All Projects

To hire a qualified professional to assess the archival collections held by VocalEssence.

To design, produce, and install historical markers for the Waabizheshikana Marten Interpretive Trail in Duluth.

Provide industrial, source reduction technical assistance to reduce nutrient discharge to wastewater treatment facilities through industrial process optimization. Document impact of nutrient reduction on wastewater operations and discharge quality.

This provides a project manager to work with regulated parties to identify new or more efficient ways of meeting standards at wastewater treatment facilities (municipal and industrial).

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The goal of this project is to develop guidance for water quality parameter evaluation and calibration for Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN (HSPF) applications focused on dissolved oxygen (D.O.), nutrient, and algal simulation, along with a demonstration of the guidance by step-by-step application to D.O.-impaired Minnesota watersheds.

There are several models and tools that State agencies, university staff, and local government staff utilize to measure outcomes for pollution reduction benefits in agricultural watersheds in Minnesota. The mechanisms and scales at which these tools are built on are slightly to drastically different.

DNR regional clean water specialists and area hydrologists work with regional staff from other state agencies and with local partners to help identify the causes of pollution problems and determine the best strategies for fixing them. We collect and analyze stream channel stability and streambank erosion data to help identify root causes of certain water quality impairments in streams.

The Watershed Health Assessment Framework (WHAF) is a web-based tool for resource managers and others interested in the ecological health of Minnesota's watersheds. The framework uses five ecological components to organize and deliver information about watershed health conditions in Minnesota. The five components are hydrology, connectivity, biology, geomorphology, and water quality. Statewide GIS data from DNR and partner agencies are used to calculate health scores that reveal similarities and differences between watersheds.

The DNR provides technical support related to the causes of altered hydrology and watershed management solutions. We use state-of-the-art models and statistical methods to look at cumulative impacts of drainage and land-use practices and determine the benefits of best management practices. This involves collaboration with multiple partners at multiple scales.

This project delineates and maps watersheds (drainage areas) of lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands for the state of Minnesota and provides watershed maps in digital form for use in geographic information systems. These maps become the basis for clean water planning and implementation efforts.

Minnesota has widespread water quality impairments due to nonpoint-source pollution generated by agricultural, urban, and other human-altered lands. Mitigation of these impairments requires implementing best management practices (BMPs) that are designed to limit soil erosion and nutrient transport from lands to receiving waters. Long-term data sets of water quality and land-use history are needed to tease apart the many factors that affect water quality. In particular, data sets that span periods before and after BMP implementation are needed to determine BMP effectiveness.

To hire a qualified consultant to write an exhibit design plan for the Philando Castile Peace Garden.

To hire a qualified historian to complete an evaluation to determine eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for the 1925 Wesley Hospital Building, Wadena, MN.

This project will apply science to identify viable and priority wetland restorations and rehabilitations that will deliver sustainable water quality benefit, along with flood storage and habitat benefits. Decision tools will be developed to assist with selection of restoration projects.

The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council in collaboration with the Minnesota Humanities Center will extend and deepen the ongoing partnership around the Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations exhibition, supporting host sites through December 2012.

Project goals include installation of a 200-kW White Earth community-owned solar garden reducing GHG emissions, increasing economic development through environmental education and solar workforce training, and improving energy resilience.

Wild bees are important for their pollination services and for their contribution to species diversity; for example, many prairie-grassland plant species require pollinators for seed production. However, while the importance of plant-pollinator interactions is well recognized, there are large gaps in our knowledge of Minnesota’s wild bees. The only statewide list of bee species was published in 1919 and it reported only 88 species, whereas it is currently estimated that there are approximately 350-400 native bee species in the state.

Project outcomes include results from hydroponics experiments, which will likely consist of information on the response of wild rice growth to a range of concentrations of sulfate, sulfide, and various cations. Results from these experiments will be used to help determine what additional research is needed in 2013. The MPCA will use this data to evaluate the current sulfate standard and the need, if any, for modifications to it.

Project outcomes include data that will ultimately allow the MPCA to quantitatively compare the environmental conditions (surface water and sedimentary geochemistry) at sites that successfully support wild rice growth to sites that do not support wild rice. These data, in particular the analysis of the porewater samples obtained under this project, will be compared to the results from a separate project that will assess the growth of wild rice using hydroponic methods.

The MPCA is currently collecting additional information needed to evaluate the 10 mg/liter wild-rice-based sulfate standard and has received funding through legislation passed during the 2011 Special Session to implement a wild rice research plan and contract with scientific experts to further understand the effects of sulfate on the growth of wild rice. The goal of this project is to determine responses of wild rice to sulfate and the products of geochemical transformations of sulfate.

This project makes an additional plant growth chamber available to increase efficiency for the MPCA Wild Rice Standards Study, which is gathering information about the effects of sulfate on the growth of wild rice.

The goal of this project is to collect and analyze samples from lake, stream, wild rice paddy, and experimental field sites across a spectrum of sulfate concentrations and wild rice plant abundance. The scientific information developed will be part of the evidence used by the MPCA in its decision as to whether or not a change to the existing sulfate standard is necessary, and if so, what the revised standard should be.

The MPCA is undertaking a study to investigate the potential effects of elevated sulfate on the growth of wild rice. One high-priority hypothesis is that the conversion of sulfate to sulfide in anoxic subsurface sediment may harm the roots of wild rice, either directly, or indirectly. The goal of this project is To observe and develop an understanding of exposure of wild rice roots to changes in concentration of sulfide and related chemicals over time and space (depth of sediment and distance from roots).

This project will provide lab analyses and interpretation required for 2012 wild rice field survey. The 2012 lab analyses will be merged with the 2011 field survey data and determine what additional work, if any, is needed during the 2013 field season.

The MDH Environmental Laboratory provides essential analyses of water for the MPCA Wild Rice Standards Study, which is gathering information about the effects of sulfate on the growth of wild rice. For this study, the lab developed a ultra-sensitive test for hydrogen sulfide, which greatly facilitated the research. For this large study, the lab staff analyzed several thousand water and sediment samples from lakes, wetlands, rivers, rice paddies, experimental mesocosms, and hydroponic experiments.

To provide appropriate storage and public access for genealogy materials.

This project will produce a Winter Maintenance Assessment tool prototype that allows users to create a customized approach to modify their existing winter maintenance program that will reduce their road salt use. The tool will allow users to take inventory of their current practices and evaluate how they are doing today and where they have the most potential to reduce salt usage.

The goal of this project is to maintain and make enhancements to the Winter Maintenance Assessment tool (WMAt), which is a necessary technical resource and planning tool for stakeholders and permittees to implement the chloride reduction strategies described in the Chloride Management Plan. The WMAt is critical for assisting stakeholders in meeting the water quality goals of the Chloride Management Plan without compromising public safety, and allowing for consideration of the varying resources and conditions for each individual winter maintenance program.

The goal of this project is the development of an automated planning tool to complete the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area Chloride Watershed Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS).