Minnegram Archive

March 1998

Harvesting and Minnesota's riparian forests: Along the banks

by Sara Eliason

Minnesota's riparian forests are a source of valuable timber for wood products. They are also essential buffers for protecting stream-water quality, habitat integrity and the health of aquatic communities. How do forest management activities such as trail construction, road building and maintenance and tree harvesting affect the integrity of riparian areas and their ability to protect streams? Can forest management be economically vigorous and at the same time minimize impacts to riparian areas? These are questions being asked by a group of researchers from the University of Minnesota, the USDA Forest Service, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the forest products industry.

The multi-disciplinary collaboration formed in 1996 to take a serious look at how timber harvesting in Minnesota affects riparian zones, in terms of both the health of the riparian ecosystem and the ability of riparian areas to buffer impacts to nearby streams. The study, known as the "riparian project," is using experimental timber harvests to assess how various forest practices affect some of Minnesota's most valuable transitions.

Riparian roles

Riparian areas are transitions between land and water. Because of their unique role as links between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, riparian areas have numerous important functions and values. For example, they are an integral part of habitat requirements for most aquatic organisms; they help maintain high water quality through reducing sedimentation and nutrient inputs; and they provide diverse habitat for terrestrial wildlife and plants. Further, society values riparian areas because they hold valuable timber and cultural resources such as Native American artifacts, and provide excellent recreational opportunities.

According to Jim Perry, professor of forest resources at the University of Minnesota and co-director of the project, most research on the impacts of forest management on riparian ecosystems has focused on mountainous regions of the east and west coasts. And while the need for understanding riparian zone dynamics in Minnesota is crucial for wise on-site management decisions, little is known about the applicability of coastal studies to areas in Minnesota or the Upper Midwest.

Filling this research need is especially timely as the Minnesota Forest Resources Council (MnFRC) recently accepted new forestry practice guidelines for Minnesota. Riparian project researchers hope their study will help local forest managers better adapt the guidelines to site-specific conditions.

Testing the waters

The research group is using a series of experimental harvests to evaluate riparian area response to forest harvests. Last spring, the group established 12 research sites at Pokegama Creek near Grand Rapids, MN, and the West Branch of the Knife River near Two Harbors, MN. Each research site was then assigned one of three distinct harvest treatments.

Prior to the harvests, which took place this winter, the group gathered data on fish, aquatic insects, water quality, large organic debris, stream channel characteristics, birds, riparian vegetation, tree regeneration and impacts to replicated cultural artifacts. Researchers also studied harvest practices to assess the efficiency with which various methods remove timber from sensitive areas. When logging is completed, the group will remeasure the same variables.

By comparing pre- and post-harvest conditions and integrating results from each portion of the study using a single analysis, the riparian team will get a long-awaited first look at how riparian zones respond to logging in Minnesota. Subsequent to this analysis, the researchers hope to provide forest managers with concrete tools to help them balance local management objectives with riparian zone protection.

A collaborative approach

Collaboration is proving the key to gathering a broad range of information about these complex riparian areas. By working together, riparian project researchers from different disciplines and agencies are forming a more complete depiction of riparian area response to forest management than they could develop with separate studies.

The research group hopes to capitalize on the collective momentum generated by the current study. One goal is to extend the riparian project for several years and investigate forest management influences on riparian areas over longer time spans. "We also are proposing to expand the study's scope to examine effects of forest management within regional landscape patterns and to understand cumulative effects," says Perry. With ongoing research, the group aims to make a long-term contribution to establishing holistic riparian forest harvest practices in Minnesota.

Collaborators in this study are the USFS Forestry Sciences Labs in Grand Rapids, MN and Houghton, MI; the MDNR; and the University of Minnesota Dept. of Forest Resources, Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife and Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI). Foresters from the Blandin Paper Company and St. Louis County have been essential cooperators in many phases of the study. The Minnesota Legislature is funding the project through the MnFRC. Boise Cascade Corporation has contributed additional funds and provided valuable input into the study. U of M College of Natural Resources, NRRI and the Forest Service's Grand Rapids Lab have also provided funding support. For more information please contact Charlie Blinn, (612) 624-3788.

