmark survey sites for implementing and tracking outcomes of collaborative restoration and enhancement activities within Important Bird Areas for three bird species of conservation concern.
Joseph Bump
U of MN
FWCB 135 Skok Hall, Upper Buford Circle
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 624-2255 |
Email: | bump@umn.edu |
Web: | https://fwcb.cfans.umn.edu/personnel/joseph-bump |
Appropriation Language
$199,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to determine key water habitats used by moose in northern forested regions of Minnesota, measure the effects of moose foraging on aquatic plant and fish diversity, and provide educational programming materials for the public.
Patrick Veraguth
Minnesota Association of County Surveyors
526 Willow Drive, PO Box 398
Alexandria, MN 56308
Phone: | (320) 762-2964 |
Email: | patv@co.douglas.mn.us |
Web: | http://macsinfo.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$135,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the Minnesota Association of County Surveyors to conduct a pilot project with Grant County to remonument and certify the public land survey corners in Lawrence Township. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
The Grant County Pilot Project was created to aid in the recovery and remonumentation of Minnesota’s Public Land Survey System (PLSS) Section Corners. Minnesota has over 300,000 Section Corners and less than half of them have been remonumented. All Land Descriptions in Minnesota have been described from these corners; this makes them an invaluable resource that needs to be re-established and maintained for both current and future validations.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSPLSS Section corners were established by the federal government in the late1800’s in Minnesota. Minnesota Association of County Surveyors (MACS) did a rough count of all the Section Corners in the State of Minnesota and came up with over 300,000 corners. Less than half of those corners have been certified and recorded. MACS main goal is to remonument all Section Corners in Minnesota. This is a huge project and will take both time and money to complete.
MACS created this Pilot Project as an example for other counties to reference and then implement a similar plan for PLSS Remonumentation in their location. Grant County was chosen because it did not have a full time County Surveyor on staff and remonumentation has not been a focus for the county until recently. The Remonumentation Committee created a model Request For Proposal (RFP) for other counties to use to aid in hiring a Land Surveyor to remonument Section Corners. The RFP was sent out to all local Land Survey Firms for bids. An informational meeting was held to answer any questions about the RFP. Eight firms attended the meeting; five firms submitted RFPs. Kramer Leas Deleo PC (KLD) was hired to do this work out of the five interviewed firms. KLD measured into all Section, Quarter, and Meander Corner locations in Lawrence Township (Township 130 North, Range 44 West). All corners were excavated that were not in a cut section to expose all monuments set over time at each corner. KLD set monuments and a survey sign at each corner to aid in locating corner monument. KLD recorded Certificates of Location on all corners in Lawrence Township. KLD created Certificate of Survey showing all corners in Lawrence Township. 138 corners were re-established, and Grant County now has an entire Township remonumented. MACS discovered improvements that can be made in their model RFP. MACS looks to implement this model statewide to aid in a statewide remonumentation effort.
This Pilot Project has made Surveying in Lawrence Township straight-forward, determinable, and cost-effective now that all the corners are set. 138 corners have been re-established. This model RFP can be used by other counties. This Pilot Project is a model for other counties to incorporate in their Section Corner Remonumentation in Minnesota. An ArcView Story Map is in the works and will eventually be used to educate other counties as well as the general public on Land Surveying and Section Corner Remonumentation. (not part of original project)
Barbara Lusardi
U of MN - MN Geological Survey
2609 Territorial Road
St. Paul, MN 55114
Phone: | (612) 626-5119 |
Email: | lusar001@umn.edu |
Web: | https://www.mngs.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$2,000,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Geological Survey, to continue producing county geologic atlases to inform management of surface water and groundwater resources. This appropriation is to complete Part A, which focuses on the properties and distribution of earth materials to define aquifer boundaries and the connection of aquifers to the land surface and surface water resources.
County Geologic Atlases were completed in two counties and work continued in 17 counties. Based on the time spent, this is equivalent to “completing” about five atlases. Atlas maps and data provide foundational information that supports water management activities to the benefit of drinking water and aquatic habitat.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSA Geologic Atlas provides the geologic framework of our state. It describes the materials and features at the land surface and extends all the way down to the bedrock surface. An atlas provides information useful for resource management and land-use planning. Each Atlas typically requires more than 7,000 person-hours of work. Some of that work is in the field: drilling test borings, examining, sampling, and describing outcrops. Much of the work follows afterward: interpreting field measurements, recognizing and formally naming geologic units described in well records, and making maps. The result is a detailed account of the distribution and properties of the rock and sediment that lie below the land surface. These materials, and their ability to store or transmit water, determine where we can find water, and how we can protect and make wise use of that water. This includes our lakes and rivers as well as groundwater.
As part of this 2019 award, Rock and Nobles counties were completed. Over 8,000 well construction records, primarily located by County staff, were compiled into the database to support mapping, document water use in specific aquifers, and to help resolve well problems. Progress continued on mapping the bedrock and surficial geology, subsurface Quaternary stratigraphy, bedrock topography and glacial sediment thickness in 17 other counties. We’ve described hundreds of outcrops, taken thousands of hand samples, and drilled 13 continuous cores allowing us to sample rocks and sediment up to 300 feet deep.
Continuing under the M.L 2020 award, atlases for St. Louis, Aitkin, and Steele counties should be complete within the next three months. Lake, Ottertail and Lac Qui Parle counties should be finished within the next 12-18 months. Work on the remaining counties, Lincoln, Pipestone, Pennington, Cook, Yellow Medicine, Polk and Chippewa, will continue. The County Geologic Atlas program began in 1981 and continues with support of the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as well as the Clean Water Fund, the Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Geological Survey. To date we have completed atlases for 46 counties, 29 are underway; and 16 have yet to be started. All of our mapping products and data are available in print or digital formats.
Completed atlas products have been posted to the MGS website and linked to the University’s Digital Conservancy as noted above. PDF products as well as all of the related GIS data are available on these pages. In addition, the MGS hosts an Open Data Portal on which many of our county geologic atlases are presented as "Story Maps" that allow for direct access of the data without any special software or interface.
Paul Putzier
MN DNR
Box 25, 500 Lafayette Rd N.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5692 |
Email: | paul.putzier@state.mn.us |
Web: | http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/waters/groundwater_section/mapping |
Appropriation Language
$2,400,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources to continue producing county geologic atlases to inform management of surface water and groundwater resources for drinking water and other purposes. This appropriation is for Part B, which uses the geologic formations mapped in Part A of the county geologic atlases to characterize the potential water yields of aquifers and the aquifers' sensitivity to contamination.
The Groundwater Atlas provides foundational, science-based, information for use and management of Minnesota groundwaters. The atlas is valuable to government, industry, and for research. The grant supported work on nineteen atlases and publication of county groundwater atlases (County Atlas Part B) for Brown, Hennepin, Kanabec, Meeker, Morrison, Redwood, and Winona counties.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe Groundwater Atlas provides foundational, science-based, information for use and management of Minnesota groundwaters. The atlas is valuable to government, industry, and research. During the period of the grant, county groundwater atlases (County Atlas Part B) were published for Brown, Hennepin, Kanabec, Meeker, Morrison, Redwood, and Winona counties. Mapping activities also continued through the end of the grant in Aitkin, Becker, Cass, Dodge, Houston, Hubbard, Isanti, Kandiyohi, Nobles, Olmsted, Rock, and Wadena, with publication of completed groundwater atlases for Becker, Cass, Dodge, Houston, Hubbard, Isanti, and Wadena expected in 2023.
The following related reports were also published:
Groundwater sampling is a key element in the completion of an atlas. Sampling efforts necessarily slowed during the pandemic. However, groundwater sampling was completed in Dodge, Kandiyohi, Nobles, Olmstead, Rock, and Steele counties. Letter reports with all sampling results were provided to well owners for all wells sampled as part of this grant.
DNR Groundwater Atlas staff completed field work for the geophysical investigation of Pennington County as part of the atlas process. DNR Groundwater Atlas staff also completed planning for the geophysical investigations in fall 2022 of Douglas, Grant, Polk, and Red Lake counties.
As part of the atlas development process, DNR staff conduct reviews of draft County Geologic Atlases (Part A) prepared by the MGS. During the grant this included DNR reviews for Aitkin, Becker, Cass, Dakota, Lac qui Parle, Lake, Otter Tail, Steele and St. Louis.
Dissemination and outreach activities continued throughout the grant period including presentations, news releases, GovDelivery list serve (6,000 recipients) notifications, and virtual meetings with county staff and county boards, seminars, and presentations.
Dissemination activities focused on notification of sampling activities and publication of atlases through news releases and GovDelivery (6,000 recipient list serve), participation in seminars, presentations, and educational/technical field trips to a diverse set of stakeholders and resources managers including county SWCDs, county boards, the Clean Water Council, BWRS, MPCA, the Legislative Conference of Minnesota Counties, LCCMR events, and others. Dissemination also included workshops with counties, publication of summary articles, updated website and many personal contacts with users of the atlas. Atlas staff also worked closely with university staff to incorporate atlas materials in the classroom and to collaborate on projects.
Nicole Mattson
Minnesota Zoological Garden
13000 Zoo Blvd.
Apple Valley, MN 55124
Phone: | (952) 431-9540 |
Email: | nicole.mattson@state.mn.us |
Web: | http://mnzoo.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$199,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Minnesota Zoological Garden to develop educational displays, interactive exhibits, and engaging online programs that summarize and share scientific findings about moose decline in Minnesota. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
The Minnesota Zoo gathered moose researchers to share their key scientific research findings about Minnesota’s moose decline. The research findings were used to develop interactive interpretive features for the Zoo’s moose habitat, an educational website, and an engaging online game that highlights the survival challenges influencing Minnesota’s moose population.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe moose is an iconic Northwoods animal that has had an important presence in Minnesota and at the Minnesota Zoo. However, moose in Minnesota have experienced periods of dramatic population decline over the last 30 years. They have nearly disappeared from northwestern Minnesota. Since 2004, moose numbers have decreased by roughly 50% in the northeastern part of our state. Significant public resources have been invested in scientific research to understand Minnesota’s moose decline. Many Minnesotans are keenly aware of the moose decline and want to know more about its causes and what can be done to help.
With ENRTF support, the Minnesota Zoo collaborated with researchers from across the state to identify key scientific research findings about Minnesota’s moose decline and population dynamics. This project used those key research findings to develop interactive interpretive displays at the Minnesota Zoo’s moose habitat. A new, accessible, educational website was created to make the research findings available for broad virtual access. The website features basic moose natural history, information about moose research in Minnesota, and a custom, interactive game. The game encourages a user to experiment with habitat features to create a simulated environment where moose thrive. While the player attempts to manage for a healthy moose population over the course of a year, random, unexpected events occur. Players learn about some of the challenges wildlife managers (and moose) face in Minnesota.
The physical interpretive elements and online resources created from this project focus on complicated research findings in an engaging, accessible, and easily understandable fashion. These deliverables will be maintained by the Minnesota Zoo and will benefit learners of all ages for years to come.
Through meetings, presentations and seminars, hundreds of Minnesota Zoo staff and volunteers have learned about Minnesota’s moose decline and this ENRTF project. Thousands of guests have interacted with the interpretive elements created for the Zoo’s moose exhibit. Thousands of people have also engaged with the virtual components resulting from this project.
Virtual components of this project include:
These online resources have been featured in professional newsletters, publications, listservs, websites and on social media platforms. The Dakota County Tribune also wrote an article about the Mission Moose website and game.
Rolf Weberg
U of MN - Duluth NRRI
1049 University Dr.
Duluth, MN 55812
Phone: | (218) 788-2697 |
Email: | rtweberg@d.umn.edu |
Web: | https://www.d.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$2,200,000 the first year is to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for academic and applied research through MnDRIVE at the Natural Resources Research Institute to develop and demonstrate technologies that enhance the long-term health of Minnesota's forests, extend the viability of current forest-based industries, and accelerate emerging industry opportunities. Of this amount, $500,000 is to support development of a forest optimization tool for Minnesota forest resources, $800,000 is for maintenance and expansion of the Natural Resource Atlas to statewide coverage, $400,000 is to the Minnesota Forest Resource Council for continued advancement of biochar development and application to forest health, and $500,000 is to advance emerging Minnesota technologies to produce clean syngas to drive high-value markets for forest biomass feedstocks.
Projections of Minnesota forest composition and associated ecosystem services were developed under different climate and management scenarios from 2020 to 2100. This information was made freely available through a custom website and interactive mapping tool, providing resource managers with critical information for planning.
Subproject 1 - OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSForest management is an increasingly complex discipline that requires the balancing of economics and ecology in the face of changing markets and climate. Beyond providing lumber, pulp, and other forest products, forests provide many additional goods and services that benefit society. Known as “ecosystem goods and services,” these include sequestering carbon, providing habitat for wildlife, maintaining water quality and quantity, and others. Understanding both how forests will change over time and how society values the goods and services they provide is critical to the successful management of Minnesota's forests.
This project was designed to provide projections of how forest composition and the goods and services that forests provide will change from 2020 to 2100 under different management and climate scenarios on 3,800,000 acres in northern Minnesota. It also helps users understand how Minnesotans value those forest goods and services. Foundational landscape change modeling was done using the LANDIS-II model, allowing for a better understanding of forest composition and carbon. Subsequent wildlife habitat and water quality and quantity modeling were done using the WHINGS and HSPF models, respectively. All models were run for each of the 12 unique combinations of our management and climate scenarios. Focus groups and surveys were used to quantify value.
Minnesota’s forest managers indicated that they would like to consider ecosystem services when making harvest and management decisions but lack the information to do so. The primary deliverable of this project is the Forest Change Assessment Simulation Tool, or ForCAST. This interactive mapping and decision support tool contains all of our projections of forest composition and associated ecosystem services and estimates of value, allowing for the development of informed, long-term management strategies that aren’t exclusively driven by the economics of timber markets.
ForCAST, an interactive mapping and decision support tool developed as the main deliverable of this project, is freely and publicly available through the project website. The website also provides access to comprehensive project and methodology documentation. During development, awareness was raised about the project through presentations at the Minnesota GIS/LIS conference and a combined meeting of the Minnesota Society of American Foresters and the Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative’s (SFEC) Forestry and Wildlife Research Review. ForCAST was launched through a SFEC webinar in July 2022 with a subsequent training event scheduled through SFEC in September.
The Minnesota Natural Resource Atlas is an easy to use interactive mapping tool and spatial database that is freely available to all Minnesotans. It lowers or removes the barriers that prevent spatial data from informing the decisions that impact our state’s natural resources.
Subproject 2 - OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSOrganizations and natural resources managers in Minnesota are often required to make decisions that impact our natural resources while using incomplete information. Spatial data contains valuable information that can improve decision making and outcomes. However, accessing it typically requires specialized software and advanced technical skills. The Minnesota Natural Resource Atlas was designed to be a statewide resource that improves access to spatial data and the information and insights that it contains.
The Atlas project was a statewide expansion and enhancement of an earlier version that served 27 counties in northeast and north central Minnesota. We worked closely with our original Atlas users, target users in the expanded geographic area, and our advisory committee to identify data and functionality needs. More than 500 additional data sets, with an emphasis on agriculture, forestry, and water resources, were developed or acquired. Functionality that allowed users to more easily visualize, analyze, and share data was developed, tested, and deployed. Improvements were also made to make the Atlas more robust, responsive, and reliable.
Training, outreach, and education were used to raise awareness of the project and expand Atlas users. Google analytics on the site indicate a growing user base with typical daily weekday unique visitors ranging from 60 to 100 and their locations distributed throughout the state, with the highest concentration in the Twin Cities metro area and Duluth. Internal software was developed that allows us to monitor which data is being requested and for which geographical area. This software indicates that water, natural and administrative boundaries, and biological data are the most frequently accessed and that users are viewing data for locations throughout the state.
The Minnesota Natural Resource Atlas is a valuable resource for the state. Ultimately, it is making spatial data more accessible for all Minnesotans.
