Soil & Water Conservation District Guidebook 2008 - Minnesota ...

Pictured: An ACD employee seeds land in St. Francis with
native savanna plant species. The landowner intends to deed
the 68.5-acre property to the ACD.
Property within wildlife hubs and
corridors has been protected by a program initiated by the
ACD. The ACD currently holds easements on two properties
-- 55 acres in Burns Township and 200 acres along the Rum
River in Anoka. In addition to this, a landowner intends to
deed ACD his 68.5-acre property in St. Francis (pictured)
and has already established a conservation easement with
the MN Land Trust. Several acres of prairie, oak woodland,
and oak savanna have been restored on this land, which
was decimated by oak wilt, and a control burn was done in
a wetland area. Funding for this project also came from the
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, US Fish
and Wildlife Service, MN DNR, Great River Greening, and
volunteer labor was provided by the Boy Scouts.
Hundreds of conservation projects have been
accomplished by two ACD employees who serve the seven-county
metro area. Over the last three years, their accomplishments include
248 BMP designs, 133 project installations, 183 educational
presentations, 14 projects involving under-served clients, and 353
maintenance inspections. The program began in the spring of 2000.
A “Build Your Own Rain Garden Workshop”
was recently held by the ACD with 26 attendees. The event
promoted rain garden benefi ts and included a hands-on
demonstration of how to install the components of a rain
garden. The ACD also presented rain garden information
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Anoka Conservation District
during a Low Impact Development conference in
December 2007.
An ACD supervisor held an open house
to promote the work of ACD staff, supervisors and
elected offi cials. The event was part of a larger effort
by ACD supervisors and staff toward becoming more
visible among county commissioners and other local
government organizations.
Top 5 Natural Resource Concerns
Preserve/Enhance Natural Habitats: Natural
Communities, Wildlife Connectivity,
Wetlands
Improve Water Quality – Wetland, Lakes,
Streams & Groundwater
Development (Minimize Impact): Provide
guidance, Assistance, Education & Local
Accountability
Private Land Stewardship: Promote
easements, Lakeshore/Stream Restorations &
Rain Gardens
Infl uencing Public Policy: State legislature,
City ordinances
Future Projects
• ACD is currently working with the Upper
Rum River WMO to aid them in the completion of
water quality, wetland, and infi ltration standards for
their second generation water plan.
• ACD has been working to build a partnership
with several cities and water management
organization in southern another county to coordinate
efforts in the area of suburban water quality retrofi ts.
This partnership recently submitted a Clean Water
Legacy grant application to fund a joint position to
facilitate the design and installation of retrofi t BMPs.
Retrofi tting old neighborhood is not required under
non-degradation, SWPPP, or NPDES standards but
is critical to meet some of the goals associated with
TMDLs.
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