Local partners including the North St. Louis Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD), St. Louis County, Lake County & SWCD, and Cook County & SWCD are embarking on the creation of a One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) for the Rainy River Headwaters and Vermilion River Watersheds in Minnesota. These watersheds encompass a large area of…
Read More >
For the 19th consecutive year, the Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum brought a multitude (144) of researchers, resource managers, policy makers and members of the public together on March 9-10 in a virtual setting for the second time. With a formal opening and welcome from Al Pemberton of Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians,…
Read More >
The Lake of the Woods Water Sustainability Foundation is pleased to announce the release of the 2022 Rainy-Lake of the Woods State of the Basin Report (SOBR). The 2022 SOBR takes first steps towards “two eyed seeing”, by bringing together views of priority concerns and solutions through an Indigenous lens with one eye, while the…
Read More >
In the summer of 2021, the Lake of the Woods District Stewardship Association (LOWDSA) was extremely busy with both long-standing and new stewardship initiatives. They launched a new citizen science program that will help to detect the presence of zebra mussels (Dreissena polyporpha) within Lake of the Woods and surrounding water bodies. Volunteers were given…
Read More >
Over 206 volunteers searched a total of 281 accesses on 222 water bodies across Minnesota on Saturday, August 21, 2021 to participate in Starry Trek. Starry Trek is a statewide search for starry stonewort and other aquatic invasive species at public water accesses. The state-wide effort is organized by the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research…
Read More >
Do you live within the Rainy River Headwaters area? If so, you’ll want to check out the fact that the MPCA has put two important water quality documents on public notice – their Total Maximum Daily Load report and their Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy report. These will be on public notice through October 29th,…
Read More >
Throughout May and June 2021, there was messaging on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to help spread the word about preventing movement of aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the Rainy-Lake of the Woods watershed. This was a partnership initiative of the International Multi-Agency Arrangement’s AIS subcommittee, made up of specialists from Minnesota, Ontario and Manitoba. The…
Read More >
Spiny waterfleas are small aquatic predators native to Eurasia. The first report of spiny waterfleas in North America was in Lake Ontario in 1982 and was introduced to the Great Lakes in ballast water from ocean-going ships. “Spiny” is a species of zooplankton – small animals that rely on water currents and wind to move…
Read More >
This year’s annual workshop was a true testament to how we can adapt our engagement for the collective efforts on stewardship. On March 31st, 2021, 38 people came together on Zoom and worked together, with our two presenters, to discuss the most effective ways to engage citizens in science and stewardship. The lessons learned came…
Read More >
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is a non-profit organization that works to protect natural areas through securing properties and managing them for the long term, ensuring their ecological integrity. NCC is partnering with the City of Kenora, local residents, cottagers and campers to protect 82 hectares (202 acres) on Town Island, at the north…
Read More >