The Minnesota Natural Resource Atlas is freely and publicly available online. Dissemination through training, outreach, and education were key components of the project. Articles were contributed to relevant newsletters and publications to raise awareness, and free training sessions were offered to organizations throughout the state. Eight 15 to 30 minute project overview presentations that included Atlas demonstrations were also conducted. In total, 38 training or demonstration events were conducted with over 1000 individuals participating from conservation organizations, K-12 or post-secondary education, academia, and tribal, local, state, and federal governments.
Biochar is a material that can be produced from residual biomass that can improve soil health and reforestation while storing carbon for the long term in soils. This project demonstrated production and deployment of insect-damaged balsam fir and black ash as biochar to improve seedling regrowth and retain nutrients in sandy forest soils.
Subproject 3 - OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSWe demonstrated the concept of using Minnesota black ash and balsam fir as feedstocks for the generation of biochar for forest soil amendments to improve reforestation efforts. We produced biochars from both black ash and balsam fir wood chips at a variety of temperatures and characterized these by measuring different physical and chemical properties.
The fully-characterized biochar samples were evaluated in greenhouse plant growth studies. Biochars from black ash and balsam fir processed at 550°C were the most promising candidates for positive soil health improvements, as these products revealed a) the highest water holding capacities, b) minimization of potentially harmful mobile organics (extractives content), and c) greatest nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon retention. Field trials were then performed at the Cloquet Forestry Center to evaluate biochar impact on red pine and red oak seedling survival. Biochars were added to the soil surrounding newly-planted red pine and red oak seedlings using a randomized nested design with appropriate controls. Early results on photosynthesis and respiration rates from the field study are positive but conclusions on biochar’s role on improving seedling survival will require long-term monitoring at the field site, extending beyond the end of this project.
We also produced two literature reviews. The first study examined net carbon sequestration potential of using biochar in forest regeneration projects and concluded that there is ample supply of black ash in Minnesota to support industrial-scale biochar production and that 20 years of biochar production in Minnesota, just from black ash, would sequester approximately 6.7 million tons of CO2. The second study was a techno-economic analysis performed by Dovetail Partners. This report concluded that the ecological and economical benefits of biochar implementation are best suited for revegetation efforts for jack and red pine in areas with sandy soils. This report can be found online: Dovetail Partners report.
Synthesis gas (syngas) is a mixture of combustible chemicals that can be used to replace fossil fuels for industrial processes, hydrogen, and fuel production. This project demonstrated that forest residuals from insect-damaged trees can be pretreated to improve their conversion efficiency to make cleaner syngas.
Subproject 4 - OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSAchievement of Minnesota’s renewable energy transition and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals requires development of non-fossil fuel alternatives for fuels and processes that are impractical to convert to electrical power. Key syngas applications include production of renewable diesel, jet fuel, and hydrogen, as well as direct use of syngas for production of iron and steel products. Our objective was to demonstrate that low-value forest biomass could be used to generate clean syngas for these markets in Minnesota by pretreating the biomass to improve its physical and chemical properties.
Our objective was to determine the best pretreatment conditions for one Minnesota biomass that would improve the yield of syngas components (H2, CO, CH4) relative to contaminants (tars) with the minimal processing temperature, time, and handling. Our results showed that addition of temperature and steam during pretreatment significantly reduced the tars produced during gasification, but with some loss in syngas yield. Therefore, we concluded that a mild steam treatment between 240-260°C with low residence time was optimal for pretreating black ash to make syngas.
Pilot-scale gasification trials on pretreated biomass was performed at the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center, which ran pilot tests in their fluidized bed gasifier on eight different samples of black ash pretreated between 180 and 300°C and untreated biomass controls. The pilot results confirmed that pretreatment reduced tar production at the expense of reduced syngas yield. More importantly, however, the pilot tests showed that pretreatment improves the grindability of the biomass, making it easier to handle and feed to a gasifier.
These results demonstrate that renewable hydrogen, methane, or fuels can be made from Minnesota’s biomass residuals by gasification, and low-temperature pretreatment will help.
Singsaas E, Kolomitsyna O, Kacharov O, Yemets S, Young M, Barry B. 2022. Biomass pretreatment to make clean syngas from Minnesota wood residuals. Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, Technical Report NRRI/TR-2022/17.
Rolf Weberg
U of MN - Duluth NRRI
1049 University Dr.
Duluth, MN 55812
Phone: | (218) 788-2697 |
Email: | rtweberg@d.umn.edu |
Web: | https://www.d.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$883,000 the first year is to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for academic and applied research through MnDRIVE at the Natural Resources Research Institute to develop and demonstrate technologies that enhance long-term Minnesota mineral opportunities. Of this amount:
(1) $300,000 is to support continued applied research to advance new technologies to improve water quality;
(2) $275,000 is to initiate the characterization of western Mesabi iron resources and development of next-generation Minnesota iron products;
(3) $158,000 is to develop emerging hydrometallurgy technology to support high-value mineral product development in Minnesota; and
(4) $150,000 is to support efforts of the Natural Resources Research Institute to accelerate demonstration of high-capacity, cost-effective energy storage using Minnesota's historical auxiliary mine lands.
This research must be conducted in consultation with the Minerals Coordinating Committee established under Minnesota Statutes, section 93.0015.
The project provides a cost-effective process for treating wastewater to meet the wild rice sulfate standard of 10 mg/L. The data gathered from the field pilot trial at two wastewater treatment plants will help in implementing a full-scale treatment system to reduce sulfate level for protecting water resources in Minnesota.
Subproject 1 - OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe State of Minnesota adopted a sulfate standard of 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L) for wild rice waters in 1973. Compliance with this standard is a challenge for small industries and municipalities as membrane-based technologies typically require high capital and operation costs. The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) has developed a mobile treatment system based on barite precipitation reactions to reduce sulfate levels. In this project, NRRI deployed the trailer-based modular demonstration treatment system at two municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in northeastern Minnesota to perform field pilot trials. The objectives of the field pilot trials were to:
The pilot tests were conducted using effluent from the Virginia WWTP and the Grand Rapids WWTP from June 2021 until October 2021. The Virginia WWTP treats domestic wastewater exclusively, and the resulting effluent has relatively steady sulfate concentrations of 60 mg/L. The Grand Rapids WWTP treats a mixture of domestic wastewater and industrial wastewater supplied from a regional paper mill with a sulfate level ranging from 85 to 115 mg/L. The pilot test results indicated that the chemical precipitation system consistently reduced the sulfate levels of both wastewaters to below 10 mg/L with optimal chemical dosage rates. The chemical costs were estimated to be $2.27 and $5.50 per thousand gallons of effluent from Virginia and Grand Rapids wastewater treatment plants, respectively. Information gained from the field trials was used to develop guidelines for the future design and operation of a plant-scale system.
Subproject 1 - PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThis project has produced materials of interest to a wide variety of stakeholders, including the researchers, city councils, wastewater treatment plant operators, and the community. Among these products are presentations, posters, and videos. Sulfate treatment research results were presented in three conferences (Minnesota Water Resources conference, The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc. conference, and the International Mine Water Association conference), the Virginia City Council, and the University of Minnesota Duluth University for Seniors class. A YouTube video was created to describe the sulfate problem in Minnesota and our solution.
The full report is publicly available on the University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) Website.
This study initiated a long-term characterization program of the iron resources in Minnesota. Analysis of two sections of the iron formation produced a better understanding of the variability and potential for developing new iron-based products. With continued support, this program will provide a foundation for the future iron industry in Minnesota.
Subproject 2 - OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSIron mining has been an important part of the economy of northern Minnesota for over a century. Today, mining companies process magnetite-rich taconite ore. Magnetite is important due to its chemical, magnetic, and thermal properties. All iron mining companies encounter magnetite that has been oxidized to various degrees. Minor amounts of oxidation can negatively impact the economic processing of iron ore, so oxidized material is either not mined or mined and stockpiled. Significant unoxidized parts of the iron formation are also stockpiled because they cannot be economically processed with current technology.
The purpose of this study was to initiate a long-term comprehensive characterization program of the remaining iron resources of the Mesabi Iron Range to provide a foundation for future iron industry in Minnesota. This data is being used to direct research in the areas of reducing reliance on fossil fuels, reducing emissions, and to identify and develop value-added iron products that could be produced from under-utilized portions of Minnesota iron resources. This approach can also be applied to understanding and processing waste iron stockpiles. This study has been leveraged to obtain additional State and Federal support for other mineral related studies in Minnesota.
Two complete sections of the iron formation were analyzed in this study. The results have contributed to a better understanding of the mineralogical variability within the iron formation; the impacts of oxidation on iron product quality; the potential for new iron-based products; and the presence of trace elements. Furthermore, this study also indicated that there may be a significant resource of siderite, an iron carbonate mineral, on the Mesabi Range. While siderite is unlikely to be a primary source of metallic iron, there may be other applications for siderite. Future research will focus on opportunities to reduce environmental impact while creating value-added iron products in Minnesota.
Based on outcomes of “voice of customer survey” and funding opportunities available through federal agencies, the project has identified emerging hydrometallurgical innovations with potential for processing Minnesota’s in-situ and waste mineral resources with a reduced water, energy, and environmental footprint. The project has also identified bench-top hydrometallurgical research equipment required to initiate development of next generation value-added products from under-utilized and under-valued in-situ mineral and waste resources in Minnesota, specifically low-grade ores, waste tailings, metallurgical residues, incinerator ash, power plant combustion residues, and waste electrical and electronic equipment.
Subproject 3 - OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSMinnesota has abundant in-situ mineral resources, including deposits of iron, iron manganese, copper-nickel-cobalt-platinum group elements, titanium-vanadium, copper-zinc, gold with and without silver, sand, and aggregate. Commercial and industrial byproducts such as mine tailings, industrial residues, and waste electrical and electronic equipment also contain valuable mineral resources. To address significant environmental impact concerns associated with mining, collection, and processing of these materials, new processing technology approaches with reduced water and energy consumption and minimal environmental footprints are needed to support production of value-added products. Emerging hydrometallurgical processing technologies offer promising opportunities. To evaluate the technical, economic, and environmental benefits of emerging hydrometallurgical innovations, the Minnesota Legislative-Citizen’s Commission on Minnesota Resources provided funding to the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) to evaluate how to best support the development of emerging hydrometallurgical technologies in the state. The study highlights Minnesota’s mineral and waste resources that have the highest potential for hydrometallurgical processing. The report also highlights key challenges anticipated by stakeholders during the commercial development of mineral and waste resources using hydrometallurgical technologies. The emerging hydrometallurgical innovations that may resolve various challenges are also identified by means of the stakeholder engagement survey and funding opportunities available through the federal agencies. The report summarizes research priorities that support development of emerging hydrometallurgical technologies in applications ranging from high-value materials to water remediation to carbon sequestration. The report shortlists key bench-scale and semi-pilot laboratory tools that will help NRRI to advance the readiness level of emerging hydrometallurgical technologies in Minnesota. The capital estimates for bench-top and semi-pilot laboratory prototypes range from $600,000 to $1.2 million. The personnel, installation, and collaboration costs range from $300,000 to $400,000.
Subproject 3 - PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONNRRI conducted a “Voice of Customer” survey through interviews with a broad range of stakeholders around the country. These included current or prospective mineral/metal producers, metal recyclers, hydrometallurgical R&D labs, engineering and technology providers, consultants, academia and educators, regulators, and federal agencies. The study produced a report of investigations of interest to wide variety of stakeholders, including regulators, mineral rights holder, federal agencies, prospective manufacturing and resource extraction companies, and the community.
Technical Report: Rao, S., Mlinar, M., Hudak, G., Kangas, K., and Peterson, D., 2022. Developing Emerging Hydrometallurgical Technologies: Report to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, Report of Investigations NRRI/RI-2022/10. 179 p.
The purpose of this project was to provide a technology survey and a geographical recommendation of potentially feasible, non-battery, long-duration energy storage technology concepts that can utilize Minnesota’s various topographies, geologies, and infrastructure to facilitate the state’s renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals. Numerous technology concepts with related siting recommendations are reported for consideration by state leaders.
Subproject 4 - OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSAchievement of Minnesota’s renewable energy transition and associated greenhouse gas reduction goals requires development and installation of both short- and long-term energy storage capability. Battery storage options (lithium batteries) readily provide 2-4 hour duration storage. Longer-term (>8hr), high-capacity (35-200 milliwatt) storage can better facilitate capture of available renewable energy and potentially eliminate the need for natural gas-based peaking plants to provide a more stable electrical supply when intermittent resources (e.g., solar or wind) cannot supply the necessary electricity. Non-battery options harnessing physical principles involving gravity, compressed gas, waste heat and chemical processes can offer storage options with long lifetimes that do not require access to critical minerals and may offer safety improvements. Many of these options are in the development or demonstration phase and can take advantage of Minnesota’s natural and man-made (former mine workings) topographical and geological features.
The project consisted of two parts. The first was a thorough survey of existing and emerging long-term, high-capacity, non-battery storage technologies with potential for applications in Minnesota. This entailed engagement with technology leaders, onsite concept evaluations and discussions with energy industry collaborators to characterize each technology. Identified technologies ranged from concepts that take advantage of mineland topographic features in northern Minnesota to others that could be deployed in municipalities or metropolitan areas. This information was collated into a summary format including industry contacts for each concept to facilitate follow-up by the state and/or industry.
The second part of the project entailed development of an interactive mapping tool to identify areas in the state where each identified technology might best be suited, considering the local topography, geology, and proximity to distribution infrastructure, industry, and applicable brownfield areas. This tool shows that there are multiple non-battery storage options in regions across Minnesota, primarily located in the vicinity of distribution infrastructure.
The full report and three appendices are publicly available on the University of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) Website. NRRI:
Jessica Peterson
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Road, Box 25
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5130 |
Email: | jessica.d.petersen@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/pollinators/index.html |
Appropriation Language
$600,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources to continue to assess the current status and distribution of native bee pollinators in Minnesota by expanding surveys into the coniferous-deciduous forest region of Minnesota and facilitating interagency collaboration and public outreach on pollinators.
This project greatly expanded the conservation status of bees in the Laurentian Mixed Forest. We identified 255 species from 9,000 specimens. We made five new state records including one new record for the United States, many new county records, and new plant associations. From these data we will build a list of species in need of conservation.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSPrior to this project, very little was known about bees in the boreal forests in Minnesota. We collected 9,300 bees at 193 sites in the Laurentian Mixed Forest (LMF) ecological province. Over 90% of those specimens have been identified as to species, resulting in 255 species. This project accounts for 68% of the total known specimens collected from the LMF. Nearly all specimens collected are permanently housed in the University of Minnesota Insect Collection in St. Paul for all Minnesotans to utilize. Plant-associations are often lacking for bees, and knowing this information will aid in protecting the habitat they use. We made 2,400 connections between bee species and plants. We added five new species to the state list, including one species that had not been recorded from the United States. Many new county records, range extensions, and new plant associations were documented. These data have been published in the Minnesota DNR Natural Heritage Information System database and are accessible to all Minnesotans. The associated report detailing the results of this LMF survey and the previous surveys in Minnesota will be posted on the MNDNR website devoted to this project. We delivered project results and outreach materials at over 30 events, reaching thousands of Minnesotans. The culmination of this project and the two other LCCMR MBS bee survey grants was a publication in Zootaxa co-authored with the Cariveau Native Bee Lab describing the diversity of bees in Minnesota. These data will be used to inform conservation status rankings for bees in Minnesota in the upcoming year as the state threatened and endangered list and the Minnesota Wildlife Action plan are slated to be updated.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONWe produced a full report of this project that is shared with LCCMR to accompany the workplan update. We created a handout/flier that will also be shared that describes some specialist bees and their host plants. Specimens at the University of Minnesota Insect Collection that were collected through this project are available. A collaborative journal article was published in Zootaxa (Portman et al. 2023) that lists the bees of Minnesota. We shared results of this project at over 30 public events to thousands of people.