WRC proposals head to regional competition

We would have loved to have used this space to announce the Center's RFP for the Minnesota Water Resources Competitive Grants Program. Unfortunately, the timing of our newsletter and the timing of the RFP didn't mesh, and the due date for proposals has already expired.

The WRC will review submitted proposals and select a maximum of four to go on to a regional competition. There, up to 54 proposals from 13 states will compete for $805,000 in federal grants.

During the last biennium, Minnesota's projects have had great success at the regional level. In 1996, the WRC funded two projects through the competitive grants program: one looking at wetland indicators and the other looking at forest mercury cycling. Last year, a Minnesota project on pesticides in the Minnesota River received a grant through the regional program.

Look for the results of the 1998 regional competition in the September issue of the 'Minnegram'.

Upper Mississippi National Water Quality Assessment yields preliminary results

After two years of intensive field work in sites around Minnesota and Wisconsin, researchers from the Upper Mississippi study unit of the USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAQWA) Program are making preliminary conclusions about the basin's surface and water quality.

Analysis of data thus far shows land use to be the dominant factor in explaining streamwater nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) concentrations within the study area. In particular, high nutrient concentrations were found in streams that drain agricultural areas. Data relating to sources of nutrients indicate that fertilizers and livestock manure are the greatest sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in both surface and groundwater. More than 60% of the fertilizer is applied in the Minnesota River Basin, where numerous state, local and federal initiatives are attempting to improve nutrient and pesticide management to curtail severe water quality problems. In contrast, sampling in streams draining forested areas revealed significantly lower concentrations of both N and P.

In the Mississippi River, the study found that nutrient concentrations increased downstream of major Twin Cities wastewater treatment plants, and again downstream of the Minnesota River.

Even in regions with heavy nutrient inputs, measured concentrations of N were lower than the EPA standard of 10 mg/L. However, several NAQWA sampling sites were characterized by P concentrations in excess of the EPA's 0.1 mg/L recommended level.

Groundwater nutrient concentrations in the study area varied with land use and surficial geology. Water from buried sand and gravel aquifers, which are protected from land-use activities by layers of clay and till, had lower N concentrations than water from unconfined sand and gravel aquifers. Dissolved P in groundwater was generally low. Researchers believe this suggests that surface water eutrophication is more likely a result of overland runoff and direct discharges of wastewater than of groundwater inputs.

The study, which began in 1994, will wrap up its intensive sampling this summer. The NAQWA team will then continue periodic monitoring of water quality within the basin as well as more comprehensive data analysis.

Information for this article was provided by Kathy Lee, surface water hydrologist with the Upper Mississippi NAQWA. For more information on the Upper Mississippi NAWQA project, call the USGS at (612) 783-3100, or visit the Upper Mississippi NAQWA Web site: http://mn.water.usgs.gov/umis/

Logging long hours

"We got up to the top of plot nine," recalls MaryKay. "It was a gorgeous day— 65 degrees, crystal clear, no clouds. The water level was low, so we rested for awhile on a gravel bar. Suddenly, we noticed a sweet smell. Bill and I tried to figure out where it was coming from, but we couldn't. Then we realized it was the air itself—the sweet smell of the woods! So fresh! I thought, `Wow! This is really the good life.' "

MaryKay Corazalla is a graduate student in Water Resources Science at the University of Minnesota and a research assistant with the riparian project. She and her assistant, Bill Coates, spent the summer collecting aquatic invertebrates, inventorying aquatic habitats and measuring streamwater quality in Pokegama Creek and the West Branch of the Knife River.

