To the Tidings Newsletter Index Page The Official Newsletter of the Mississippi Headwaters Board

Volume 12, Number 8

August 28, 1996

MHB Explores New Ways to Reach the Public on Water Levels. Meetings were held from Cass Lake to McGregor on water levels in the Mississippi in early July, but most comments came from agencies or individuals concerned about conditions of the reservoirs. Additional meetings were canceled, and MHB is defining a strategy to better reach the public using the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota. Fluctuating water levels on the Mississippi cause some local fishermen to voice their concern. A survey that connects uses of the river to specific dates has been developed and the Board is working with Bemidji State University to mail this survey to a random sample of property owners on the Mississippi in the Board's eight member counties. This survey has been distributed for comment to agencies charged with river management and participants in the water flow meetings. Fishermen who once used the Mississippi River provided these comments in response to the survey: "I have fished the Mississippi River in the Jacobson area the past 15 years.The last 3 years in July, August and September the water levels have been high and dirty. The river has been lacking aquatic vegetation and catchable fish." "We have fished the river from Ball Club to Aitkin for20 years. The last 5 years have seen water fluctuations to the extreme. We have been unable to fish this area very many times due to high water in summer. Our catch on walleyes and small mouth has definitely gone down even when water is fishable." "I am a fisherman and I have fished the Mississippi for the past 30 years from south of Grand Rapids to Aitkin. I have not seen conditions like the past three years. The river is high and spring-like all of the time. Totally un-fishable for the past three years. We have had big rains in the past but after a week or so, the river goes back to normal. Something is wrong! Right now, the Snake, the Rum and the Crow are unfishable because of uncommonly low water conditions that stops navigation by boat. Why the extreme contrast here? The St. Croix is perfect! Our once beautiful river has taken on an ugly different look for whatever reason. Hard for me to believe Mother Nature would create this awful condition." "As you can see I appreciate the Upper River as a fisherman but I place more importance on water quality and an on-hands use to benefit fish and wildlife - not boaters or cabin owners. I have fished the stretches from near Deer River to Jacobson for many years and haven't had the success in recent years. I am not naive enough to expect the river to be managed for small time users, but I would hope the river and the land adjoining it would take top priority ... in my opinion we are making small advances, while losing the overall battle to economics and politics. I wish you much luck." Summer Workshops Bring September River Monitoring Water quality monitoring programs will begin near Sauk Centre, Princeton, and Dakota County this fall. Locations in the St. Croix watershed near Cromwell and Chisago City are also interested in starting programs. Teachers from these locations attended the Mississippi Headwaters Board's River Educator Course at Audubon Center of the North Woods at Sandstone, Minnesota, in late July. Teachers learned how Minnesota's geology has shaped its rivers and influenced the ecology of streams, learned techniques for water quality monitoring of physical, chemical and biological indicators of the health of rivers, and how people have used the Kettle and Snake rivers over time. As part of the course work, participants prepared lesson plans on topics such as effects of streambank stabilization on the Sunrise River; relation between landforms and water quality; the importance of wetlands in a watershed; understanding a watershed; why the Mississippi River meanders through Aitkin County; macroinvertebrate identification in the elementary and middle school grades; identification of pollution problems and strategies to improve problems. A copy of these lesson plans is available by calling the MHB office at 218/547-7263. Participants received graduate credit from Hamline University. MHB Offers Scholarships to Eight Graduating Seniors River Watch Project provided scholarships to the following graduating seniors: Scot Surdez and Michelle Trucke, Bagley High School Zack Kovar, Blackduck High School Rena Ikola and Jody Jones, Deer River High School Neil Mattson, Aitkin High School Carrie Virnig and Lisa Blair, Little Falls Community High School Scholarships are awarded to students who have contributed to the school's River Watch Project and who plan to study subjects related to water quality or river protection in college. Students Will Gather to Plan for Russians Students and teachers participating in Mississippi Headwaters River Watch Project, and other monitoring programs established through the MHB's Community Rivers Project, will meet at Grand Rapids offices of the Blandin Foundation, Wednesday, September 11, 1996 to begin planning for a student congress to be held in April 1997. Students and teachers from Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk, both in the southern Urals region of Russia, will be visiting the Mississippi Headwaters at that time. The congress is intended to share reports on the health of Minnesota's rivers and to introduce the Russian students to American students. A committee composed of students, teachers and others interested in river protection will be established to plan the congress.

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