Peter Larsen
MN DNR
300B Veterinary Science Building
1971 Commonwealth Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 626-1694 |
Email: | plarsen@umn.edu |
Web: | https://www.vetmed.umn.edu/bio/veterinary-and-biomedical-scie/peter-larsen |
Appropriation Language
$1,804,000 in fiscal year 2019 is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to develop diagnostic testing for chronic wasting disease that can be used to perform animal testing and environmental monitoring. This appropriation is subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
William Arnold
U of MN
500 Pillsbury Dr. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: | (625) 625-8582 |
Email: | arnol032@umn.edu |
Web: | https://williamarnold.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$350,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to quantify the occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides in Minnesota's surface waters and groundwaters and assess if the insecticides are contributing to the formation of algal blooms.
William Arnold
U of MN
500 Pillsbury Dr. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: | (625) 625-8582 |
Email: | arnol032@umn.edu |
Web: | https://williamarnold.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$415,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to determine how to best remove harmful fluorinated pharmaceuticals during wastewater treatment and to develop alternate versions of these compounds that are medically useful but environmentally harmless. This appropriation is subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
Laura Babcock
U of MN
200 Oak St. SE, Suite 350-1
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: | (612) 624-4678 |
Email: | lbabcock@umn.edu |
Web: | http://www.mntap.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$200,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to provide technical assistance for industrial facilities to optimize their processes, reduce nutrient loads to wastewater treatment facilities, and improve water quality. The economic savings and water quality improvements achieved through this work must be documented.
This project explored ways to keep Minnesota surface waters at high quality and make municipal wastewater treatment easier by reducing nutrient load sent to wastewater facilities by applying source reduction technical assistance at upstream industrial sites.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSNutrient pollution refers to the presence of excess nitrogen and phosphorus in water and is a major environmental concern. High nutrient levels promote plant growth that can result in eutrophication, algal blooms, or the creation of ‘dead zones’ in bodies of water where beneficial aquatic life cannot thrive. Wastewater treatment facilities are critical infrastructure sites purposed with reducing nutrient levels in wastewater to levels safe for the environment.
Wastewater treatment operations work hard to discharge high quality treated water. In areas of increasing community growth and industrial expansion, the wastewater infrastructure may not be able to keep up with treatment needs. When discharge exceeds the treatment capacity, communities have few choices: they can regulate load sent to the treatment plant limiting community growth or invest in costly new infrastructure.
The purpose of this project was to explore a third option to improve water quality by reducing nutrient pollution discharged by industrial facilities to municipal wastewater treatment facilities. This reduction is supported by source reduction technical assistance at the industrial site. The primary activities of this project included:
By promoting strategies for upstream nutrient source reduction, the treatment intensity needed to meet wastewater discharge requirements may be reduced. This could reduce operating costs and possibly postpone or eliminate capital investment needs for treatment expansion projects. Key outcomes of this project include:
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATION
Since nutrient pollution in wastewater can be a challenge for many treatment facilities and treatment costs can drain community resources, MnTAP created two resources to share the strategies developed and tested during this project. A webinar was created featuring wastewater sites and businesses that participated in activities to reduce discharge nutrient. Speakers provided perspectives on nutrient challenges and the value in collaboration. A guide was created to provide wastewater operators and community leaders with a framework for identifying and addressing opportunities to reduce nutrient pollution at the source and save of treatment costs. Four intern project summaries are posted on the MnTAP website for Kerry Ingredients, August Schell Brewing, Minnesota Specialty Yeast and Rochester Meats.
Kathryn Schreiner
U of MN - Duluth
2205 E 5th St
Duluth, MN 55812
Phone: | (218) 726-8680 |
Email: | kschrein@d.umn.edu |
Appropriation Language
$200,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth to quantify the amount, type, and source of microplastics in the water, sediment, and fishes of a range of Minnesota lakes.
This project has helped to determine the sources and fate of microplastics in inland lakes in Minnesota. This includes differences in loading between different watersheds and ecosystems, and differences in ingestion by different fish species.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSWhen this project was funded, our goal was to determine the amount and fate of microplastics in a set of Minnesota lakes that represent a variety of different types of watersheds, degrees of human influence, and ecosystem characteristics. Our partnership with the MN DNR Sentinel Lakes program allowed us to target lakes that already had long-term study data available, including mapped watersheds, lake temperature and residence time, and known fish populations. This three-year project sampled water column particulates, sediments, and fish (cisco, bluegill, and perch) from four Sentinel lakes in Minnesota (Peltier Lake, White Iron Lake, Ten Mile Lake, and Elk Lake) over the course of two summer field seasons. All four lakes contained microplastics in the water, sediments, and fish, indicating that like other locations throughout the world, microplastic pollution is widespread in the state. Our findings further indicate that the biggest drivers that increase microplastic loadings into lakes are more human infrastructure and building in the watershed, a longer water retention time, and more shoreline development. There appears to be little connection between concentrations of microplastics in the water column and sediments, though more research will be needed to confirm. Finally, filter feeding fish (like cisco) have increased gut microplastic concentrations with increased water column microplastic concentrations, though visual feeders (like bluegill and perch) do not and appear to be able to distinguish plastics from food in the water column. Taken together, these first results from Minnesota inland lakes provide clear information for scientist and managers and further give Minnesota residents vital information about the health of their inland lakes. All data from this project will be accessible on our project website once publications have been prepared.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONResults from this project have been disseminated to the scientific community through meeting presentations and scientific publications currently being prepared. We have maintained a project website that is available to the public, and which we have advertised in our outreach to the Lake Associations associated with our project lakes. Our website has information about our project, videos from public webinars, and will have data from our scientific publications once those are published. Our collaboration with scientists at the MN DNR has meant that the Sentinel Lakes program has access to our project data along with any interpretations or project publications.
Paige Novak
U of MN
122 Civil Engineering Building, 500 Pillsbury Drive SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: | (612) 626-9846 |
Email: | novak010@umn.edu |
Appropriation Language
$325,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to assess cold weather nitrogen cycling and different aeration methods to improve the efficacy of Minnesota's underperforming wastewater treatment ponds.
Inadequately treated wastewater in rural communities contributes to environmental/human health issues. We studied how to improve rural wastewater treatment pond performance. Our results suggested that manually increasing oxygen supply when temperatures are greater than 10C should improve ammonia biodegradation; if temporary, total nitrogen removal should be possible, improving rural water quality.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSInadequately treated wastewater discharges can contain high concentrations of nitrogen, including ammonia and nitrate, which contribute to negative human and environmental effects. Little research has been conducted on nitrogen removal/degradation in rural wastewater treatment ponds, which could be helpful to improve rural water quality. Although both ammonia and nitrate are problematic, ammonia is more toxic than nitrate and must biodegrade first for total nitrogen to be biodegraded. In this study, we studied how low oxygen levels and low temperature, both of which can occur in ice-covered wastewater treatment ponds in Minnesota during winter and spring, impacted ammonia biodegradation. Well-controlled laboratory experiments were conducted and samples from real wastewater treatment ponds were analyzed.
Our research showed that both low temperature (10-6C) and oxygen (0.5-1 mg/L) resulted in little-to-no ammonia biodegradation. As mentioned, unless the ammonia is biodegraded, total nitrogen biodegradation cannot occur. Low temperature critically limited ammonia biodegradation, while the negative effect of low oxygen concentration was less important, increasing the time before ammonia started to biodegrade, but not changing how fast it degraded. Unfortunately, temperature cannot be controlled in these large treatment ponds during the cold winter months. Oxygen, however, can be manually added. We observed that if the oxygen concentration was 3 mg/L or higher, ammonia could be biodegraded at a temperature of 10C. Field results were consistent with laboratory results. Results showed that low ammonia concentrations could be achieved with low temperature and low oxygen concentrations in most of the ponds. Below 10°C, ammonia concentrations increased with decreasing oxygen. Above 20°C, low ammonia was observed regardless of the oxygen concentration. These results suggest that interventions, such as sparging with air, can improve ammonia biodegradation in winter/early spring. Nevertheless, at temperatures below 10°C, oxygen addition may not improve ammonia biodegradation, resulting in ammonia volatilization instead, contributing to poor air quality.
Results from this research have been presented at local, regional, and national conferences via posters and oral presentations. Notable dissemination activities include presentations at the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (poster and podium), the Air & Waste Management Association, Upper Midwest Section, Conference on the Environment, the Central States Water Environment Association Annual Meeting, and an invited technical workshop given at the Minnesota Wastewater Operators Association Conference. Three papers are expected to be submitted on this research and are currently in progress. They will be submitted to LCCMR when accepted for publication.
Raymond Hozalski
U of MN
500 Pillsbury Drive SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: | (612) 626-9650 |
Email: | hozalski@umn.edu |
Web: | http://www.cege.umn.edu/directory/faculty-directory/hozalski.html |
Appropriation Language
$345,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to reduce exposure of Minnesotans to a toxic, cancer-causing chemical by identifying key pollutant precursor sources in the upper Mississippi River watershed and assessing options to reduce the formation of this chemical during drinking water treatment.
This project comprehensively studied the spatio-temporal occurrence of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA, a potent carcinogen) precursors in the Crow River watershed as well as treatment approaches for NDMA precursor removal. The project results will aid in evaluation and mitigation of potential risks from NDMA formation during disinfection of drinking water with chloramines.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSNDMA, a contaminant of emerging concern in drinking water supplies, is notorious both for its potent carcinogenicity and toxicity and for its formation in drinking water following the addition of chloramines for disinfection. From a preliminary sampling campaign, the Crow River was found to be a major contributor of NDMA precursors to the Upper Mississippi River, the drinking water supply for the Twin Cities.
To protect the public from potential exposure to NDMA, spatial and temporal variations of NDMA precursors were investigated by collecting water samples from two tributaries and the main stem of the Crow River from 2020 to 2022. A non-targeted analysis approach using mass spectrometry was developed to identify NDMA precursors. Experiments evaluated the effectiveness of pre-oxidation with ozone, free chlorine, or both on removal of NDMA precursors.
NDMA precursor concentrations in raw (untreated) water exhibited seasonal variation, with resulting NDMA concentrations ranging from 7.5 to 109 ng/L. Lime-softening treatment typically increased NDMA formation during disinfection with chloramines by reducing the concentration of natural organic matter (NOM). NOM competes with the precursors for the chloramines. Animal operations and municipal wastewater discharges were identified as potential sources of NDMA precursors. A fluorescence analysis of water samples revealed a correlation between NDMA precursor levels and the protein-like fraction of NOM. Specific NDMA precursors identified in the Crow River include pharmaceutical compounds (e.g., tramadol, metformin, and venlafaxine) and 3-cyclohexyl-1,1-dimethylurea. NDMA formation could be controlled via treatment of water using ozone at doses as low as 1 mg/L or free chlorine.
This project offered valuable insights to water treatment plant operations and policy makers by providing important information about the sources of NDMA precursors into surface waters and how precursor levels vary with seasons. Additionally, the project findings provide water utilities with potential strategies for mitigating NDMA formation when precursors are present.
To date, this project has produced two peer-reviewed journal articles (Noe et al. 2023, Li et al. 2023 (accepted)), one journal article is in review, and there one more journal article will be submitted soon. The research has been directly communicated to scientists at the Minnesota Department of Health. The findings of this project were presented at several conferences, including the annual conference of the Minnesota Section of the American Water Works Association, the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, and the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors conference. Results are also summarized in a master’s thesis (Eric Noe) and doctoral dissertation (Jiaqi Li), which are available in the UMN Digital Conservancy.
Matt Simcik
U of MN
MMC 807, 420 Delaware Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: | (612) 626-6269 |
Email: | msimcik@umn.edu |
Appropriation Language
$250,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to develop methods for treatment plants to remove harmful polyfluoroalkyl substances and microplastics from wastewater before the wastewater is released to the environment. This appropriation is subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
It is possible to drive microplastics and some PFAS into the biosolids of a wastewater treatment plant using stabilized powdered activated carbon. However, the amount required may make the technology cost prohibitive, and may affect the operation of the plant. Further improvements may bring costs down and enable unencumbered operation.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSEverything we flush down the drain ends up in our waste stream. Most of this ends up going through one of our wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). These plants have protected our environment from raw sewage for over 100 years. Unfortunately, these plants are not equipped to handle contaminants at the part per million or part per billion level. Therefore, many contaminants make it through our WWTPs into our surface waters. They include per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) like PFOS and PFOA, and microplastics.
Laboratory experiments were conducted on collected wastewater to test the ability of different chemicals familiar to the investigators to reduce the amount of two emerging contaminants, microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Both a commercially available polymer used in water treatment (polyDADMAC) and a stabilized powdered activated carbon (S-PAC) that was formulated in the laboratory were tested. The water was collected in the well-mixed section of two wastewater treatment plants, and the polymer and/or S-PAC added in the laboratory to simulate adding these chemicals to the plant.
Results indicate that microplastics, particularly larger microplastics in the 25 to 100 micrometer size fraction can be removed from the wastewater, reducing the concentration by greater than half. Results on PFAS were more variable in that the shorter chain acids and sulfonates were not removed from the mixture, but longer acids and sulfonates including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were removed from 50 to 99%.
Simulating a section of a wastewater treatment plant of channelized flow and secondary settling, the addition of S-PAC showed an increase in sludge volume. This may affect the operation of a plant should S-PAC be added to it. In some ways, increasing the volume could prove problematic for plants recycling the material but could also represent a decrease in overall particle removal from the wastewater.
We have made a very important connection with the operators at the Brainerd utility who allowed us to operate our simulated plant at their location. They are very forward thinking and have become an ally for trying to determine ways to remove these emerging contaminants from wastewater. We are reporting back our findings to them so they can better help us reach other operators.
We are also being interviewed by a Public Broadcasting System TV show, “Prairie Sportsman,” who heard about our project and wanted to feature it in an episode.
Other dissemination includes presentations at scientific conferences, meetings and through publication of the student’s thesis.
Scott Kyser
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
520 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 757-2665 |
Email: | scott.kyser@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.pca.state.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$250,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to evaluate and summarize current technologies to help municipal wastewater plants in the Lake Superior basin save money and reduce mercury pollution to Lake Superior and other Minnesota waters.
Bo Hu
U of MN
1390 Eckles Ave
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 625-4215 |
Email: | bhu@umn.edu |
Web: | https://bbe.umn.edu/directory/faculty/bohu |
Appropriation Language
$360,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to collaborate with the Department of Transportation to evaluate potential native plants that can be grown on roadsides to adsorb and remove toxic salts accumulated from deicing roads and assess uses for the harvested material.
This project screened and evaluated several halophytic plants that can extract sodium chloride, the deicing salt, from soil, and accumulate it into the leafy biomass. The information can be used to develop phytoremediation methods to address the environmental pollution caused by the application of roadside deicing agents.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSMassive applications of road salts to melt the snow and ice on sidewalks and roads can negatively affect the health of surrounding ecosystem as the salts are leached into lakes, rivers, and groundwater, causing significantly increased salinity and high salt conditions can also negatively affect both plant growth and soil structure. Many agricultural fields have similar concerns over the growing salinity in the soil, especially under the conditions of prolonged drought and improper irrigations. We collaborated with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) to screen and evaluate several halophytic plants that can extract sodium chloride, the deicing salt, from soil, and accumulate it into the leafy biomass. The information can be used to develop phytoremediation methods to address the environmental pollution caused by the application of roadside deicing agents. The research detailed in this project showed that common sunflower and pitseed goosefoot so far are the most promising species for phytoremediation of deicing salt. It is recommended they be mixed in with perennials from MnDOT’s seed mixes to improve soil structure and help prevent the salt from reaching the soil surface or the groundwater. Another high salt accumulating plant species, sugar beet and beets in the other cultivar groups, are more suited for agricultural and thus could be used to remediate salt from the growing number of salt-impacted agricultural fields. The harvest and utilization of each of these plants can provide additional value such as animal feed, oil, or reuse of salt in ash if burned for energy. This project and the following phytoremediation method developments can provide a long term sustainable solution to the de-icing salt pollution to our Minnesota environment.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThe detailed research results are in the final report, and we are drafting two manuscripts for possible publications. Leif was accepted for presenting this work at AIChE Annual Meeting in November 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona and he was invited to give a presentation at the MECA (Minnesota Erosion Control Association) Annual Conference in January 2023. We have been working at MnROAD site with support and help from MnDOT. Cindy Dorn, writer/producer with Prairie Sportsman, an outdoor show produced by Pioneer PBS that airs on all Minnesota PBS stations is drafting a story on absorbing deicing salts with plants.
