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Lower Minnesota River Watershed District Takes Stronger Focus on Watershed Management Issues The LMRWD covers approximately a 70 square mile area that mostly follows the bluff tines of the Minnesota River from the Carver Rapids to the confluence with the Mississippi River. The Lower Minnesota River Watershed District (LMRWD) was formed in 1960, with an original purpose to be the local sponsor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist in the maintenance of a navigation channel on the lower reaches of the Minnesota River. Over the past two years, the LMRWD has made major efforts to increase its focus toward watershed and water resources management by adopting an updated Lower Minnesota River Water- shed District Watershed Management Plan and hiring a full time District Administrator. The plan continues its original purpose of serving as the local sponsor to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but also outlines a plan to establish partnerships and build collabo- rative efforts to manage the unique resources of the LMRWD. Among the unique resources found in the LMRWD are 7state-designated trout streams, 4 calcareous fens, and numerous flood plain lakes and wetlands. The LMRWD has recently made several efforts toward implementing their new watershed management plan. First, the LMRWD has initiated a partnership with the U.S Geological Survey to conduct a floodplain redefinition study. This is the first study of the Lower Minnesota River floodplain in almost 30 years. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the Lower Minnesota River's floodplain and produce new maps of the River from Carver Rapids to its confluence with the Mississippi River. The new maps will assist in planning and zoning activities, including new Flood Insurance Studies. only a handful of trout streams that remain in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area and the Seminary Fen is one of the highest quality calcareous fens in the area (See the .Seminary Fen Protection Efforts article). The project, partially funded by the MN DNR Greenway Planning Grant, is a collaborative effort among the LMRWD, MNDNR, the City of Chanhassen, Friends of the Minnesota Valley, Minnesota Land Trust, the Conservation Fund, local residents, and others. The effort will result in a series of educational workshops for local residents and city officials and a stew- ardship and protection plan for Assump- tion Creek and Seminary Fen. The LMRWD is also involved in another fen and trout stream protection effort with the City of Eagan and the Gun Club Lake Watershed Management Organiza- tion. This project, also funded by a Greenway Planning Grant, will. involve collecting and analyzing maps, stream information, and the development of a Geographic Information System (GIS) of two trout streams and a fen complex- The information will then be used to begin the development of a management and protection plan for the area. The Lower Minnesota River Watershed District will continue to establish itself as a leader in the restoration and protec- tion of the Minnesota River. As the LMRWD implements it's Watershed Management Plan, it will continue to focus on establishing strong partnerships and collaborative efforts to protect the resources of the Lower Minnesota River. The LMRWD has also initiated a local watershed planning project for the Assumption Creek/Seminary Fen watershed. Assumption Creek is one of uic stars etan Conservation Act proposed rules role sic On October 10th the DNR released it's draft Public Waters proposed rules and BWSR released it's draft proposed WCA rules for stakeholder comment. A copy of the WCA proposed rules (159 pages) has been circulated to watershed districts and our partners via e-mail. A copy of the Public Waters proposed rules will be available electronically the last week in October and will be circulated at that time. (Contact the MAWD office if you haven't received your copies). Individual drainage authorities should review these proposed rules very closely and forward any comments you may have to the MAWD Office. MAWD is reviewing the drafts for comment at this time and will be alerting watershed districts on the negative impacts of these rules. Three immediate concerns regarding this duel rulemaking process include: * Repair of existing public drainage should not be interfered with by the DNR and other state regulatory agencies without explicit authority. * The statewide policy change requiring drainage repairs to comply with WCA (25 year rule) is a policy change that should be discussed as a matter of state law, not DNR rule. This major drainage policy shift should not be done through the back door by DNR rulemaking. * We need to examine very closely the BWSR's proposed WCA rules, especially those relating to WCA exemptions. These rules are expected to be published in the State Register in mid-November. MAWD will keep you up-to-date on the details of these rule changes after additional review and analysis. 12