Minnesota Water Stewards goes statewide

David, Kim, Barb and Mike are part of an elite cadre of volunteers helping to engage communities across Minnesota and western Wisconsin in grass-roots projects to protect and restore lakes, rivers, and streams.

Beginning in 2026, Freshwater is taking the program statewide and removing the enrollment fee so that more people can participate. Locally, the St. Croix Valley Foundation has provided grant funds to Washington Conservation District (WCD), Freshwater, and North Woods and Waters to train-in a new cohort of volunteers, starting in 2026.

Read More

Mississippi River – Looking forward, looking back

The Mississippi tops American Rivers’ list of Most Endangered Rivers. And yet, as we look toward the future, there are reasons to remain optimistic.

Learn more and find ways to engage during “Mississippi River Days of Action” on June 1 – 15.

Read More

Connecting at the Confluence

Sarah Lilja is the artist in residence at South Washington Watershed District and has spent the past year capturing images of people, places, and projects in the watershed. Her photography will be on display at Carpenter Nature Center (12805 St. Croix Trail S, Hastings) from November 5 – December 5 in an exhibit entitled Connecting at the Confluence: Photographs of natural places & community connections in the South Washington Watershed District. The exhibit opening on Nov. 7, 6-8pm is free and open to the public.

Read More

Way down south on the Mississippi River

“Imagine that a crusty old curmudgeon of a guy agrees to let you tag along while he goes fishing in the Louisiana bayou. You get up at 4:45am and sip coffee while yawning on the drive down from New Orleans. When you arrive at the landing, he glances at you and your family, makes a noise that sounds sort of like “eh” and sort of like “well,” and then climbs onto a boat. You follow….”

In this week’s East Metro Water blog post, Angie Hong writes about a fishing adventure way down south on the Mississippi River and the connections our state shares with the people and water quality in the Mississippi River Delta.

Read More

‘Tis the Season to Turn out the Lights

Allison Mcginnis might not be a twitcher, but she does love birds! In this week’s East Metro water blog, Mcginnis talks about leading Sustainable Stillwater’s Bird City Stillwater initiative and shares advice for area bird-lovers.

A few tips for the coming spring:
– Turn out exterior lights to protect migrating birds
– Protect against bird strikes with window applications
– Plant a native tree, shrub, and garden
– Join a birding hike near you or enjoy one of the brand new self-guided tours!

Read More

Ford Plant closes, Hidden Falls returns

When the Ford Assembly Plant closed in 2011, the Capitol Region Watershed District and City of St. Paul seized the opportunity to engage the wider community and transform the site into a thriving residential neighborhood with parks and recreational amenities.

Read More

To dam or not to dam?

The Minnesota DNR has removed more than 50 dams statewide during the past thirty years and has found that an average of 73% of the lost species return to these rivers once the dams are gone. Despite the obvious ecological benefits, however, dam removal isn’t always an easy decision.

Read More

New study finds that plastic pollution is pervasive in National Parks across the United States

Plastic makes up 81% of all trash collected in National Parks and federal lands.

Read More

Mississippi River – Take a drink, then pass it on

It is no exaggeration to say that wastewater treatment is a feat of human ingenuity and one of our most important 20th Century success stories.

Read More