Brett Barney
U of MN
1390 Eckles Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 626-8751 |
Email: | bbarney@umn.edu |
Web: | http://barneybioproductslab.cfans.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$225,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to develop technologies that use microbes to convert plastic waste into useful chemical compounds and fuels, lowering the likelihood that these materials end up in the environment. This appropriation is subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
Dennis Fuchs
Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District
110 Second Street S. Suite 128
Waite Park, MN 56387
Phone: | (320) 345-6477 |
Email: | dennis.fuchs@mn.nacdnet.net |
Appropriation Language
$440,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District to reduce nitrate leaching on sandy soils of central Minnesota by developing water-efficient production methods, supply chains, and end-use markets for three perennial crops: Kernza, prairie species, and alfalfa. Net income from the sale of products or assets developed or acquired through this project may be reinvested as described in the work plan approved by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources according to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
Perennial cropping systems that include Kernza and alfalfa are effective in reducing nitrate leaching in sandy soils of Central Minnesota. Improved Kernza value chains for food, beverage and non-food have increased interest from farmers, food processors and consumers. The potential for Kernza production to provide future ecosystems services is great.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe City of Cold Spring in Central Minnesota has long struggled with increasing nitrate concentrations in its public water supply. Perennial cropping systems may reduce the amount of nitrate leached into groundwater. In partnership with the University of Minnesota Forever Green the project measured nitrate leaching under three perennial plant systems: 1) native prairie, 2) intermediate wheatgrass (Kernza), and alfalfa under irrigation and dryland plots. This research was conducted at the Rosholt Research Farm in Pope County (managed by the Pope Soil and Water Conservation District). The site has similar sandy soils as in the Cold Spring area. The native prairie planting had limited growth during study because of its slow growth and weed pressure. The perennial cropping systems that included Kernza and alfalfa were effective in reducing the nitrate concentrations in groundwater. Kernza was slightly more effective than alfalfa. Averaged across the growing season, the concentration of nitrate in the soil water measured by lysimeters was 0.64 mg/L, which is consider very low and like other reports below Kernza. It was also discovered that Kernza grain yields were highly affected by drought conditions in 2021, even under irrigation, significantly reducing yields. In partnership with the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) value chains for Kernza were explored which will ultimately increase demand for production by farmers. Local breweries and bakeries developed products that provided valuable feedback for new product development. Field day attendance indicated that farmers were interested in growing more Kernza if a market exists. Also, consumers in attendance were interested in Kernza food and beverage products. In addition, both food and non-food value chains will need additional investment to fully develop the market. Kernza production in drinking water supply management areas could reduce nitrate leaching. This could save cities millions of dollars in water treatment costs.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThe SWCD’s final grant report is posted online. The full AURI report is also available online. University of Minnesota will be preparing a peer-reviewed report to be submitted as a future addendum to this report. Several field days and outreach events were completed during the project period, information about which are included in the SWCD final report.
Keith Olander
Central Lakes College - Ag and Energy Ctr
1830 Airport Road
Staples, MN 56479
Phone: | (763) 257-2881 |
Email: | kolander@clcmn.edu |
Web: | http://www.clcmn.edu/ag-energy-center/ |
Appropriation Language
$741,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System for Central Lakes College to demonstrate conservation benefits of using camelina and kura clover as continuous living cover with corn-soybean rotations and to develop secondary markets to increase farmer adoption of this practice for protecting water quality in vulnerable wellhead protection areas. This appropriation is subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
John Nieber
U of MN
1390 Eckles Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 625-6724 |
Email: | nieber@umn.edu |
Web: | https://bbe.umn.edu/directory/faculty/johnnieber |
Appropriation Language
$350,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to develop advanced water-flow and age-dating tools to improve the ability of state agencies to assess how well nitrate reduction best management practices are working in southeastern Minnesota.
The long travel time of nitrate in groundwater negatively impacts our ability to assess the effectiveness of best management practices to reduce the nitrate contamination of groundwater resources. This project developed field monitoring and modeling tools to quantity nitrate travel time and enhance the ability to assess BMP effectiveness.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSNitrate contamination of groundwater resources results from land management practices that ineffectively control the balance of nitrogen in the soil. This inadequate control leads to excessive leaching of nitrate from the soil, eventually loading the groundwater aquifers underlying the managed area. Best Management Practices (BMPs) have been developed to reduce the leaching of nitrate from the soil profile, and this should then have a positive impact on the quality of water in the groundwater aquifers located in the area of BMP presence. The response of the nitrate concentration at a given location in an aquifer, say for instance at a private or municipal well, will be affected by the history of landuse activity in the landscape upgradient (upstream) of the location of concern. The history is important because of the lag time, that is, the travel time (on the order of years to centuries) required for contaminated water to flow in the groundwater from the point of contamination to the well. This lagging of the response of the nitrate concentration at the well confounds the interpretation of the causes for the nitrate found in the well, thereby making it difficult to determine whether BMPs implemented in upgradient fields are actually working effectively. This project involved the development of methodologies to quantify the lag time for groundwater to flow from a landscape point to a well. The methods developed involved using chemical tracers to quantify the age of groundwater collected at wells, and development of models that can be utilized to calculate lag times. With this information, and a history of landuse practices on the landscape it is then possible to evaluate the effectiveness of BMPs in the landscape. It is also possible to identify, with some degree of certainty, the source of nitrate that is contaminating a given well.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThe project involved an ongoing collaboration with Mr. Kevin Kuehner, director of the Field-to-Streams Partnership in Preston. A complex groundwater model we developed for Trout Brook is being shared with the Dakota County SWCD to assist with the assessment of BMPs for reducing nitrate concentrations in Trout Brook. A simplified model of groundwater flow and chemical transport was developed to facilitate relatively easy assessment of the effect of landuse practices, and will be available to consultants, agency personnel, and academic institutions. The project has resulted in the submission of follow-up research proposals to one federal agency and one non-profit institution.
Jason Ulrich
Science Museum of Minnesota - St. Croix Research Station
16910 152nd St N
Marine on St Croix, MN 55047
Phone: | (651) 433-5953 |
Email: | julrich@smm.org |
Web: | https://www.smm.org/scwrs |
Appropriation Language
$100,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Science Museum of Minnesota for the St. Croix Watershed Research Station to conduct the first statewide analysis that maps the extent of Minnesota's unprofitable cropland and estimates both the water-quality and habitat benefits of converting these lands to perennial crops and vegetation. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
This project mapped an estimated 550,000 acres of unprofitable cropland in southern Minnesota. It was then estimated that converting 20% of these acres could significantly improve stream health and wildlife habitat.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSDespite investing millions of dollars on agricultural conservation, the health of southern Minnesota’s streams and rivers has not improved demonstrably. At the same time, increases in agricultural cropland have resulted in dramatic declines in grassland habitat critical for migratory birds, butterflies, and pollinators. An approach for improving both stream health and wildlife habitat lies in replacing portions of southern Minnesota’s agricultural land with prairie and wetlands. However, most cropland is profitable and thus too costly for a farmer to take out of production. But what about parts of crop fields that often too wet or too dry to turn a profit - could these be replaced with prairie or wetlands more economically? This project set out to answer the following questions: 1) How much corn and soybean cropland in southern Minnesota is unprofitable? 2) What are the environmental benefits of converting portions of this unprofitable cropland to prairie or wetlands? Our project used county agricultural financial data and detailed soil maps to pinpoint an estimated 550,000 acres of unprofitable cropland in a 40-county region of southern Minnesota. Next, the project estimated the improvement to streams and wildlife habitat if the most unprofitable of these acres located next to streams (114,000 acres) were converted to prairie or wetlands. The results suggest that targeting unprofitable croplands in this way would significantly improve stream health and wildlife habitat in southern Minnesota and provide a good bang for the buck. The project outcomes are intended to be useful for the public and policymakers to understand the amount and distribution of unprofitable cropland in southern Minnesota and its great potential for improving environmental health in an economical way.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThe project content was presented at several Science Museum member events over Zoom. And in October 2022, the work will be presented at the MN Water Resources Conference, a premier venue for this type of research.
The results of this project including the GIS files and attached fact sheet will be linked from this Science Museum website when our new web portal is up and running fall of 2022. Interested visitors will be able to download the GIS files and conduct their own analyses based upon those in the study. Announcements about these deliverables and about the key points and highlights of the project will be shared on the Science Museum’s social media accounts in fall 2022.
Chanlan Chun
U of MN - Duluth NRRI
5013 Miller Trunk Hwy
Duluth, MN 55811
Phone: | (218) 788-2613 |
Email: | chun0157@d.umn.edu |
Web: | https://scse.d.umn.edu/about/departments-and-programs/civil-engineering-department |
Appropriation Language
$162,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for the Natural Resources Research Institute in Duluth to evaluate the effectiveness and benefits of using locally sourced wood chips, corncobs, and iron-bearing minerals as alternative abrasive materials to lower salt use for protecting Minnesota's water resources. This appropriation is subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
This project evaluated local ecological abrasive materials for use as alternative materials to lower road salt use in winter maintenance and consequent environmental impacts. The findings are useful for the development of the formulation and application practice for both water resource protection and safe winter roadway.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe use of chloride-based salt as a deicer for winter road maintenance has been a longstanding practice throughout the state of Minnesota and the country. However, once chloride enters the water, it is not naturally broken down, transformed, or removed from the environment, resulting in accumulation in the watershed and detrimental ecological and water quality impacts in freshwater systems. To protect freshwater resources and to prevent this issue from worsening with time, an alternative method for providing sustainable and effective winter road maintenance is needed. In some cold regions of Minnesota, sand is mixed with salt as an abrasive to provide additional traction to the roads; however, its effectiveness is not well established. This project investigated the potential of regionally available organic and inorganic industrial byproducts as alternatives to conventional sand and salts. Candidate materials include corn grit, timber waste, and taconite waste rocks local to Minnesota. Chemical and physical properties of the materials were characterized, including material elemental composition, morphology, particle size distribution, and specific gravity to establish a foundational understanding of the material. Skid resistance and deicing tests with environmental impact assessment were performed to evaluate traction effectiveness and material safety. The results showed potential for bio-based materials such as corn grit and bark mulch as a sorbent for salt brine deicer with less salt impact and for the waste iron-bearing minerals to be used as effective abrasives in the realm of winter road maintenance. The use of alternative materials for winter road maintenance show promise for lower environmental impact, lower/controlled chloride pollution, increased friction enhancement, and beneficial reuse of industry waste material. In addition, this work provided a streamlined method for evaluating potential abrasives/deicers which will be valuable for expediting future studies of alternative materials.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThe project findings have been disseminated via reports to LCCMR, master student’s thesis, and presentations at regional conferences (Minnesota Water Resources Conference and UMD seminar series). The project findings were shared with the public through public outreach activities for 6th-12th graders and general audience: engineering discussion with middle school students of Arcadia Charter School, Northfield, MN and a video clip, Safe Roads and Healthy Water to present and discuss our project for achieving safe roads and healthy water using local materials for the UMD’s STEM Discovery Day.
Paul Putzier
MN DNR
Box 25, 500 Lafayette Rd N.
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5692 |
Email: | paul.putzier@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/waters/groundwater_section/mapping/springs.html |
Appropriation Language
$71,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources to complete the Minnesota Spring Inventory that identifies, catalogs, and assists resource managers in monitoring, assessing, and protecting important and threatened statewide water springs. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Springs are natural points of groundwater discharge that provide flow for trout streams and cool water fisheries, base flow during to streams, and unique ecological habitats. Management of this resource is only possible when we know their location. The MSI project located and makes available information on over 7,200 springs.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSSprings are natural points of groundwater discharge that provide flow for trout streams and cool water fisheries, base flow during to streams, and unique ecological habitats. Management of this resource is only possible when we know their locations and characteristics. The primary objective of this project was to find unmapped springs, add the location of those new springs to the existing Minnesota Spring Inventory (MSI) and field verify and characterize as many currently mapped but unverified springs as possible.
For the project, DNR conducted field investigations of targeted parts of the state to find, characterize and map new springs locations. The existing MSI database also held ‘non-verified’ spring locations added to the database from old maps and studies and from the MSI Citizens App. DNR conducted ‘field verification’ by traveling to many of those features to confirm their existence and update the database. Approximately 350 spring locations were added to the MSI through the Citizen App.
The Covid-19 Pandemic and Minnesota’s Stay Safe at Home order limited MSI fieldwork for over twelve months of the two-year project. When restrictions were relaxed in 2021, fieldwork resumed for the MSI team and many springs and features were added the database.
Because of this project (all phases), Minnesotans benefit by having easy access to approximately 7,200 features in the MSI including a combination of field verified springs, and many likely, but non-verified spring locations. The MSI project resulted in a 76% increase in mapped springs and increased from holding verified springs in 22 counties, primarily in the southeast, to verified springs located in 71 counties.
The DNR established special MSI accounts for MPCA and SWCD field staff from the Duluth/ Northern MN region and provide guidance documents and training, allowing them to add springs directly to the MSI using the Survey 123 application.
DNR conducts dissemination through individual contacts, presentations and news releases. One example is online at St. Croix 360. Another example came from an environmental consultant in a June 2021 email:
"Can (you) help assist with information gathering regarding seeps & springs in the St Paul area. I’m working with the Capitol Region Watershed District to identify springs within their boundary, and prioritize the springs in order of level of prevalence/risk to become a public comment or threat to infrastructure."
The spring data is accessible at Minnesota Spring Inventory and GIS files are at the Minnesota Geospatial Commons, and at Showcase.
Andrew Dickhart
Carver County Water Management Organization
600 E. 4th Street
Chaska, MN, 55318
Phone: | (952) 361-1871 |
Email: | adickhart@co.carver.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/public-services/planning-water-management/water-management |
Appropriation Language
$106,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the Carver County Water Management Organization to quantify water quality improvements and the cost-effectiveness of a new citizen-aided carp management method for restoring impaired lakes in Minnesota.
This project demonstrated new innovative methods of carp management that includes local volunteer residents. The use of baited box nets and an electric guidance system produced an integrated and multi-faceted approach to long term carp management, which we know is important given the longevity of the species.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe major objective of this project was to demonstrate new methods of managing common carp that can be implemented by residents and local governments to improve water quality and other lake response variables to carp removal. We partnered with Carp Solutions LLC and local residents to study carp management and removal using baited box-nets and an electric guidance system (EGS) in Benton Lake, a small shallow lake in Carver County that is impaired for nutrients. Although research shows that lakes can be restored by managing common carp, widespread implementation of carp management has been hindered by lack of effective removal methods. We addressed these challenges by enlisting local residents to test a simple, innovative method of removing carp via baiting and trapping, using corn and custom box-nets, and later a second method using an electric barrier. Research suggests that there is a threshold (100kg/hectare) at which common carp can be managed without negative effects to water quality and habitat. After removing 15,000 carp, the carp biomass decreased but just halfway towards the management threshold, short of our goal. We attributed our inability to reduce carp below the management threshold to a high rate of carp reproduction. Tracking technology was used to identify the main carp nursery and the EGS we tested may offer the most practical management option in this system because it can be used for many management scenarios, like blocking adult carp from accessing the nursery and block juveniles from dispersing out of the nursery. The cost efficiency of reducing nutrients was $2,100/kg of phosphorus, which put this method on the low side of the cost range for methods used to reduce nutrients. Through this work, two advances in carp management occurred. First, we showed that residents can play an important role in assisting carp removal efforts, and two, we showed how electric barriers can be used for controlling carp reproduction and migration of adults. These lessons will be of value to other carp managers in Minnesota and elsewhere.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONProject information and updates via Storymap remain on the Carver County Website. Staff has presented project updates to local resident groups, local decision makers, and do plan to present at conferences, which was a challenge due to the pandemic. Project updates, photos, and videos can be found on the “Carver County Water Management Organization” Facebook and Instagram – @carvercountywater.
