Lessons from a garden

By: angiehongmn
Keeping water clean, Yards and Landscaping, , , , Leave a Comment on Lessons from a garden

Sometimes you think you have a really good idea, like planting vegetable gardens at your office. Full of enthusiasm, you put your family to work and spend an entire day tearing out sod, piecing together scrap lumber, and hauling in dirt. It is hard work but you feel proud. Then it is the next year,…

Read More

Be the change you wish to see in your community: Become a Master Water Steward!

By: angiehongmn
Keeping water clean, Partners and Updates, , , Leave a Comment on Be the change you wish to see in your community: Become a Master Water Steward!

It’s 6:30pm on a Tuesday night and a small group is gathered inside the Scandia Pizzeria to hear neighbor Tom Furey talk about water quality in Bone Lake. Ten years ago, Bone Lake was considered to be one of the worst lakes in Washington County. The water was murky, phosphorus and algae levels were high,…

Read More

Training the next generation to be “Keepers of the Trees”

By: angiehongmn
Partners and Updates, Water Conservation, Yards and Landscaping, , , , , , Leave a Comment on Training the next generation to be “Keepers of the Trees”

The sun shines on a May morning and 23 tiny children gather round, faces up-turned, smiling and eager to begin the day. Kim Lawler, a team leader with Tree Trust, and Joan Nichols, a Master Water Steward in-training, stand before the children with a young white oak that the students will soon plant in a…

Read More

Keeping the fish happy in 10,000 lakes

By: angiehongmn
Keeping water clean, Wildlife, , Leave a Comment on Keeping the fish happy in 10,000 lakes

“What percentage of walleyes caught in Minnesota are born wild?” asks DNR Fisheries Chief Don Pereira, as he looks around a room filled with lake association members from Chisago and Washington Counties. A few folks call out numbers – 10%? Maybe 20%? “People talk a lot about fish stocking,” Pereira continues, “but 85% of the…

Read More

Sprinklers running? Better catch them!

By: angiehongmn
Groundwater, Yards and Landscaping, , , , , Leave a Comment on Sprinklers running? Better catch them!

75% of homes with automated irrigation systems have at least one broken sprinkler head. Is yours one of them?

Read More

Grants and workshops to help landowners create and improve woodland habitat

By: angiehongmn
Buckthorn, Yards and Landscaping, , , , , Leave a Comment on Grants and workshops to help landowners create and improve woodland habitat

In addition to its annual tree sale, the Washington Conservation District offers advice and assistance to landowners hoping to create and improve woodland habitat on their properties.

Read More

Minnesota DNR State Fisheries Chief to speak at Chisago & Washington Lakes Meeting – Thursday, May 17, 6-8pm at Forest Lake City Hall

By: angiehongmn
Aquatic Biology, Wildlife, , , Leave a Comment on Minnesota DNR State Fisheries Chief to speak at Chisago & Washington Lakes Meeting – Thursday, May 17, 6-8pm at Forest Lake City Hall

Should anglers be allowed to keep walleye from Mille Lacs? Should trout be stocked in Square Lake? Are there enough local places to fish for muskies? Fishing in Minnesota is a time-honored tradition and a money-maker that generates roughly $2.4 billion in spending each year. Even so, Minnesotans don’t always agree on how to manage…

Read More

Celebrating 50 years of Wild and Scenic River protections

By: angiehongmn
Partners and Updates, , Leave a Comment on Celebrating 50 years of Wild and Scenic River protections

Planned events include Spring Gathering, May 11; Namekagon Paddle, June 9-15; Wild and Scenic Film Festival, Aug. 25 The year was 1965, early in the environmental movement, and murmurs of concern from citizen groups around the country were just beginning to translate into protective legislation. An early version of the Clean Air Act had just…

Read More

Saving Bayport’s Perro Creek + “Bike and Boat to Bayport” – May 12 at Lakeside Park

By: angiehongmn
Keeping water clean, Partners and Updates, , , , Leave a Comment on Saving Bayport’s Perro Creek + “Bike and Boat to Bayport” – May 12 at Lakeside Park

Tiny Perro Creek begins in Valley View Park, a hidden gem tucked between Phil and Tara’s Hideaway, the two Minnesota Correctional Facilities, and the Bayport Fire Department. From Perro Pond, the stream runs downhill 1.8 miles through the neighborhoods of Bayport until it eventually reaches the St. Croix River just north of Bayport Marina. Though…

Read More