Though there are no buildings left to see, Point Douglas remains a unique location to see the confluence of two great rivers.
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All articles filed in St. Croix River
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.
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Stories of the St. Croix
How do you tell the story of a place?
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State funds help to amplify the work of local government partners in the St. Croix Watershed
Nearly 8000 square miles of land in Minnesota and Wisconsin drains to the St. Croix River. Within this larger basin, 915 square miles of land on the Minnesota side is included in the Lower St. Croix watershed. This encompasses 127 lakes, over 1,000 miles of rivers and streams, and approximately 152,000 acres of wetlands.
In its first four years, the Lower St. Croix Watershed Partnership reduced phosphorus to local waterways by 10,959 pounds per year, which is nearly double what the group hoped to achieve over the course of its 10-year plan.
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Local officials set sail to learn about shorelines and development
This year’s workshop focused specifically on St. Croix Riverway Rules, strategies for dealing with sticky issues and variance requests, and better site design for development and redevelopment projects.
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Exploring the St. Croix Valley: Adventures on & off the Water
In February of 2022, I took a week off of work, loaded up the dog, a pair of snowshoes, and copious amounts of coffee, chocolate, and wine, then headed up north to Pine County, Minnesota. My goal was to see if I could maybe, sort-of write a book. Now, two years later, this little book of mine finally makes its grand debut to the rest of the world!
The official launch party is next week (YES! You are invited!) and I’ll also be doing speaking events in Marine on St. Croix (July 9) and Lake Elmo (July 13). I’d love to see you in real life!
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Enjoying wilderness & solitude on the Namekagon River…with a hearty dose of rain
The Namekagon River is located in northwestern Wisconsin and flows 101 miles from the Chequamegon–Nicolet National Forest to the St. Croix River, ending a few miles northeast of Danbury. It is the St. Croix’s longest tributary.
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With eyes set on National Heritage designation, North Woods and Waters continues working to connect people and organizations in the St. Croix Region
“This organization is all about developing a collective pride in place and helping our small towns to thrive,” says Executive Director Monica Zachay.
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‘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!
A new future for an old stream?
The Mill Stream powered Minnesota’s first commercial saw mill and gave rise to the community of Marine on St. Croix in 1839 –two full decades before Minnesota became a state. Now, nearly 200 years later, the people of Marine are beginning to dream about a new future for this tiny but beloved stream.
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East Metro Water 