Tyler Cowing
City of Fairmont
100 Downtown Plaza
Fairmont, MN 56031
Phone: | (507) 238-3948 |
Email: | tcowing@fairmont.org |
Appropriation Language
$175,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the city of Fairmont to build and demonstrate the effectiveness of an experimental passive biological treatment system to reduce nitrates that enter the city's springtime water supply source.
The city constructed a passive nitrate removal system optimized for spring low temperature treatment and partnered with the University of Minnesota to evaluate this field scale model. The results show that the concept of warming the water for early spring treatment works; however, treatment was hindered by algae growth in the greenhouse.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe City of Fairmont, Minnesota’s drinking water supply is threatened by high nitrates in spring runoff. Because conventional bioreactors are ineffective during the spring, the City of Fairmont needed an alternative design – a spring-season biological nitrate removal system – to reduce the load of nitrates entering Budd Lake during this time-critical season that can provide reliably safe drinking water for its 10,000 residents. The city worked with the University of Minnesota to evaluate a large passive nitrate removal system. The focus of the project was to optimize a passive solar system to warm water prior to it being treated in a conventional bioreactor system. This system was then designed by Barr Engineering and constructed in 2021. In the spring of 2022 and spring of 2023, the system was operated and monitored by the University of Minnesota and city public works staff. The bioreactor system was monitored for temperature distribution, water depth, flow, nitrate, sulfate, dissolved organic carbon, and general water quality parameters starting in 2022 until June 2023. The results indicate that the denitrifying woodchip bioreactor demonstrates better performance at low water levels, where dissolved oxygen (DO) levels are low enough, and the temperature is high enough to facilitate anaerobic respiration. The greenhouse raises the temperature to the desired level suitable for denitrification to occur. However, the construction of a forebay and greenhouse may significantly hinder the bioreactor’s denitrification process due to the high DO levels in the influent and the stratification of DO caused by algae in the bioreactor. To enhance the performance of the bioreactor, the removal of algae in the forebay and greenhouse may be necessary to aid denitrification. If a solution to removing the algae and lowering the DO in the bioreactor can be developed, this system could provide an economical way to decrease spring nitrates in our lakes and rivers.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThe University of Minnesota and City of Fairmont wrote a final report on the demonstration project. This report will be shared with all agencies working with the city to improve the chain of lakes, as well as anyone in the public interested in the project. The final report will also be shared at a water quality meeting hosted by the city where many agencies come together to work on water quality issues in the Fairmont Chain of Lakes. The city, U of M, and Barr Engineering presented the project at the Minnesota Water Resources conference in 2021 and 2022.
Paige Novak
U of MN
122 Civil Engineering Building, 500 Pillsbury Drive SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: | (612) 626-9846 |
Email: | novak010@umn.edu |
Appropriation Language
$1,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to determine the best way to stimulate bacteria to more quickly and completely remove industrial chlorinated pollutants from contaminated sites. On the day following final enactment, the following amounts from unobligated appropriations to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota are transferred and added to this appropriation: $75,000 in Laws 2016, chapter 186, section 2, subdivision 4, paragraph (l), and $74,000 in Laws 2016, chapter 186, section 2, subdivision 6, paragraph (b).
A group of bacteria exist that can “breathe” chlorinated pollutants. Naturally occurring chlorinated compounds are formed when leaves and pine needles break down. We discovered that these naturally occurring compounds can speed the rate at which chlorinated pollutants are degraded when added as an amendment.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSOver half of the contaminated sites in Minnesota contain chlorinated pollutants—chemicals that contain chlorine atoms attached to a carbon framework—that can cause serious health effects. Once the chlorine atoms are removed, the carbon framework is non-toxic. Bacteria exist that can remove the chlorine atom from this carbon framework. One kind of bacteria “breathes” these compounds by removing the chlorine atom from the carbon framework (so-called halorespiring bacteria (HB)). As a result, they require the presence of chlorinated compounds to survive. Other bacteria (non-respiratory dechlorinators (NRD)) remove the chlorine atom to use the carbon framework for growth. Little is known about them. Natural chlorinated compounds (not pollutants) also exist as a natural part of soil (called chlorinated natural organic matter, or Cl-NOM).
In this research project the goals were to determine whether and how Cl-NOM stimulated dechlorination of pollutants. We found that adding Cl-NOM to HB led to the faster and more complete dechlorination of the common pollutant perchloroethylene (PCE). Currently, engineers add similar bacteria to the ones we tested to contaminated sites to improve degradation. Our research suggested that to further improve the degradation of these pollutants, Cl-NOM could be added with HB to increase the rate (and possibly the extent) of chlorine removal, reducing the time and cost to reach clean-up goals. We found that NRD are widespread and can dechlorinate chlorinated contaminants and grow as a result, potentially giving them a competitive advantage in nutrient-limited environments. Nevertheless, though Cl-NOM amendment selected for some HB and NRD, these organisms did not necessarily have the ability to dechlorinate the most common pollutants.
One peer-reviewed manuscript was published from this work. Multiple presentations about the research have been given at conferences. The student supported by this funding for her Master’s research is now a practicing engineer for a large regional firm, and as such is able to further disseminate these results.
John Bilotta
U of MN - Water Resources Center
173 McNeal Hall
1985 Buford Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 624-7708 |
Email: | bilot002@umn.edu |
Web: | https://www.wrc.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$350,000 the first year is to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, Water Resources Center, for a comprehensive study of the economic benefits of managed aquifer recharge and to make recommendations to enhance and replenish Minnesota's groundwater resources. The study must include, but is not limited to:
(1) examining the potential benefits of enhancing groundwater recharge in water-stressed areas;
(2) assessing the relationship to changing seasonality and intensity of precipitation on groundwater recharge rates;
(3) reviewing the approaches to manage recharge in geologically appropriate areas;
(4) identifying policy options, costs, and barriers to recharging groundwater; and
(5) assessing the economic returns of options for groundwater recharge.
In conducting the study, the Water Resources Center must convene a stakeholder group and provide for public participation.
Aquifer storage and recovery can be a viable technique that could be deployed safely to ensure groundwater availability and sustainability to communities in Minnesota. Treating, injecting and temporarily storing clean water in aquifers may provide a solution to meeting future demands of residents, industry and agriculture.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSSome of the more than 75% of Minnesotans who rely on groundwater may find it in short supply in the face of population, land-use and climate change. Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) is a technological approach to treat and inject clean water into an aquifer for temporary storage. The hydrogeological characteristics and the chemistry of the source water and aquifer impact treatment needs prior to injection and after extraction. Aquifer properties that control how water moves determine the volume and rate of water injected. This study examined four different kinds of aquifers across Minnesota with unique pressures to determine their suitability for ASR. The study findings suggest three may be suitable for ASR. The Buffalo aquifer in Moorhead has variable injection capacity and multiple sources of water for injection. Water quality issues of arsenic, sulfate, manganese, and hardness may require treatment before injection and after extraction. The Jordan aquifer in Rochester faces increased pressure from growth and nitrate contamination in agricultural areas. The wastewater treatment plant could provide adequate source water if treated. Woodbury faces pressure from increasing population and PFAS contamination of the Jordan aquifer. ASR could recharge groundwater from wastewater treatment plants and also be integrated with PFAS remediation scenarios by reinjection of treated groundwater. ASR is not recommended for the surficial sand aquifer in the Straight River Groundwater Management area in north central Minnesota because there is no feasible source of water at this time. Cost-benefit analysis combined with a sensitivity analysis of economic factors should be a component of ASR project feasibility studies. Modified state well code and a streamlined permitting path would allow more successful development and deployment of ASR. State adoption of control over Class V injection wells from the USEPA is also necessary. Improvements are needed to the state aquifer properties database.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThis project results in two reports. First, a full-color 10 page executive summary describes the project and provides recommendations for policy leaders, professionals, and stakeholders to consider for the application of ASR to Minnesota. A full scientific report encompassing each of the individual activities, methods, data, recommendations and discussion. They are both available online at https://www.wrc.umn.edu/banking-groundwater-managed-aquifer-recharge
Throughout the term of the project, policy leaders, professionals, and stakeholders were engaged in discussions. Meetings were held with multiple agencies including the Interagency Groundwater Team and multiple presentations were given to a broad list of stakeholders including to members of the Legislature, the Environmental Quality Board, MNDNR Groundwater Management Area leaderships, DNR Groundwater Technical Analysis Workgroup, and stakeholders in each of the study areas.
The Executive Summary has been sent to all interested stakeholders and a link to the full report with an expanded table of contents has been provided for deeper review. The final report has been submitted to the LCCMR and project recommendations introduced in bill language during the 2021 legislative session.
Multiple presentations were given during professional conferences and seminar opportunities. Multiple project updates were published through the Water Resources Center and the Freshwater Society regular electronic news updates. Individual activity researchers and authors are currently writing manuscripts for professional publications.
Lori Arnold
YouthCARE MN
2701 University Ave SE, Suite 205
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Phone: | (612) 338-1233 |
Email: | larnold@youthcaremn.org |
Web: | http://www.youthcaremn.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$237,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with YouthCare Minnesota to expand camp opportunities to more school districts and implement improved hands-on environmental education programs for economically disadvantaged youth.
Note: Dollars returned
Chris Knopf
Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
401 N Third St, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Phone: | (612) 332-9630 |
Email: | chris@friends-bwca.org |
Web: | https://www.friends-bwca.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$450,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness to connect approximately 6,500 students to the boundary waters through classroom education and wilderness canoe experiences for diverse and underserved populations across Minnesota. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2023, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
This project connected over 6,000 Minnesota students to the wildlife, ecology, and history of the Boundary Waters through online resources, and classroom visits, and provided opportunities for students to develop deep connections to the wilderness, leadership, and positive peer relationships through overnight wilderness trips.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSAlthough approximately 200,000 people visit the Boundary Waters each year, many Minnesotans have never been to the Boundary Waters and may not appreciate its unique wildlife, ecology, culture, and history. This project aimed to connect students (grades 6-12) to the BWCA through classroom education and wilderness canoe experiences, targeting diverse and underserved students throughout Minnesota.
Through two components of this program, classroom visits and wilderness trips, over 8,000 program experiences to 6,324 students were provided – not including the over 30,000 students estimated to access our online materials.
Though COVID-19 prevented us from launching in-person programs until 2021, our online lessons allowed us to reach students across the state. These lessons are still used frequently in classrooms, both with schools as a precursor to a visit and on their own to teach about Boundary Waters ecology, history, and Anishinaabe culture. In 2021, in-person lessons began in schoolyards around Minnesota. Our evaluations of the programs show that these lessons were valuable in bringing a greater understanding of the Boundary Waters, encouraging students to spend more time outdoors, and offering opportunities for students to work together.
In our wilderness trip component, 210 students attended overnight trips, and 230 participants attended local paddle programs. Local programs served as a COVID-19 alternative until overnight trips began in 2022 and doubled participants in 2023. Our evaluations from chaperones on these wilderness trips highlight the personal growth and leadership they saw from students, and student evaluations highlight confidence and positive relationships during their overnight experience.
By building connections to the BWCA through classroom experiences across the state, and increasing student confidence, leadership, and positive peer relationships in overnight trips, this program serves to benefit Minnesota by inspiring the next generation of wilderness stewards that reflect the many different communities of our state.
Our updated website provides information for teachers, including online resources, a course catalog, and information on MN State Standards. We also created a brochure for use at events. Teachers are encouraged to sign up for the Educator Network, which provides them with resources as well as newsletters throughout the year. Trip resources include “how-to” videos.
Throughout the duration of the project, we invited local newspapers to cover our programs, and several pieces were published throughout Minnesota. We highlight our school visits and wilderness trip groups on Facebook and Instagram, and created a video to share with teachers and the general public.
Mary Hammes
Mississippi Park Connection
111 Kellogg Blvd E, Suite 105
St. Paul, MN 55101
Phone: | (651) 291-9119 |
Email: | mhammes@parkconnection.org |
Web: | https://parkconnection.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$199,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the Mississippi Park Connection to work with Conservation Corps Minnesota, local communities, and volunteers to address the loss of ash trees to emerald ash borer by planting approximately 15,000 native trees and plants in affected areas in the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
Mississippi Park Connection and its partners planted 15,069 native trees and shrubs in the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area to address tree canopy loss due to Emerald Ash Borer. The project also established a Mississippi River Crew with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa and engaged volunteers.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSEmerald ash borer (EAB) is a small insect without natural predators that is killing up to 99% of all native ash trees in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. In parklands with large natural areas, dying ash trees are creating hazardous conditions for park visitors and creating a gap in the canopy as they die. These canopy gaps are negatively impacting wildlife habitat along the Mississippi River. This project aimed to identify areas where ash trees were being lost to Emerald Ash Borer and support overall forest ecosystem health by planting a diverse set of native trees and shrubs to support the ash-elm-mixed-hardwood ecotype within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Major outcomes achieved during the project include:
The work received recognition in a Star Tribune Article. We also talked about this work in Mississippi Park Connection’s e-newsletters, which has 8,806 subscribers. We also celebrated this work in an Earth Day virtual event with over 70 registrants. Finally, we worked with thousands of volunteers who learned more about Emerald Ash Borer and forests and the support that LCCMR has provided to this project. This work is also highlighted on Mississippi Park Connection’s website. We created a video describing the work of the Mississippi River Crew. A document regarding natural resource professional safety working in EAB-affected forests is forthcoming.
Mimi Daniel
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5308 |
Email: | mimi.daniel@state.mn.us |
Web: | http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/index.html |
Appropriation Language
$250,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources in cooperation with Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa to encourage a diversity of students to pursue careers in environment and natural resources through internships and mentorships with the Department of Natural Resources, the Board of Water and Soil Resources, and the Pollution Control Agency. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2024, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Nicholas Phelps
U of MN - MAISRC
135 Skok Hall, 2003 Upper Buford Circle
St Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 624-7450 |
Email: | phelp083@umn.edu |
Web: | http://www.maisrc.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$4,000,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to support the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center in developing solutions to Minnesota's aquatic invasive species problems through research, control, prevention, outreach, and early detection of existing and emerging aquatic invasive species threats. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2023, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Sub-Projects M.L. 2019, Subd. 06a:
*Subproject is split between M.L. 2017 and M.L. 2019 funding, only M.L. 2019 funds are reflected.
Jessica Kozarek
U of M - St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
2 Southeast 3rd Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Phone: | (612) 624-4679 |
Email: | jkozarek@umn.edu |
Web: | http://www.safl.umn.edu/ |
Shannon Wettstein
Morrison Soil and Water Conservation District
16776 Heron Rd
Little Falls, MN 56345
Phone: | (320) 631-3553 |
Email: | shannon.wettstein@morrisonswcd.org |
Web: | http://morrisonswcd.org/about-us |
Appropriation Language
$100,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with Morrison Soil and Water Conservation District to eradicate the northern-most occurrences of oak wilt in the state through mechanical means on select private properties to prevent oak wilt's spread to healthy state forest habitats.
Morrison SWCD partnered with DNR Forest Health Specialists and local DNR Foresters to suppress oak wilt at 18 sites within Morrison County through mechanical means. These sites are the northern-most occurrences of oak wilt in the state through on the edge of healthy state forest habitats.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSMorrison SWCD partnered with DNR Forest Health Specialists and local DNR Foresters to suppress oak wilt at 18 sites within Morrison County. Control work was done by an experienced contractor using successful vibratory plow and tree destruction methods. Morrison County is at the leading edge of the known disease range in Minnesota. While the project was focused on private lands, the public good comes from controlling the spread to public forests of the state, and the continued habitat for turkey, grouse, deer and other wildlife.
The DNR Forest Health Specialist made numerous trips to the area to help train local resource professional staff on identification of oak wilt and confirm new spots and local DNR Foresters painted wilting trees throughout the season. At the time of grant execution, the number of known infection sites had jumped from ten to 65 triggering Morrison SWCD and DNR to prioritize work zones based on the proximity of the site to northern public forests. Highest priority sites were largely rural with large intact forests and lower priority sites were found near Little Falls, Minnesota in an actively developing residential area.
