When you gather at the water’s edge to race your rubber duck next fall, you might notice that Perro Creek in Bayport has gotten a bit of a makeover. The City recently restored a 300ft stretch of degraded stream along 3rd Ave. N near Perro Park, in partnership with Middle St Croix Watershed Management Organization (MSCWMO) and the Washington Conservation District. The goal of the project is to stabilize the streambank, reduce the amount of sediment and phosphorus flowing downstream to the St. Croix River, and improve habitat along Perro Creek.
Bayport has existed in name since 1922, but this small town of 3000 people actually got its start even earlier. In 1856, settlers established three small communities along the river, which were eventually incorporated as South Stillwater in 1881. One of Bayport’s earliest settlers was a riverboat pilot named Joseph Perro, who owned inland property along a small spring-fed creek that flowed through town. “Big Joe’s” land was eventually sold to the State of Minnesota in 1906 to build the Stillwater Prison, and South Stillwater was renamed as Bayport in 1922.
Today, Perro Creek remains a fixture in the community and local residents gather at Perro Park every September to race rubber duckies and enjoy food and music at the annual Derby Days festival.
Like many urban streams, Perro Creek has suffered a series of indignities over the years and the stream today bears little resemblance to that spring-fed creek where Big Joe first decided to stake a claim. Prior to this October’s restoration project, the stretch of creek near Perro Park was experiencing severe bank erosion due to undercutting. To correct this problem, project partners installed a boulder “toe” at the edge of the stream bed, reshaped the banks to reduce the slope, and replanted the edge of the stream with native plant species to hold the soil in place. The total project cost was $32,000, with $20,000 coming from the Washington Conservation District, via a Clean Water Fund grant, and $5000 from the MSCWMO. Kusz Kontracting LLC was the contractor for the project.
Previously, in 2017, MSCWMO worked in partnership with the City and private landowners to build three curb-cut raingardens in town and plant 100 feet of native streambank buffer in Perro Park. Local Girl Scouts helped to plant and maintain the buffer as part of their work towards Silver Awards.
In addition to the stream restoration work happening in town, the City also received a $235,000 Conservation Partners Legacy grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources this year to remove buckthorn and other invasive species on 26 acres at Barker’s Alps and restore the woodland habitat with native species. Landbridge Ecological began work in August 2024 and will be continuing until next year. Perro Creek runs through the northeast corner of the property and the park is located adjacent to the future Bayport Elementary School, making it an ideal location for outdoor learning in the future.
Middle St. Croix WMO’s stream restoration work in the Perro Creek watershed has been guided by water monitoring data and a subwatershed analysis completed by the Washington Conservation District in 2013. The study identified high-priority locations for erosion control and phosphorus reduction projects, and ranked the cost-benefit of potential projects. Perro Creek is currently listed as impaired for total suspended solids (sediment) and E. coli. The recently completed stream restoration will prevent erosion and should help to reduce the amount of sediment in the water.
East Metro Water 