St. Louis River meeting, nitrate network, volunteers and more





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Working with partners to restore and protect Minnesota's waters






"June 2025"

Baby sturgeon in Big Fork River

The Big Fork River supports numerous fish species that are intolerant to pollution, including this young lake sturgeon that was captured in the Big Fork River near the confluence of the Sturgeon River.

Big Fork River Watershed report finds many waters in pristine condition 

The MPCA has released a new draft report about the Big Fork River Watershed [ [link removed] ] in north-central Minnesota that finds many lakes, streams, and wetlands in good condition. The Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) report updates data gathered in 2010-2011 that was reported in 2017 and provides an opportunity to identify trends.

This remote, forested watershed includes six exceptional stream reaches totaling more than 100 miles and eight exceptional lakes. The “exceptional” designation places a waterbody at the highest of four levels on the Tiered Aquatic Life Uses (TALU) scale. The watershed also includes a high number of coldwater lakes where fish species such as cisco, whitefish, and lake trout live. These coldwater lakes are deep and clear enough to still provide suitable coldwater fish habitat even after significant climate warming.

Restoration strategies have been identified to improve conditions in Island Lake, Shallow Pond, Jessie Lake, and Little Spring, which are not meeting water quality standards for aquatic recreation because of excess nutrients. Potential problems are identified in Round Lake, Dunbar Lake, and Bowstring Lake, which are located within Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe reservation boundaries and are subject to the band’s water quality standards. There are also seven streams and four lakes vulnerable to impairment.

A special priority is Island Lake, where tributary monitoring in 2022 provided a better understanding of phosphorus inputs. A special study is planned on Bowstring and Round lakes through an MPCA and Leech Lake Band partnership.

This report is on a 30-day public notice period that ends July 2. You can submit a comment on the MPCA website. All comments are considered while finalizing the report. 

*MPCA comments* [ [link removed] ]


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Spirit Lake flowers in Duluth

Native flowers bloom at the Spirit Lake restoration project in Duluth, part of the St. Louis River Area of Concern, in 2024.

*Partners meet for update on the St. Louis River Area of Concern*

MPCA colleagues were among 75 people who attended a federal partners meeting for the St. Louis River Area of Concern (SLRAOC) [ [link removed] ] on May 15. Typically, Minnesota and Wisconsin host separate federal partner meetings each year. For the first time, the states co-hosted this as a joint state initiative to share a holistic overview of the entire program. The meeting brought together representatives of 18 city, state, federal, and Tribal agencies, and advocacy groups.

"I was once again reminded of how lucky we are to have so many talented and committed people from across so many organizations helping us achieve our successes," MPCA's Area of Concern Coordinator Barb Huberty said.

In 1992, the MPCA, Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources, and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa developed the first remedial action plan to address legacy damages in the area. With 65 of 80 management actions now complete and four of nine beneficial use impairments removed, the SLRAOC partners hope to reach the delisting goal by 2030. Work has included water and fish sampling, implementing various remedies to address contaminated sediments, seeding wild rice, restoring habitat, and monitoring recovery in the estuary.

The SLRAOC is one of 43 such areas in the Great Lakes region, designated by the U.S. and Canadian governments in 1987, that show signs of significant environmental harm from local causes. The SLRAOC is the second-largest AOC in the U.S.

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Julia Dady in 1972

Julia Dady displays her finds from Battle Creek, circa 1972. Provided photo.

Ahead-of-her-time Battle Creek researcher returns as water monitor

Julia Dady has fond memories of growing up along Battle Creek in Saint Paul. Her family moved to the Battle Creek area before she started sixth grade, and she remembers that the neighborhood was largely undeveloped, with nothing but cornfields and wide-open spaces.  

The time she spent by the creek inspired her lifelong interest for the natural world and later led her to become a volunteer water monitor for that very same stretch of water.

*Feature article* [ [link removed] ]


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Nitrate network graphic
*24-hour Nitrate Network to measure levels*

The state’s new Nitrate Network [ [link removed] ] was introduced at an online information session. By summer 2026, the state expects to have 35 continuous nitrate monitors located in rivers and streams that historically have had high nitrate contamination levels. The monitoring locations are available 24 hours a day, with data updated several times a day. On April 25, experts from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency introduced the network; a recording of the information session [ [link removed] ] is available online.