Landowners were approached by the SWCD to gain interest in oak wilt suppression activities on their properties. These property owners signed a Landowner Agreement that outlined program requirements, landowner and contractor responsibilities and timelines for treatment. The SWCD received overwhelming support from property owners, with 50 landowners signing on to be part of the program, and because of this, all the known oak wilt pockets in the high and highest priority zones were treated.
The SWCD and DNR continue to educate the public and work with landowners affected by oak wilt in the medium and low priority areas to guide them in properly addressing the disease on their properties until additional funding can be secured.
The SWCD received overwhelming support from property owners, with 50 landowners signing on to be part of the program, and because of this, all the know oak wilt pockets in the high and highest priority zones were treated. The SWCD and DNR have both released articles to local newspapers, submitted articles for the Forest Health Unit newsletter and alerted landowners of the presence of Oak Wilt in Morrison County and grant opportunities through talk show programs on the local radio station. Both agencies have updated their websites to reflect current grant opportunities. Website addresses for both of these are located here: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/treecare/forest_health/oakwilt/index.html ; https://morrisonswcd.org/gallery/fy2019-projects-events/oak-wilt-main. Both organizations will include this grant award and outcomes in their 2019 annual reports.
Informational packets were created to easily send in the mail or hand to interested landowners over the counter. These packets include a contractor list of certified arborists and experienced vibratory plow operators, handouts on how to identify oak wilt along with best management practices for suppressing oak wilt and links to additional resources and references. Landowners in the low and medium priority zones where oak wilt was not addressed with these funds were given or sent a packet and told they will be notified in the future if additional funds are secured. Morrison SWCD and DNR will continue to provide technical support to these landowners so diseased pockets of oak are managed properly. The SWCD is also offering a 10% discount known affected property owners order trees through the office to help offset the cost of reforestation.
Mark Abrahamson
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
625 Robert St N
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 201-6505 |
Email: | mark.abrahamson@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants-insects/noxious-and-invasive-weed-program |
Appropriation Language
$1,000,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of agriculture to continue to monitor, detect, and eradicate noxious weeds, including Palmer Amaranth, primarily in conservation plantings and to develop and implement methods to prevent infestation and protect prairies, other natural areas, and agricultural crops. Of this amount, $650,000 is for grants to local communities to help combat infestations.
This project supported noxious weed management on priority species at both the State and local levels and helped to establish and build support systems that will assist noxious weed management efforts beyond the conclusion of the project.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSNinety-one noxious weed management grant projects were completed by local units of government and tribes during this project. Through these projects, over 10,000 acres and roadsides miles were surveyed, and noxious weed locations mapped; noxious weeds on over 5,000 acres and roadsides miles were treated; and more than 75 workshops were held educating 350+ participants on noxious weed identification and management strategies. In addition, after the completion of projects, grantees were better prepared for ongoing weed control through the purchase of herbicide, sprayers, mowers, and other equipment.
In addition to the work done through grant projects, control work was conducted on about 1,215 acres through partnership with Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa (CCMI) on priority species such as black and pale swallowworts, common and cutleaf teasels, Grecian foxglove, knotweeds, Japanese hops, meadow knapweed, poison hemlock, rough potato, round leaf bittersweet (formerly oriental bittersweet), and tree of heaven. In addition to the importance of controlling highly damaging invasive plants, this project helped to train the next generation of natural resource managers through their work with CCMI. They were trained in plant identification as well as infestation mapping and reporting and learned control tactics for herbaceous and woody species in different habitats. Thirty-five CCMI crew members and leaders worked on this project for a collective 4,500 hours of infestation control.
Finally, ISMTrack is now being utilized across the state. There are over 200 users who have created 1,795 sites and recorded 3,952 individual invasive plant management activities. Previously, management activities were recorded by and stored at the offices of the individuals overseeing the work. This made it difficult to share information across organizations and maintain continuity as personnel changed. Now we can share information across organizations and see what work had been done previously.
Results from this project reached Minnesotans in several different ways. The broadest impact would have been through four media releases. In addition, a presentation on ISMTrack was made at the Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference and three ISMTrack events were held reaching 262 participants. Seven presentations were made on the project reaching 1,044 participants. Finally, project updates were provided at four Noxious Weed Advisory Committee meetings each year and at Cooperative Weed Management Area meetings.
Valerie McClannahan
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5283 |
Email: | valerie.mcclannahan@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/grants/forestmgmt/managing-ash.html |
Appropriation Language
$300,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for grants to local units of government to replace ash trees removed from public lands in response to emerald ash borer with ecologically appropriate trees.
William Northrop
U of MN - WCROC
111 Church Street
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Phone: | (612) 625 6854 |
Email: | wnorthro@umn.edu |
Appropriation Language
$650,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for the West Central Research and Outreach Center at Morris to develop and test novel clean energy storage systems for farms using wind-generated ammonia to displace fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This appropriation is subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
This project was the first to demonstrate that anhydrous ammonia mixed with a small quantity of hydrogen can fuel on-farm grain-drying equipment. Ammonia contains no carbon molecules. Therefore, its combustion emits no carbon emissions when produced renewably from wind or solar power, reducing the carbon intensity of agriculture in Minnesota.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSGrain drying consumes over one-third of the fossil fuel energy attributed to its production. Conventional fuels used in drying include propane and natural gas. Combustion of green anhydrous ammonia reduces carbon dioxide and soot emissions because it is a carbon-free molecule. Ammonia has not been considered a suitable replacement for petroleum for farm operations due to its low flame speed and poor combustion efficiency, resulting in unburned ammonia emissions and low efficiency. Hydrogen supplementation enhances ammonia combustion. Green hydrogen is an intermediate product of green ammonia production and can also be obtained through partial cracking of ammonia. In this project, fundamental research was performed to develop ammonia-hydrogen combustion technology. That technology was applied to small-scale turbulent burner testing through eventual full-scale demonstration on a commercial grain dryer. At the end of the project, a 240-kW ammonia/H2 burner was retrofitted into a trailer-mounted grain dryer at the West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) in Morris, MN. The dryer dried grain at a similar rate to when the propane burner was installed. The demonstration was completed using green ammonia and green hydrogen produced at the WCROC. This project resulted in the first functional grain dryer operating on ammonia. Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and unburned fuel was like emissions from fossil fuel burner systems. With additional engineering refinement, a pathway to a 100% ammonia (0% hydrogen) burner is possible that could be marketed to farmers and other industrial customers. The project also included engine research that showed spark-ignited engines used for electricity generation can operate on only 5% hydrogen and 95% ammonia, much less than previously thought. Given the potential for renewable ammonia production using solar and wind power in Minnesota, its use in grain drying can lower the carbon intensity of agriculture and save fuel costs for farmers.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONResearch results from the project were published at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Fall Technical Conference in Indianapolis, IN in October of 2022, and at the prestigious International Symposium on Combustion in August of 2022, along with other local section meetings of the Combustion Institute. Additional research results are being prepared for submission to a peer-reviewed journals. The grain dryer remains at the WCROC and will be demonstrated to interested parties upon request. Results from the research has also been used in project proposals to the US Department of Energy, and other federal and state entities.
Nicole Saccoman
Rural Renewable Energy Alliance
3963 8th Street SW
Backus, MN 56435
Phone: | (218) 947-3779 |
Email: | Nicole@rreal.org | Web: | https://www.rreal.org/cs4ca |
Appropriation Language
$500,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with Rural Renewable Energy Alliance to install a 200-kW White Earth community-owned solar garden to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase economic development through environmental education and solar workforce training, and improve energy resilience.
200 kWs of solar community gardens were installed on the White Earth tribal reservation. This project will greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions for years to come, in addition to providing energy resilience to the White Earth community. Furthermore, this project has increased economic development through environmental education and solar workforce training.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSFive 40 kW ground-mounted solar arrays have been completed, were commissioned, and are now operating at 100% at each of the five chosen sites. Those sites are DOVE Shelter, Head Start Daycare Center, Maadaazizi Workforce Center, Naytahwaush Complex, and the Tribal College; all are located within the White Earth reservation tribal community.
Eight interns, in two rounds of four, completed a 45-hour paid internship at a rate of $15/hour. They each received a Minnesota Installers Certificate and a professional electronic instrument kit. Each student, as part of the 45 hours, spent 15 hours at the solar construction sites during installation. Rural Renewable Energy Alliance (RREAL) and the White Earth Tribal and Community College are expanding this program into a full Associate Degree program in 2022, including work experiences with Minnesota Power and several rural Habitat for Humanity affiliates.
This project has directly led to a second year of Solar Tech Customized Education at the White Earth Tribal and Community College. It is also providing the tribal community with sustainable energy to promote energy independence and resiliency. RREAL is continuing to partner with the White Earth tribe to create long-lasting energy sustainability solutions. Please enjoy this video for further information on the collaboration between RREAL and the White Earth nation and how this project will continue to increase economic development and sustainability within the community.
Ted Pappenfus
U of MN - Morris
600 E 4th Street
Morris, MN 56267
Phone: | (320) 589-6340 |
Email: | pappe001@morris.umn.edu |
Web: | http://cda.morris.umn.edu/~pappe001/ |
Appropriation Language
$185,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, Morris, to use regional plant-based agricultural by-products to fabricate solar cells for creating renewable and affordable energy.
New materials were developed from agricultural byproducts for use in the fabrication of printed organic solar cells that will lead to a more sustainable, low-cost, renewable energy source in Minnesota.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe overall objective of this project was to develop materials for alternative energy technologies for Minnesota residents. This objective was achieved by producing sustainable materials from agricultural byproducts that can be used in organic photovoltaics (OPVs). OPVs (i.e., organic solar cells) are a promising renewable energy technology driven by their capability to be printed across large areas using roll‐to‐roll processing techniques–thus, creating the vision of covering every roof and other suitable building surface with organic photovoltaics at extremely low cost. Although scientists across the planet have developed many petroleum-based materials for OPVs, it is imperative that we find sustainable routes to make these materials. In this project, furfural – an organic compound produced from a variety of agricultural byproducts – was used as an important component of the solar material.
Undergraduate students in Minnesota utilized furfural for making polymers that link many small molecules in long chains to make plastics. These newly developed plastics show properties similar to petroleum based plastics used in conventional OPVs. These plastics can then be used for the fabrication of printed organic photovoltaics that will lead to a more sustainable, low‐cost, renewable energy source in Minnesota.
Over fifteen undergraduate students contributed to the project across two institutions. Numerous high school students also benefited from the project through hands-on activities. Project results were disseminated widely through scientific publications and conference presentations. Results of the project were used to submit a large five million dollar grant to the National Science Foundation for the creation of a global center for practical, economic, and sustainable OPV technologies that will be based in the Midwest.
Blaine Hill
City of Morris
610 Oregon Ave
Morris, MN 56267
Phone: | (320) 589-3141 |
Email: | bhill@ci.morris.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.ci.morris.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$150,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the city of Morris to develop and begin implementing community resilience plans for energy and the environment and to create a model guide for other Minnesota communities to create and implement their own plans.
Erik Runquist
Minnesota Zoological Garden
13000 Zoo Blvd
Apple Valley, MN 55124
Phone: | (952) 431-9200 |
Email: | erik.runquist@state.mn.us |
Appropriation Language
$800,000 the first year is from the trust fund. Of this amount, $630,000 is to the Minnesota Zoological Garden and $170,000 is to the commissioner of natural resources to reestablish populations of Minnesota's imperiled butterflies through reintroductions and prairie restorations and by developing foundational habitat recommendations for preventing future extinctions. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2023, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Rebecca Montgomery
U of MN
1530 Cleveland Ave N
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: | (612) 624-7249 |
Email: | rebeccam@umn.edu |
Appropriation Language
$750,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to demonstrate, evaluate, and increase adoption of the combined use of intensive tree, forage, and livestock management as a method to restore threatened oak savanna habitats.
Colleen Winter
City of Melrose
225 First St NE
Melrose, MN 56352
Phone: | (320) 256-4278 |
Email: | cwinter@cityofmelrose.com |
Web: | https://www.cityofmelrose.com/ |
Appropriation Language
$2,768,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the city of Melrose to remove an existing fixed-elevation dam, construct a rock arch rapids, and conduct in-stream and shoreline habitat restoration to improve water quality and native fish passage in the Sauk River. This project requires a match of at least $1,400,000 that must be secured before trust fund money is spent. At least $700,000 of this match must come from the city of Melrose. City of Melrose expenses for the Sauk River dam removal and rock rapids replacement incurred before July 1, 2019, may be counted toward the match.
Note: Dollars returned
Briana Gross
U of MN - Duluth
207 SSB, 1035 Kirby Dr
Duluth, MN, 55812
Phone: | (218) 726-7722 |
Email: | blgross@d.umn.edu |
Web: | https://scse.d.umn.edu/biology-department/faculty-staff/dr-briana-gross |
Appropriation Language
$135,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota to provide monitoring and invasive species removal to conserve rare and endangered arctic plants on Minnesota's North Shore. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2023, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Through three years of genetic and field study, we found that the rare arctic relict plants of Minnesota have retreated northward since the 1900s. They will likely decline into the future, and one species is threatened by an aggressive invasive species. Protection and education are critical to preserve these unique species.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota is home to “arctic relict” plants that are usually found in the arctic or sub-arctic. In Minnesota, they survive in rocky, cool, arctic-like microhabitats created by Lake Superior. These plants are threatened by a changing climate, declining available habitat due to tourism and development, and in one case, hybridization with a related invasive species. First, our project examined historical Minnesota Biological Survey (MBS) survey sites along the shore to determine arctic relict community change over time. Next, we studied the health of three different arctic relict species along the North Shore to determine if warmer, southern populations were showing more signs of stress than cooler, northern populations. Last, we set out to test if removing the invasive species by hand was an effective way to reduce hybridization and protect the genetic integrity of a threatened native species. The middle year of our study, 2021, was a drought year, which allowed us to monitor the effect of drought on our three target species. We found that change in community composition varied among sites, but there was a general decrease in species diversity along the shore. Additionally, the southern-most occurrence has contracted substantially northward for two of three species. The species under threat of hybridization is also most at risk of being affected by a summer drought and is projected to decline across most sites. The invasive species is an aggressive invader, and removal of it is only feasible in target areas of concern where it is near native populations but not yet well established. Our work adds to and enhances natural history data collected by the state of Minnesota and highlights the need to continue protecting these plants and educating Minnesotans about our unique, rare species.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThis project was conducted with the cooperation state and federal partners, and we hosted a meeting for land managers from across the North Shore to share our findings and promote cross-agency collaboration. This led to the creation of the “Lake Superior Arctic Relicts” information sharing group to communicate with land managers and other stakeholders. Discussion with stakeholders and community education events will continue. We are also conducting field site visits to address specific land manager needs and questions. We’ve submitted our re-survey results to the DNR, and the genetic data is freely available online.
Kristin Hall
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Road
St Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5444 |
Email: | kristin.hall@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$513,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources to accelerate the nongame wildlife program, including rare wildlife data collection, habitat management, collaborative land protection, conservation education, and a new emphasis on promoting nature tourism to benefit wildlife, visitors, and rural communities.
Dan Shaw
BWSR
520 Lafayette Road
St Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (612) 236-6219 |
Email: | dan.shaw@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://bwsr.state.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$806,000 in fiscal year 2019 and $94,000 the first year are from the trust fund to the Board of Water and Soil Resources for demonstration projects that provide grants or payments to plant residential lawns with native vegetation and pollinator-friendly forbs and legumes to protect a diversity of pollinators. The board must establish criteria for grants or payments awarded under this section. Grants or payments awarded under this section may be made for up to 75 percent of the costs of the project, except that in areas identified by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as areas where there is a high potential for rusty patched bumble bees to be present, grants may be awarded for up to 90 percent of the costs of the project.
Eric Buchanan
U of MN - West Central Research and Outreach Center
46352 State HWY 329
Morris, MN 56267
Phone: | (320) 589-1711 |
Email: | buch0123@morris.umn.edu |
Web: | https://wcroc.cfans.umn.edu/ |
Appropriation Language
$900,000 is from the trust fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for the West Central Research and Outreach Center at Morris to design, integrate, and field-test new technology mowers to control weeds, reduce herbicide use, reduce energy costs, and improve native vegetation and forage quality on agricultural lands. This appropriation is subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
Molly Roske
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5094 |
Email: | molly.roske@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$3,500,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for the scientific and natural areas (SNA) program to restore and enhance wildlife habitat on SNAs, increase public involvement and outreach, and strategically acquire high-quality lands that meet criteria for SNAs under Minnesota Statutes, section 86A.05, from willing sellers. A list of proposed acquisitions and restorations is required in the work plan.
