Wetlands in the Minnesota River Basin

 

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The Minnesota River Basin was historically dotted with wetlands. Accounts of early settlers describe prairie and wetlands extending as far as the eye could see. This photo of Swan Lake is an example of the wetland complexes that once were common in the prairie-dominated landscape.

    
The landscape has been drastically altered since settlers moved in and drained the wetlands to farm the rich, productive farmland.

The photo at left show farmers hand digging ditches at the turn of the century. A vast network of drainage tiles and ditches has changed the way water moves through the river Basin and the quality of that water. As a result of expanding drainage tile lines and ditches, large, previously isolated wetlands were artificially connected to the Minnesota River.

Historic drain tile photos courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society. Photo shows tiling on William Sharkey farm, Derrynane Township, LeSueur County. Photographer: William Sharkey Photograph Collection 1912-1913 Location no. HD6.3 r55		    





Today, most of the wetlands in the prairie biome have been drained. Approximately two to three million acres of historic prairie wetlands have been eliminated in the Basin (MRCAC, 1994). The Department of Natural Resources estimates that over 90% of the wetlands in the prairie have been lost. In deciduous forest 40-60% have disappeared compared to only 5% in the northern coniferous forest.


Map adapted from John Tester's Minnesota's Natural Heritage.

    





Learn more about wetlands by examining a small watershed in the Minnesota River Basin -- Seven Mile Creek Watershed (location shown on map). This watershed has dramatically transformed from the 1850s to the present.		    






Visit the website that illustrates the changes in the extent of wetlands in Seven Mile Creek Watershed. This map shows the wetlands in the watershed in 1854 (in blue).




Map courtesy of Kevin Kuehner, Brown Nicollet Cottonwood Water Quality Board		    

References:
Kuehner, Kevin. An Historical Perspective of Hydrologic Changes in Seven Mile Creek Watershed. Brown Nicollet
Cottonwood Water Quality Board, 2004.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Minnesota River Citizens' Advisory Committee Progress Report. January, 1994.
Tester, John. Minnesota's Natural Heritage. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1995.

Learn more about Seven Mile Creek Watershed Wetlands
Seven Mile Creek Virtual Tour
Brown Nicollet Cottonwood Water Quality Board Website
Learn more about Seven Mile Creek Watershed


 
This page was last updated 4/15/11