River Stories Minnesota River Summit River Stories - Stephanie Klamm
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Stephanie Klamm
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I was not here ten years ago, but from what I have heard from others that were was that the river was not clear. Today I can see some change in the river from water quality results put out by different agencies. I feel that we are making a difference but to see a significant change is going to take a long time. In ten years I would like be able to see to the bottom of the river, or at least farther then 1 foot. I think that working for a watershed project that implements Best Management Practices and has a good working relationship with citizens and landowners throughout the watershed, is a success! I really think that this success can be contributed to having co-workers that understand how agricultural and water work together is a huge bonus, and also getting the information out to citizens and helping them understand what the watershed is all about and how they can get involved. I think that hunting and fishing throughout the Minnesota River basin, along with recreational activities such as canoeing. Coming from NW Minnesota, hunting and fishing are big investments for many people. Being able to hunt and fish is an important recreational activity for many people in MN. I personally don’t feel that there is a sense of urgency about the health of any river by the general public. Working for a watershed project or for an environmental agency, those people understand the importance, but getting the word out and the information/education to others that do not work or are not around rivers and natural resources everyday is difficult since most people have the “NIMBY” idea. Getting the public to understand that water is a resource that we can not live without and if the water is not clean, we are going to start finding diseases and other problems that were not around years ago. Educating the general public is the most important thing that we can do for water quality. Working with the younger generations is an easy was to get the word out, especially if it’s repeated over and over, it’s the older generation that’s hard to get the word out, because of past generation ideas. Working as a water quality monitor has allowed me to assess the health of our rivers in the watershed, through the samples that are collected each season. Along with that, are the numerous Best Management Practices that Hawk Creek has been implementing since 2000. We have seen some reductions in the parameters that are tested.
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