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I first visited the Minnesota River about ten years ago. At that time I knew it was polluted but did not know much about the river beyond that. Today I have come to know the river as a spectacular resource, a true diamond in the rough. The valley itself I regard as some of the most spectacular scenery in Minnesota, a secret to most Minnesotans. The river itself I have found to be a blend of its tributary inputs; cleanest in the west while becoming progressively more turbid and algae laden, at times, as one move downstream. My future vision of the river is a picture of uncertainty. Like most, I would like to see a river that flows clean most of the year but I don’t know if that will happen at least not until we start to value our environment for what it really is, our home.
I have always looked at the resources of the Minnesota River Valley, be it the Minnesota, one of its tributaries or the valley itself as true gifts. Being human, we make mistakes; in the process of being human we have degraded these resources. In an effort to bring continued awareness of the state of the rivers and progress made or a lost over time, a successful effort I have been fortunate to be a part of has been in the development and writing of the State of the Minnesota River Reports. These reports are a compilation of water quality data from agencies and groups monitoring water quality across the basin. The reports are not mandated by any of the state agencies, they came about from a handful of people that thought it was in the best interest of the state to know how water quality in the basin was changing over time and what a comprehensive view of the data looked like.
My greatest interest when it comes to the Minnesota River and its tributaries is the exquisite beauty of these water courses. I live on one of the Minnesota’s major tributaries and I can’t begin to tell the stories I have from traveling the three mile stretch of river from my house to the first downstream bridge. I have heard it said you never travel the same river twice. Certainly rivers are dynamic and always changing but the real pleasure I get while on these waters is the ever changing mix of scenery and wildlife. Chance encounters coupled with seasonal migrations, landscape changes and changes in foliage make for one of the richest environments I have encountered in my life.
I think there was a sense of urgency back in the days when Arnie Carlson was governor but I don’t feel this is the case any longer. I think most Minnesotans know the river is impaired but do not know the degree of the impairments. With all the changes that have occurred to the environment in the south central and southwestern parts of the state there is not much left to draw people to these regions. If people don’t travel to or spend time in a region they may be unaware of problems that exist or they may assume that existing problems are being addressed and dealt with. With statewide focus on Lake Pepin’s water quality impairments and the Minnesota River being the primary source of some of these pollutants perhaps attention will once again focus on the Minnesota River and its tributaries.
My biggest challenge in protecting and improving water quality is to project the data we collect in honest, informative, educational, nonthreatening formats. The data we have collected has shown water quality improvements in some watersheds and has shown the opposite in others. While we have generally documented reductions in sediment and phosphorus, nitrate-nitrogen concentrations are increasing in our rivers. My greatest challenge is to make sure the data we collect is done in a rigorous scientific manner and is as accurate as possible for our given level of funding.
I don’t know if my specific actions have affected water quality in any way but I can definitively state the cumulative impact of those working toward this end have made a difference.
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