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GLC grants help erosion control The BWSR recently began working with Lake, Cook and South S[. Louis Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) to spend about 528,000 in grants from the Great Lakes Commis- sion for erosion control projects. The money actually comes in two separate grants. One grant, for 514,000, is for the develop- ment of avegetation selection fact sheet (and some accompa- nying demonstration plantings) specifically aimed at erosion control along Lake Superior. The second Grant, for 513,500, will help install several low cost erasion control demonstration projects along the Lake Superior shoreline. The vegetation fact sheet is necessary because several erosion control projects have not been revegetated simply because specific information on the most appropriate types of vegetation has not been compiled. Although eneral information on vegeta- tion in'the area exists, the north shore is unique and needs information aimed at its~distinet characteristics, according to Gene Clark, BWSR shoreline engineer. "The General information available talks about what types of vegetation usually grow well in northeastern Minnesota, but we really need something that narrows down the range of plants and also offers some vegetation schemes," Clark said. Work on the fact sheet and. demonstration projects is already well underway. South St Louis SWCD Conservation Technician Robin Payne has looked at several potential demon- stration project sites and plans to choose three or four later this fall. She will complete work on the vegetation selection. fact sheet this winter, and the demonstration plots will be planted in spring 1998, she said. "I think there's a real need for this," Payne said. "There are definite problems and if some of them can be corrected without structural work or even bio- engineering, but just by handing someone a fact sheet on vegeta- tion, that's a real positive." The owners of the potential sites seem very interested and cooperative, she added. Landowners also seem interested and supportive of the second grant, intended to complete several low-cost shoreline erosion control demonstration projects along the Lake Superior shoreline. Because many erosion control projects on the lake involve construction on high, severely eroded bluffs, the cost can be prohibitive. While BWSR does administer a state Erosion Control Cost-Share Program, the program's minimal budget (approximately 5350,000 annu- ally) and the high cost of the north shore projects mean that only two or three projects along Lake Superior receive funding each year. Although lower-cost con- struction options exist, most are experimental and can't meet the program's requiremept of a Guaranteed lifetime of ten years. This $13,500 grant will be used to install low-cost erosion control methods and determine their effectiveness indifferent situations. "Although these projects will use engineering principles, they won't be engineering projects per se," Clark. said. "They won't have formal engineering designs and plans. In many cases, a full-scale engineered project would be impossible, since the eroded bluffs are so steep that we couldn't possibly get equipment onto the site any- way," Clark said. The reduced planning also cuts cost and constriction time, Clark added. The BWSR and Lake SWCD have already used funding from this grant to complete a large "dump and fill" project just east of Two Harbors. The landowner dug a trench at the base of the site, and rocks were dumped into the trench and up the eroding bluff, Clark said. Clark and SWCD staff have selected three other sites (one in South . St. Louis County, one additional site in Lake County, and one;in Cook County) for work later this fall. If money from the grant remains, more projects will be done in the spring. The information from these projects will help stretch future cost-hare dollars by determin-. ing what types of low-cost options can «~ork in various situations, Clark said. For example, one project will use gabians (small rocks held together with wire baskets) instead of rip-rap for erosion control. Although gabians~ generally don't last very well in GLC con't page 6 4