Adapting to a Changing Climate (Or, the Importance of Wearing a Hat in the Rain)

I’ll never forget the time that I got lost running on the trails at Jay Cooke State Park in the pouring rain. My friends and I were up north for a 1980’s style girls-weekend camping trip (more on that another time) and I was training for my second Grandma’s Marathon. Early in the morning, I…

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A Conservation Ethic Runs in the Family

Doug Schaffer remembers moving from Roseville to Demark Township in 1969 when he was 15 years old. It was a big change for a city kid. His parents, Kenneth and Margery, purchased 120 acres of farmland along the St. Croix River south of Afton State Park in an area dominated by rolling hills, farms, and…

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A New Bridge and Better Habitat Along the Mississippi River

This fall, Washington County and South Washington Watershed District are constructing a new bridge in Grey Cloud Township that will finally restore the natural water flow in Grey Cloud Slough and help to flush out sediment and nutrients that have accumulated over the past 50 years.

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Change Is Underway for Cottage Grove Ravine Park

This year, Cottage Grove Ravine Park will undergo a massive transformation as Washington County Parks and the South Washington Watershed District work together to create new visitor facilities, improve habitat within the park, and protect against flooding and erosion from upstream development.

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Groundwater and climate change: South Washington Watershed District prepares for new challenges

More water running off the land means less infiltrating down into aquifers; that combined with more people washing clothes, watering lawns and flushing toilets has resulted in declining groundwater levels in some parts of the watershed.

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South Washington Watershed District adapts to changing times and new challenges

New development continues to be one of the biggest challenge facing the watershed.

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Planting for Future Generations

By the time the oaks we planted begin to produce acorns, Charlie and Linnea will already be in their 30’s, with jobs and lives of their own.

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As the Water Drop Rolls

Elsewhere across the east metro, homeowners wielding shovels and pitchforks laid traps, disguised as ornamental landscaping, to keep nutrients and other pollutants out of local waterways.

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Creating an outlet to the Mississippi River in southern Washington County

Between Colby Lake in Woodbury and the Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park, acres of farmland are quickly giving way to new roads, neighborhoods, buildings and businesses.

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Local cities adapt to changing water availability

Redesigned stormwater ponds at Eagle Valley and Prestwick Golf Courses reuse runoff water from the road to water the golf course greens instead of pumping new water from the aquifer.

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