Audrey Mularie
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5549 |
Email: | audrey.mularie@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$3,000,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources to solicit, rank, and fund competitive matching grants for local parks, trail connections, and natural and scenic areas under Minnesota Statutes, section 85.019. The appropriation is for local nature-based recreation, connections to regional and state natural areas, and recreation facilities and not for athletic facilities such as sport fields, courts, and playgrounds.
Shelby Kok
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5590 |
Email: | Shelby.Kok@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$2,000,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources to acquire high-priority in-holdings from willing sellers within the legislatively authorized boundaries of state parks and trails to protect Minnesota's natural heritage, enhance outdoor recreational opportunities, and improve the efficiency of public land management. Priorities include but are not limited to Minneopa, St. Croix, Frontenac, and Crow Wing State Parks. A list of proposed acquisitions is required in the work plan.
Kent Skaar
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5636 |
Email: | kent.skaar@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$5,000,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources to expand high-priority recreational opportunities on Minnesota's state trails by developing new trail segments and rehabilitating, improving, and enhancing existing state trails. High-priority trail bridges to rehabilitate or replace include, but are not limited to, those on the Arrowhead, Central Lakes, Harmony-Preston Valley, Matthew Lourey, and North Shore State Trails. High-priority trail segments to develop and enhance include, but are not limited to, the Paul Bunyan, Gateway, Heartland, Gitchi Gami, and Minnesota Valley State Trails. A proposed list of trail projects on legislatively authorized state trails is required in the work plan. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Leah Heggerston
National Loon Center Foundation
35770 Allen Ave
Suite 1 PO Box 642
Crosslake, MN 56442
Phone: | (218) 839-9042 |
Email: | fishes@crosslake.net |
Web: | https://www.nationallooncenter.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$4,000,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the National Loon Center Foundation, in partnership with a fiscal agent to be approved by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, to construct an approximately 15,000-square-foot National Loon Center in Cross Lake dedicated to loon survival, loon habitat protection and research, and recreation. Of this amount, up to $1,449,000 is for planning, design, and construction of approximately six outdoor demonstration learning kiosks, interpretive trails, boardwalks and boat docks, a fishing dock, and native landscaping along approximately 3,100 feet of shoreline. Any remaining funds are for planning, engineering, and constructing the building and indoor exhibits. A land lease commitment of at least 25 years and fiscal sponsorship must be secured before any trust fund money is spent. This project requires a match of at least $6,000,000. At least $2,000,000 of this match must come from nonstate sources. If naming rights will be conveyed, the National Loon Center Foundation must include a plan for this in the work plan. All matching funds must be legally committed before any trust fund money may be spent on planning activities for or construction of the building and indoor exhibits. Net income generated from admissions, naming rights, and memberships to the National Loon Center as a result of trust fund contributions may be reinvested in the center's long-term loon conservation efforts as described in the work plan approved by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources according to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
Nancy Stewart
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Rd
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 259-5616 |
Email: | nancy.stewart@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$320,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources to provide accessible fishing piers in locations that have a high potential to serve new angling communities, underserved populations, and anglers with physical disabilities. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Nine (9) new accessible fishing piers have been installed in various locations around the state to improve fishing opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. The DNR worked with multiple sponsors and donors who brought funding and enthusiasm to the projects.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSAccessible fishing piers make fishing safe, easy, and fun for all ages especially children, elderly, disabled, veterans, families, small and large groups, and anyone who doesn’t own a boat. Fishing piers provide the “classroom” to teach fishing skills and outdoor education classes. Data shows that 40% of people with fishing licenses do not own a boat (approximately 480,000 anglers). The demand for fishing piers is increasing as more people want to fish close to home and from a safe location. Each fishing pier is expected to last 20 to 25 years with proper maintenance. Below are the nine new fishing pier locations:
DNR now has approximately 364 public fishing sites; with 282 on partner owned and operated lands, and 82 on state-owned land. Since 1984, the fishing pier program has relied on funds from competitive capital funding sources to grow the program and add new fishing piers (and shore fishing sites) such as Bonding, Legacy and now LCCMR. In a typical year each existing fishing pier is checked and repaired as needed. Summer storms and winter ice are the most common causes for damage. Piers past their useful life are prioritized for rehabilitation or replacement at a rate four to eight each year. The program is hugely successful because of the many partnerships with local units of governments.
Bob Manzoline
St. Louis & Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority
111 Station 44 Rd
Eveleth, MN 55734
Phone: | (218) 744-2653 |
Email: | bmanzoline@rrauth.com |
Web: | https://www.mesabitrail.com/ |
Appropriation Language
$3,000,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority for environmental assessment, permitting, right-of-way easements or other acquisition as needed, and engineering for and construction of four trail segments beginning and ending at the following approximate locations: Darwin Meyers Wildlife Management Area to County Road 21, Embarrass to Kugler, County Road 128 to the Eagles Nest Town Hall, and Wolf Creek to the Highway 169 underpass.
This project was an important part on nearing the completion of a planned 162 mile long paved bicycle trail stretching from Grand Rapids to Ely, MN. The ENRTF funding along with other funds allowed for the completion of four (4) segments of the Mesabi Trail which are: Darwin Meyers Wildlife Management Area to County Road 21 (approximately 2 miles), Embarrass to Kugler Township (approximately 9 miles), County Road 128 to Eagles Nest Town Hall (approximately 2 miles), and Wolf Creek to the Highway 169 underpass (approximately 3 miles).
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSFor Segment 1: Darwin Meyers WMA to CR 21, we completed about 90% (approximately 1.5 miles) of the trail construction for this segment by June 30th, 2022. We will be using funds from our IRRRB grant to complete the remaining construction management and trail construction for this segment. Segment 2: Embarrass to Kugler, this segment is 100% completed, approximately 9 miles. Our engineering and construction costs were under our original engineering estimates and finished favorable compared to our budget for this segment. Segment 3: CR 128 to Eagles Nest Townhall, this segment is 100% completed, approximately 2 miles. Our engineering and construction costs were under our original engineering estimates and finished favorable compared to our budget for this segment. Segment 4: Wolf Creek to Highway 169 Underpass, this segment is 100% completed, approximately 3 miles. Typical challenges arose from designing and building these paved bicycle trail segments, such as land formations, wetlands and mitigation, land acquisitions, and rising material costs. To complete these four (4) segments, each required environmental assessments and permitting, engineering plans, services, management, right-of-way acquisition and construction. These key segments allow connections to various communities from the Giants Ridge Golf and Ski Resort in Biwabik through Embarrass and Kugler Township; Eagles Nest Township, Bear Head State Park and the Wolf Creek area towards Ely.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThe Mesabi Trail news and updates are provided through a variety of media, marketing and publications. Web site is: Mesabitrail.com. The following are some of the groups & organizations that disseminate Mesabi Trail information and typically include updates of newly completed trail segments and activities:
The Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund is acknowledged as a funder for the Mesabi Trail with recognition posted in each kiosk along the trail.
The Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF) will be acknowledged through use of the trust fund logo or attribution language on project print and electronic media, publications, signage, and other communications per the ENRTF Acknowledgement Guidelines.
Cathy Bissonette
City of Babbitt
71 South Dr
Babbitt, MN 55706
Phone: | (218) 827-3646 |
Email: | cathy@babbitt-mn.com |
Appropriation Language
$350,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the city of Babbitt to expand Birch Lake Recreation Area by adding a new campground for recreational vehicles and tent campers. This project requires a match of at least $2,800,000 that must be secured before trust fund money is spent. At least $800,000 of this match must come from the city of Babbitt. Net income generated from admissions to the campground created as a result of trust fund contributions may be reinvested into the campground's long-term operations as described in the work plan approved by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources according to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.10.
The City of Babbitt has completed a new 22-acre campground in the Birch Lake Recreation Area that will include 49 new campsites to accommodate recreational vehicles and tents. The completion of this projects allows area residents and tourists from around the country and Canada to enjoy the unique outdoor experience of Northern Minnesota.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe completion of the campground has provided 49 new ADA-compliant campsites for a variety of camping activities and users. The new campground is located along the shores of Birch Lake, which is one of the most heavily fished lakes in the Tower Fisheries Management Area. The lake is 75% undeveloped and provides a Boundary Waters Canoe Area experience. Along with the new campsites, this project includes a new camp office as well as restrooms and showers. The campground is adjacent to ATV trails and an existing paved pedestrian/hiking trail that connects to the downtown of Babbitt and continues to the Mesabi Trail. As a part of this project, the City of Babbitt extended city water, sewer, and electrical services to the campground. The campground is also adjacent to a new boat landing and new road access that was constructed by the city in 2018. This project was planned, designed, and constructed due to the lack of camping sites in the Babbitt area as well as in Northern Minnesota. The total cost of this project was approximately $5,000,000. The funding partners for this project included the LCCMR, MN State Bonding Bill, Iron Range Resources (IRRRB) and the City of Babbitt. The campground will open the spring/summer of 2023.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThe City of Babbitt conducted numerous public meetings through the planning, design, funding, and construction phases of this project. The project’s updates were discussed in regular council meetings and were open to the general population. The City also updated all of the funding partners during the design and construction phases of the project. At the project site, in at least two locations, signage will be constructed and shall remain in order to identify project name, scope, and parties that funded the project. These signs will include the verbiage, “Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR)” as well as the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund logo. The City will hold a ribbon cutting in the Spring of 2023 and will be sure that LCCMR and all other funders will be invited.
Tim Kennedy
Superior Cycling Association
PO Box 1032
Grand Marais, MN 55604
Phone: | (218) 370-0955 |
Email: | tkennedy@boreal.org |
Web: | https://superiorcycling.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$350,000 the first year are from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the Superior Cycling Association to create a sustainably designed single-track mountain bike trail connecting trail clusters and trailheads between Britton Peak in Tofte and Lutsen Mountains as part of northeast Minnesota's effort to become a national recreation destination. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
The Superior Cycling Association in partnership with the US Forest Service and Cook County designed and built 16 miles of purpose built mountain bike trails connecting existing trail clusters at Britton Peak and Lutsen Mountains to address the need for more sustainable mountain bike trails in Cook County.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSRecreation demands for mountain biking in Minnesota, especially Northeastern Minnesota, have grown to require more sustainably designed and purpose built mountain bike trails. The Cook County Mountain Bike System masterplan prepared for the Superior Cycling Association by the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission calls for development of clusters of mountain bike trails at Britton Peak in Tofte, Pincushion Mountain in Grand Marais and Lutsen Mountains in Lutsen with a connector trail between these three clusters. This project completed the Jackpot and High Climber trails between the existing trail clusters at Britton Peak and Lutsen Mountains, approximately 16 miles. The Superior Cycling Association in partnership with the US Forest Service and Cook County built these mountain bike trails to the highest sustainable trail design standards to minimize environmental impacts while utilizing the relief and geologic features found along the North Shore.
This project is part of a growing number of destination mountain bike trails to be found in Northeast Minnesota, including the City of Duluth, Cuyuna in Crosby, Giant’s Ridge, Redhead in Chisholm, Toiga in Cohasset, and more in the works. Recreation trails are a driving force to bring visitors to these areas of the state and make significant impacts on the local economy.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONUnfortunately, due to COVID-19, this trail was opened for use unceremoniously with no major announcements or Grand Opening celebration. However, riders did hear about the trail on the Superior Cycling Association, Visit Cook County, and other website as well as on trail aps that riders use. Response from riders echoed a similar sentiment, “this is the best trail in the State…I’ll be back”.
When COVID restrictions are over and large gatherings are again allowed, the Superior Cycling Association will be holding a Grand Opening which will invite riders, media, partners, and local businesses to celebrate this mountain bike trail resource.
John Geissler
Saint John's University
104 New Science Building
Collegeville, MN 56321-3000
Phone: | (320) 363-3126 |
Email: | jgeissler001@csbsju.edu |
Web: | https://www.csbsju.edu/outdooru |
Appropriation Language
$1,600,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with Saint John's University in cooperation with Minnesota Land Trust to restore and enhance protected lands, provide public outreach, and prepare management plans for and use a reverse-bid ranking system to secure permanent conservation easements on high-quality natural habitat in the Avon Hills area of Stearns County. Of this amount, up to $168,000 is for use by Minnesota Land Trust in a monitoring fund as approved in the work plan and subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.20. An annual financial report is required for any monitoring, management, and enforcement fund, including expenditures from the fund. A proposed list of acquisitions and restorations must be provided in the work plan. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2024, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Britt See-Benes
City of Virginia
327 1st Street S
Virginia MN 55792
Phone: | (218) 748-7500 |
Email: | britts@virginiamn.us |
Web: | http://www.virginiamn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$550,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the city of Virginia to reconstruct the existing Bailey Lake Trail and construct a new fishing pier on Bailey Lake that is accessible from the trail.
The completion of the Baileys Lake Trail and fishing pier provides the community a safe way to enjoy outdoor recreation activities, such as biking, walking, and bird watching, within a city setting. The new pier allows for safe fishing on Baileys Lake without the need for watercraft.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe City Comprehensive Plan (2017) identified the repair the Baileys Lake Trail as a priority for the City. The existing trail was over 40 years old with very little reconstruction in many years. Not only was the trail dangerous and in disrepair, the lack of storm water management along the trail created erosion problems with portions of the shoreline washing away. The former fishing pier was dilapidated and condemned for usage. Many residents enjoyed fishing on the lake however, without a fishing pier, access was limited.
Our major project objectives were to create a fishing pier and trail that served the needs of residents and visitors. With the funding received, the City was able to respond to the citizen requests for a safe trail and a new fishing pier. A new 10 feet wide asphalt trail was constructed; a 125 foot fishing dock was added; decorative lighting was installed in the areas that were the darkest; and decaying, rotting trees that were buckling the pathway were removed. The shoreline was re-established and stabilized, and culverts and storm water control were constructed to control erosion.
During construction, the DNR identified trees around the lake that do have or are likely to have bats nesting in them. We did not want to negatively impact wildlife, including bats, so we waited until the nesting season is over before removing trees.
The trail and fishing pier complements all the outdoor attractions within the city and also provides a non-motorized alternative route to access a wide variety of locations within the city and promotes active, healthy living. Because of the reconstruction, usage has increased with the trail being utilized by walkers, hikers, bikers, and runners and fishing has again begun on the dock.
The City utilized social media, in person meetings, the local newspaper and our city website to disseminate information about the project. Public meetings were held with stakeholders in May and October 2019 to discuss the project as well as community desires. Notices of closure of the trail were advertised in local newspapers, on social media, and our city website. Our local newspaper did a story in August 2020 discussing the project.
Julie Lammers
City of Vergas
PO Box 32
Vergas, MN 56587-0032
Phone: | (218) 342-2091 |
Email: | cityofvergas@arvig.net |
Web: | https://www.cityofvergas.com/ |
Appropriation Language
$290,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the city of Vergas to construct a bicycle and pedestrian bridge, trail, and floating boardwalk along Long Lake including shoreline restoration and stabilization with native plants. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
Andrew Bremseth
City of Fergus Falls
112 Washington Avenue W
Fergus Falls, MN 56537
Phone: | (218) 332-5403 |
Email: | Andrew.Bremseth@ci.fergus-falls.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.ci.fergus-falls.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$600,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the city of Fergus Falls to acquire easements for and construct a trail along the Otter Tail River in downtown Fergus Falls and a bicycle and pedestrian bridge crossing the river. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
The City of Fergus Falls used ENRTF funds to engineer and construct portions of a larger downtown riverfront enhancement project that included a 600 ft shared use trail, pavilion, farmer’s market, restroom, and trailhead kiosk. The project was unveiled on June 30, 2022, to celebrate the City’s 150th anniversary.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThis project, bolstered by the outcomes of a 2016 Downtown Riverfront Master Plan and colloquially referred to as Downtown Riverfront Improvements, has spanned multiple City Councils, elections, bonding bills, engineers, redesigns, and even a pandemic. Thanks to a shared vision and the strength of public- private partnerships, the City was able to unveil a segment of new shared use path and pedestrian improvements in downtown Fergus Falls at a community celebration on June 30, 2022.