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We Are Water exhibits
*Apply to host traveling exhibit in 2026*

*Deadline: June 27, 2025*

We Are Water MN is a traveling exhibit with interactive displays that share messages about water through personal narratives, historical materials, and scientific information. The program is looking for organizations to host the exhibit. More information is posted on the project webpage. Applications are due June 27, 2025, for a planning and hosting period that runs from October 2025 to December 2026.

In 2026, We Are Water MN will join Sacred Water, Shared Future. This initiative honors the Mississippi River and its recovery since 1926, when the first water quality survey of the river found a nearly dead ecosystem with only three live fish in 50 miles of river. To this end, we may give special consideration to applications from communities situated on the Mississippi River or its tributaries. 

We are Water MN is led by the Minnesota Humanities Center in partnership with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; the Minnesota Historical Society; the Board of Water and Soil Resources; the Minnesota Departments of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources; and University of Minnesota Extension. The program is funded, in part, with money from the Clean Water, Land & Legacy Fund and by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

*We Are Water MN* [ [link removed] ]






In the news

Wildfires could leave lakes murky for years

Based on samples taken from lakes within the burn zone of Northeastern Minnesota’s last significant wildfire, researchers expect the most recent fires to leave lakes with more brown, murky and nutrient-rich water than before — changes that could persist for years. — Duluth News Tribune [ [link removed] ]

Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance hosts town hall: Lake Pepin health ‘checkup’

From 2016-2019, the measurement of suspended sediments entering the Mississippi River from the Minnesota River exceeded 1 million metric tons annually; unfortunately that trendline is going up in contradiction to state water quality standards. The net effect of this situation is that Lake Pepin is noticeably filling in, increasingly disrupting boat and barge traffic at the head of Lake Pepin and limiting navigation in bays throughout the Lake Pepin waterway. — Republican Eagle [ [link removed] ]

Rock snot book cover
Kids create scientific book about ‘rock snot,’ an invasive species threatening North Shore streams

Rock snot is algae that looks exactly as it sounds. It was first recorded in Lake Superior in 1961. However, in 2018, it was discovered in the Poplar River near Lutsen, and it continues to spread every year. Many people aren’t familiar with it, but a local group of kids aims to change that with the new book Go Away, Rock Snot! A children’s field guide to the latest invasive species threatening North Shore streams. — Boreal.org [ [link removed] ]



Duluth wastewater plant captures methane to produce heat, power

A huge wastewater treatment plant serving Duluth and surrounding communities has installed a new system to generate electricity from the gasses captured during the sewage treatment process, part of a growing trend to harness renewable energy from waste. The project at the former Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, recently renamed Resource Renew, captures the methane and carbon dioxide produced during anaerobic digestion. That’s a process where microorganisms break down organic materials in the solid waste, in the absence of oxygen, inside four one-million gallon tanks. — MPR News [ [link removed] ]

Boat at dock

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Keeping invaders out of Minnesota waters

In 2024, Minnesota deployed more than 800 watercraft inspectors to public boat launches around the state to help staunch the spread of zebra mussels, spiny waterflea, and other aquatic invaders. For the past decade, Minnesota has distributed roughly $10 million a year to counties for aquatic invasive species prevention. — The Gazette (Stillwater) [ [link removed] ]






Thank you, volunteer water monitors!
Volunteer water monitoring web banner

For 50 years, volunteers have gathered critically important water clarity data on Minnesota lakes and streams, and the season is in full swing! At least twice a month during the summer, volunteers measure water clarity using a Secchi disk or tube at designated locations on lakes or streams.

*Learn more about the program* [ [link removed] ]






The MPCA Waterfront Bulletin newsletter welcomes news from partners about
watershed projects, people, and upcoming events throughout Minnesota.

Email submissions to: [email protected].






The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is a state agency committed to ensuring that every Minnesotan has healthy air, sustainable lands, clean water, and a better climate.








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