During their field work they experienced the streams and forests from sunrise to sunset. Their long work days allowed them to become part of the daily cycle of the streams they worked on and opened their eyes to the miraculous world of benthic life.

"Being out there was so exciting. The diversity of insects and their ability to survive in fast-moving streams fascinated me," says MaryKay. "Some bugs clung to the tops of rocks. Those were easy to spot. Others remained hidden until I picked up a rock and they scurried onto my hand."

Adding to the thrill of the work were the differences among the many sampling sites. "Each reach, each plot, each forest was so unique," MaryKay says. "The Knife River in particular is a classic headwater stream. But even the tiny Pokegama Creek is home to a wide variety of insects."

Now a seasoned field researcher, MaryKay looks forward to fewer unknowns in her upcoming field season. After the trees have been harvested, she'll head north for another summer of sweet smells and scurrying critters. And it's a fair bet she'll love every minute of it.

Around the State

Farm group critical of river conservation plan

Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson's plan to conserve a large amount of ecologically sensitive land in the Minnesota River Basin is drawing criticism from farm leaders who say it would be bad for agriculture and rural communities. If enacted, the plan would spend $130 million in state and federal funds to secure permanent easements on approximately 100,000 acres of land in the basin.

While farm groups don't object to cleaning up the river, the most polluted waterway in the state, they oppose the use of permanent easements that could forever lock in restrictions on farming the land.

Their view is disputed by state officials involved in the plan who say it would reduce pollution and flood damage and improve wildlife habitat without harming the farm economy.

Excerpted from the 'Mississippi Monitor', January / February 1998.

Forest Resource Council accepts proposed timber harvesting guidelines

Setting the stage for substantial changes in how Minnesota manages and harvests its forests, the Minnesota Forest Resource Council (MnFRC) recently accepted and forwarded on proposed timber management and harvest guidelines for the state. More than 60 individuals were involved in developing the guidelines, including scientists, loggers, forest land managers and owners and members of conservation groups.

The guidelines address such things as managing forests adjacent to lakes and rivers, improving wildlife habitat, enhancing forest soil productivity and protecting historic and cultural resources. MnFRC will now begin the process of integrating these new guidelines with existing ones that address water quality, wetlands and visual quality concerns, said Mike Kilgore, MnFRC executive director. "Once integrated into a single document, these guidelines will contain a comprehensive set of voluntary practices that the state's loggers, foresters and forest landowners can use when practicing forest management," Kilgore said.
More MN lakes receive experimental fishing regulations for 1998

Minnesota anglers will be seeing new experimental regulations on 13 additional lakes during the 1998 fishing season. DNR biologists hope that anglers will start catching larger fish in the future as a result of new and existing regulations experiments. The additional 13 brings to 88 the number of Minnesota lakes that now have experimental regulations designed to improve fish size and angler catch rates. Twelve streams also have these customized regulations.

Met Council leads American Rivers nomination

With the support of the McKnight Foundation, the Metropolitan Council is leading an effort to nominate the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan segment of the Mississippi River as an American Heritage River. The American Heritage Rivers Program is a federal effort designed to support communities in restoring and protecting their rivers.

Proponents believe American Heritage River status will lead to greater coordination of the myriad federal, state and local programs that are currently focused around the river. In a letter of support for the nomination, Governor Arne Carlson wrote of the need to increase federal involvement to meet the expanding economic, environmental and cultural roles of the riverway.

Minnesota Water Community News

Appointments

Elise Ralph (Large Lakes Observatory (LLO)) served as an invited participant in an NSF workshop to examine the future of physical oceanography in the U.S.

Personnel

Prof. Meng Zhou, assistant professor of physical limnology, arrived at LLO from Scripps Institute of Oceanography. His research focuses on turbulence and swarming behavior of zooplankton.

Kevin Blanchet is the new EQIP education coordinator for southeast Minnesota. He will coordinate farmer education in the areas of nutrients, manure, grazing, pests and tillage. Kevin holds two Agronomy degrees from Iowa State University, and was most recently a multi-state regional agronomist for a seed company.