The initial aims of the project included land acquisitions to complete two segments of new trail and a pedestrian bridge over the Otter Tail River. In 2020, land acquisition was removed to reflect an adjusted trail route. Due to impacts from COVID-19 and after additional engineering analysis, the project scope was further reduced to reflect the community’s ability to feasibly finance the intended project, focusing efforts on a first phase section of trail leading up to and crossing a pedestrian bridge. When it came time to finalize design and financing, resistance from the community (specifically and surprisingly to the proposed pedestrian bridge) further impacted project timeline and budget.
Consequently, the work completed by June 30, 2022 was a much reduced scope from the original work plan, but the project unveiled in celebration of the City’s 150th anniversary remains impactful. Minnesotans benefit from the completion of a segment of trail that will connect to State and regional trails, the enhancement of a riverfront once flanked by crumbling parking lots and industrial sites, and the recreational and educational opportunities now available to local residents and visitors that increased access to pedestrian infrastructure and the river bring. The successful completion of pedestrian upgrades despite hurdles along the way strongly suggest that Minnesotans see the value in the natural beauty surrounding them and wish to preserve and enjoy that natural beauty.
Project updates were shared periodically through a project website run by Bolton & Menk. More consistently, information about this project has been disseminated in in-person updates to City Council and in an unveiling speech given by Mayor Ben Schierer on June 30.
Though not posted before June 30, the kiosk in the project area will include attribution to the ENTRF based on ENTRF acknowledgment requirements.
Bruce Beste
Voyageur Country ATV
Box 414
Crane Lake, MN 55725
Phone: | (218) 391-5108 |
Email: | voyageurcountryatv@gmail.com |
Web: | www.VoyageurCountryATV.com |
Appropriation Language
$400,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with St. Louis County in cooperation with Voyageur Country ATV Club to designate and improve a wooded trail from Crane Lake to Vermilion Falls to accommodate all-terrain vehicle and snowmobile users. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
This project created a safe, marked 5.6-mile long corridor for ATV and snowmobile riders connecting the resort community of Crane Lake to the popular Vermilion Falls Picnic area. An elevated boardwalk was built on helical piles to minimize impacts and protect areas that are environmentally sensitive.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe resort community of Crane Lake is a popular tourist destination due to its unique geographic location. Crane Lake is the southernmost lake in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota’s only national park. Many visitors explore, by boat, the beautiful neighboring lakes including Namakan, Kabetogama and Rainy Lakes to the north. To the east of Crane Lake lies Superior National Forest & the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and Quetico Provincial Park. Visitors may arrive with canoes and backpacks, setting out for a wilderness adventure with tents and fishing poles in hand. Another activity, notably increasing in popularity, is the visitor bringing the family and an ATV or snowmobile. Snowmobiling has been popular here for decades and Crane Lake has a well-established winter trail system. However, the beauty of this area with its many streams, lakes, and beaver ponds presents a challenge for ATV riders once the ice melts. To lessen the impact on our environment, and to keep visitors as safe as possible, our ATV club is working to establish a system of wooded, marked corridor routes (like this one) for the ATV enthusiasts.
This trail project was a priority as part of a Master Plan to improve the 5.6 miles between the resort community of Crane Lake and the very popular Vermilion Falls picnic area to create a safe and more immersive experience for riders, keeping them off the paved road. Trail improvements included culvert replacements and new installations, trail hardening, the construction of drainage ditches, and the installation of a 256 foot long pier-supported boardwalk. This bridge built on helical piles is low impact and 12’ wide able to accommodate a snowmobile trail grooming machine, making the boardwalk safe and appropriate for year round use. This project was completed with the blessing of the US Forest Service. Hundreds of people visit the Vermilion Falls picnic area each year and this trail will be perfect for making their experience safer and more enjoyable as they connect with the beautiful Northwoods of Minnesota’s Voyageur Country.
Lisa Luokkala
Superior Hiking Trail Association
731 7th Avenue, Suite 2
Two Harbors, MN 55616
Phone: | (218) 834-2700 |
Email: | lluokkala@superiorhiking.org |
Web: | https://superiorhiking.org/ |
Appropriation Language
$191,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the Superior Hiking Trail Association to restore and repair the most damaged parts of five sections of the Superior Hiking Trail and restore an abandoned route to a natural footpath for hikers.
The Superior Hiking Trail (SHT), which traverses the ridgeline of Minnesota’s North Shore, was repaired in some its most damaged sections. A well maintained SHT keeps people on the trail and water off of it, the adjacent land and water are protected, and a human connection to nature is preserved.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe 310-mile Superior Hiking Trail (SHT), part of the larger North Country National Scenic Trail, is nationally recognized as a premier long trail in the United States. Almost the entire trail was built without application of modern trail-building standards. As a result, and due to the extreme popularity of the Trail, the SHT is in rough shape: decrepit built structures (boardwalks, bridges), severe erosion, and long stretches of muddy trail. With earlier assistance from LCCMR, we were able to complete multiple professional assessments of some of its most damaged sections, which came to known as “the Big Bad Five.”
Using the assessments as a framework to identify distinct projects within those five sections of trail, we worked in partnership with land managers/owners to determine the project scope and type of trail renewal application. We rebuilt, replaced or rerouted trail segments to eliminate around a dozen dangerously built structures (e.g., stairways, small bridges); repaired 1.5 miles of the most eroded or degraded segments.; and replaced or built 1,500 feet of boardwalk.
Ability to maintain the Trail at a level that meets or exceeds industry standards has long-lasting impacts on both the critical role the Trail plays to connecting people to nature and to stewarding the land and water through which the Trail passes. Every year, thousands of Minnesotans utilize the unique access the Superior Hiking Trail affords, allowing people to interact with public lands otherwise not available to them and leaving them with the tenants of land stewardship and conservation that carries on after they return home.
The project results (construction) are very tangible and can be seen and experienced. The processes we developed in the implementation, such as the development of design plan sets and identifying alignments through particularly challenging terrain are well documented so they can be used internally and by fellow trail organizations as a resource. Our Trail Maintenance Manual, which highlights many of the sustainable design and maintenance techniques used in our projects is available on our website for the public to access.
Sherril Gautreaux
City of Ranier
PO Box 186
Ranier, MN 56668
Phone: | 218-286-3311 |
Email: | cityofranier@frontiernet.net |
Appropriation Language
$200,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for an agreement with the city of Ranier to enhance and increase public access to Rainy Lake by constructing an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant recreational parking lot, an ADA-compliant public restroom, and an aquatic invasive species boat wash station.
A new accessible boat launch and accompanying dock was installed and a city-owned property was converted into a parking lot for vehicle and trailer parking. A permanent waterless AIS boat wash station and an animal-proof receptacle for disposal of bait and boater garbage were also installed.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSRanier is a resort community at the gateway to Voyageurs National Park and Rainy Lake. The overall goal of this project is to increase public access for boat recreation in Rainy Lake, provide modern adequate parking for vehicle and boat trailers, and reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species. Creating the new lot and launch alleviates congestion and provides for safer trailering and parking. Ability to meet the needs of the public to access Rainy Lake has a long lasting impact on the vitality of area recreation.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONThe project results are a sustainable boat launch and parking area in Ranier for access to Rainy Lake. Instructional signage for the launch area and parking lot were installed. Information regarding the sites are depicted on the city website.
Bob Manzoline
St. Louis & Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority
111 Station 44 Rd
Eveleth, MN 55734
Phone: | (218) 744-2653 |
Email: | bmanzoline@rrauth.com |
Web: | https://www.mesabitrail.com/ |
Appropriation Language
$1,000,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources for a grant to the St. Louis and Lake Counties Regional Railroad Authority to engineer, design, renovate, and construct the Historic Bruce Mine Park and Mesabi Trailhead and access in the city of Chisholm. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2023, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
The project entailed redeveloping a former mine site into a trailhead for the Mesabi Trail and provided an interpretative center and park for the Bruce Mine Headframe Historic Site located in Chisholm, MN. A self-guided tour includes an interpretive center and plaques explaining how the relics operated in the past by using the remaining structures including the headframe, railroad track, and various structural foundations. The Park serves as a trailhead for the Mesabi Trai,l providing parking, restrooms, and information to travelers and trail users.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThe project tells the story of the Bruce Mine and headframe, constructed in 1926 by the Harvester Company, in how equipment and manpower were used to haul iron ore up from the underground mine, loaded onto tram cars for storage or processing, then transported by rail to the ore ships on Lake Superior. The Iron Range has libraries’ worth of historical stories, and the Bruce Headframe is the last standing headframe on the Mesabi Iron Range. Preserving and interpreting this site for generations to come is an important piece of mining history. The project first required an extensive review process from the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)requirements to ensure the historic site was preserved to the recommended standards. SHPO reviewed site plans and environmental analysis and made recommendations to ensure the integrity of the historic location (See Research Addendum). We worked with the City of Chisholm’s Beautification Association and received their input for the project. As the project budgets were developed, we learned that implementing their recommendations wasn’t possible within the original budget, and an additional grant amount of $400,000 was approved by the State of MN to meet these goals. The environmental and historical reviews were completed; engineering plans, construction management, and construction for the interpretive park have all been completed.
PROJECT RESULTS USE AND DISSEMINATIONA ribbon cutting ceremony was held by the Chisholm Beautification Association on August 4, 2023.
Mesabi Trail news and updates are provided through a variety of media, marketing and publications. Web site is: Mesabitrail.com. The following are some of the groups and organizations that disseminate Mesabi Trail information and typically include updates of newly completed trail segments and activities:
Katherine Sherman-Hoehn
MN DNR
500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155-4010
Phone: | (651) 259-5533 |
Email: | Katherine.Sherman-Hoehn@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$135,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of natural resources, at the direction of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, for expenses incurred for preparing and administering contracts for the agreements specified in this section. The commissioner must provide documentation to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources on the expenditure of these funds. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time the project must be completed and final products delivered.
This appropriation was used to support the ENRTF contract management program, which ensured that ENRTF grantees expended grant funds in compliance with state law, session law, approved work plans, and Office of Grants Management grants policies.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSThis appropriation was used to support the ENRTF contract management program, which ensured that ENRTF grantees expended grant funds in compliance with state law, session law, approved work plans, and Office of Grants Management grants policies.
The DNR Grants Unit managed 78 grants active in FY 2020. In FY 2021, the Grants Unit managed 72 active grants.
Between 1/1/2020 when billing began and 12/31/2020 when it ended, the DNR Grants Unit:
Project personnel were in frequent contact with appropriation recipients and LCCMR staff. Information was disseminated through manuals, training sessions, orientations, meetings, memos, letters, emails, newsletter, and phone.
Becca Nash
Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources
658 Cedar St.
Room 65 State Office Bldg
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 296-6264 |
Email: | becca.nash@lccmr.mn.gov |
Web: | https://www.lccmr.mn.gov/ |
Appropriation Language
$1,400,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources for administration in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 116P.09, subdivision 5.
Sally Olson
Legislative Coordinating Commission
658 Cedar St.
Room 72 State Office Bldg
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 296-9002 |
Email: | Sally.Olson@lcc.mn.gov |
Appropriation Language
$3,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the Legislative Coordinating Commission for the website required in Minnesota Statutes, section 3.303, subdivision 10.
Becca Nash
Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources
658 Cedar St.
Room 65 State Office Bldg
St. Paul, MN 55155
Phone: | (651) 296-6264 |
Email: | becca.nash@lccmr.mn.gov |
Web: | https://www.lccmr.mn.gov/ |
Appropriation Language
$330,000 in fiscal year 2019 is from the trust fund to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources to develop, enhance, and maintain a management system for project records.
Jeff Freeman
Public Facilities Authority
322 Minnesota Street, Suite W820
St. Paul, MN 55101-1378
Phone: | (651) 259-7465 |
Email: | jeff.freeman@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://mn.gov/deed/pfa/ |
Appropriation Language
Up to $5,000,000 of the money in the trust fund is available to the State Board of Investment to invest in loans through the Public Facilities Authority's clean water revolving fund under Minnesota Statutes, section 446A.07. Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 446A.07, repayments of principal and interest and any investment income must be credited to the trust fund and are available for reinvestment in the clean water revolving fund.
Joel Peck
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
520 Lafayette Rd. N.
St. Paul, MN, 55110
Phone: | (651) 757-2202 |
Email: | joel.peck@state.mn.us |
Web: | https://www.pca.state.mn.us/ |
Appropriation Language
$500,000 the first year is from the trust fund to the commissioner of the Pollution Control Agency for the pilot program created under Laws 2018, chapter 214, article 4, section 2, subdivision 4, paragraph (a). This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021, by which time projects must be completed and final products delivered.
Wastewater treatment systems are critical infrastructure to manage waste effluent within hundreds of communities throughout Minnesota. Optimization means getting better results through existing infrastructure. This project determined that both mechanical and pond wastewater treatment systems can be optimized, and new effluent limits met, without adding substantial new infrastructure.
OVERALL PROJECT OUTCOME AND RESULTSAchieving better nutrient treatment in wastewater treatment facilities serves to reduce the likelihood of algal blooms in Minnesota’s water bodies resulting in cleaner lakes and rivers.
This project found that Minnesota’s mechanical wastewater treatment plants can achieve better biological nutrient removal (BNR) through low-cost operational changes. These improvements were modeled using the Activated Sludge SIMulation Model (ASIM) in order to determine the specific plant operational parameters required to achieve BNR. On average, mechanical plants in this pilot were modeled to have average nitrogen reduction of 14.14 mg/L, average phosphorus reduction of 1.84 mg/L (most sites already treat phosphorus chemically to 1 mg/L) and chemical reductions of 886 lb chemical/Million Gallons (MGal) flow.
Wastewater ponds can achieve much better nutrient treatment by utilizing the ‘Steady-State Primary’ strategy developed during this project. This strategy involves holding the first pond at six feet, or the maximum depth permitted) with a slide gate. Raw influent continues flowing into pond 1, while treated effluent from pond 1 is used to fill pond 2. Meanwhile, pond 3 is also held full. This strategy maximizes treatment time and drastically improves nutrient treatment quality. The two developed case studies showcase a 69% reduction in phosphorus and 43% reduction in nitrogen when compared to the prior year’s effluent. Secondary recommendations to wastewater ponds is to reduce inflow and infiltration, reduce fecal loading from waterfowl, and to encourage the growth of aquatic plants, with a specific emphasis on the growth of coontail.
By quantifying the role that optimization has in effective wastewater treatment, Minnesota’s lakes and streams can meet standards in a more cost effective means.
The project and its results have been presented in 17 different events and conferences by members of this team, including Minnesota Rural Water Association’s annual conference, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s annual conference, the Conference on the Environment, and many others. However, only one mechanical treatment plant has elected to move ahead with a pilot study, and one additional has expressed interest in doing so in the near future. The team has heard from staff and consultants of participating facilities that without a nitrogen standard as a driver, they feel little urgency to adopt optimization recommendations. Other facilities are meeting phosphorous limits under current flow, but would face difficulty at increased flow. Additionally, BNR design and operation is not a common treatment system in our Minnesota climate, and there may be some trepidation to moving toward that form of treatment until other facilities lead the way.
We have seen eight pond systems adopt the steady-state-primary flow regime in their operations, with more hoping to do so in the near future. Those that have done so already have reported roughly 50 percent reduction in nutrient discharge. The flow regime still needs additional validation. But, more discharge events will add more confidence with additional datasets from daily monitoring reports. Better flow management through infrastructure maintenance – making sure the control structures function as designed – is going to continue to be an area of importance in order to prevent short circuiting of the treatment in isolated pond cells.
The final report, the final work product of operator field guides for mechanical and pond treatment facilities, case studies of participating facilities, and additional findings, can all be found here, at the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program’s wastewater webpages.