2012 Minnesota River Board Programs Grant Recipients:

Redwood and Cottonwood River Public Clean-Up Projects
Funds will be used to fund spring and summer educational and river stewardship activities on the Redwood and Cottonwood River courses.  The requested funds will be used for promotional and educational supplies, canoe rental, advertising, parking passes, transportation, as well as lunch and refreshments for canoeing enthusiasts.  Advertising will be for enlisting the public in an effort to remove garbage near and in  the corridor of the Redwood and Cottonwood canoe routes as well as a canoe day for beginners.  The canoe week will include two junkets on the Redwood River with local summer school programs and one public trip each on the Redwood and Cottonwood Rivers.

Upper Minnesota River Basin Friendship Tour
A “Friendship Tour” of the Upper Minnesota River Watershed will explore the watershed in both states and look at water quality data and concerns of the watershed that originates in South Dakota and flows through Minnesota to the Mississippi River.  Funds will be used for two air-conditioned buses, lunches, and promotional items for approximately 100 participants to explore the headwaters area of the Minnesota River. 

Community Clean-Ups for Water Quality
Community Clean-Ups for Water Quality are citizen-led municipal stormwater pollution reduction projects. These projects measurably reduce phosphorous and nitrogen pollution in the Minnesota River Basin in furtherance of goals to address low dissolved oxygen (DO) and proposed total suspended solids (TTS) TMDLs in the Lower Minnesota River Watershed and Minnesota River Basin.  Funds will be utilized for planning, implementing, and reporting for the Community Clean-Ups for Water Quality program.  Money would be spent on promotion, recruitment of sponsors, training of sponsoring groups, provision of tools and supplies, and for printing and inserting “green cards” into local newspapers.  “Green cards” are individual response forms that allow citizens in communities throughout the watershed to conduct mini-Clean-Ups near their homes and in their neighborhoods.

Enviroscape Watershed Model Kits and Educational Assistance
Several Enviroscape watershed model kits will be purchased.  The models, along with carrying cases and curriculum, will be donated to local schools in the Yellow Medicine Watershed District.  One model will be maintained at the Watershed District office for use at environmental fairs.  Educational assistance, brochures, and additional watershed information will also be provided to local schools.  A Powerpoint presentation that outlines the mission and activities of the Yellow Medicine River Watershed District will be developed and shared with the schools as well.