Roger Reinert has been selected to lead a two-year joint effort between University Extension and the Met Council. The effort focuses on community-level water resources planning in the Lower Minnesota River Basin. Roger comes to this position from Wabasha County and the Leadership/Citizen Education Specialization.

Jeff Syder is starting a 2-year appointment as a Research Associate for the Limnological Research Center (LRC). He is a specialist in the paleoecology of diatoms and will work on lakes in circum-polar regions of Russia as well as a team-LRC effort on the late-glacial/Holocene record of a Near East transect of lake coring sites.

Zicheng Hu has joined the LRC as a post-doctoral fellow for paleoecology and stable isotopes working with Emi Ito on records from Ontario, Canada, and the northern Great Plains.

Bettina Jenny, from the University of Bern, Switzerland, will visit the LRC for spring quarter to work on samples from a transect of salt lakes along the Atacama plain of northern Chile.

Grants

Jim Perry (Dept. of Forest Resources) will be involved in a new NSF-funded initiative: Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching Through Research Stations (FIRST).

A team led by Satish Gupta (Dept. of Soil, Water, and Climate) has secured 3 USDA National Needs Fellowships in Water Science. The other team members are: Jim Anderson, Ken Brooks, Chuck Clanton, Walter Maier, John Nieber and Bruce Wilson. The Fellowship pays $17,000 per year for three years toward a Ph.D. degree in Water Science.

NSF recently approved a 2-year grant of $140,000 for the Limnological Research Center Multi-User Core Facility and Repository Development.

Travel

Carol Johnston (NRRI) attended the Dahlem Workshop on Integrating Hydrology, Ecosystem Dynamics, and Biogeochemistry in Complex Landscapes. The workshop, limited to 40 participants, was held January 18-23 at the Frele Universitat Berlin, Germany.

Tom Johnson (LLO) will conduct field work on Lake Malawi, E. Africa, in March 1998 as part of a high-resolution study of climate change in tropical Africa.

John Moncrief (Dept. of Soil, Water, and Climate) presented an invited paper, "Influence of residue management tillage systems with solid beef manure application on snowmelt and annual runoff, sediment, and phosphorus losses" at the Soil Conservation Society Conference, "Manure management in harmony with the environment and society," held at Ames, IA. At this same conference, Satish Gupta presented a paper entitled "Impact of tillage and timing of manure application on nitrate leaching in karst terrains of the Upper Midwest."

Upcoming Events

Meetings and workshops

March 9-May 15. Rivers Of Life: Mississippi Adventure. St. Paul, MN. Program engages students in grades 3-12 from around the globe in celebration, study and stewardship of one of the world's greatest river systems. Students investigate water pollution and other problems associated with traditional energy sources, as well as explore renewable energy solutions such as wind and solar power. Contact: Center for Global Environmental Education, Hamline University Graduate School, at (612) 523-2480 or E-mail: rivers@hamline.edu.

March 20. Boundary Waters Issues: A People Perspective. Vermilion College, MN. An evening with students from the University of Minnesota Department of Cultural Anthropology. This program will present a video produced as a result of student-conducted interviews. Students will speak about the different views they encountered during their work. No pre-registration required. Contact: Paul Hansen at (800) 657-3609 or E-mail: ENVS@VR.CC.MN.US.

March 20-21. Midwest Declining Amphibians Conference. Milwaukee, WI. Focuses on amphibian biology, malformations and conservation in the Midwest. Contact: Gary Casper at (414) 278-2766, or E-mail: gsc@mpm.edu.

March 23-25. Conference on Riparian Management in Forests of the Continental Eastern U.S. Columbus, OH. Offers state-of-the-art information on managing forested riparian systems. Conference topics include: biodiversity, riparian ecosystem values and benefits and terrestrial and aquatic linkages. Contact: Nancy Walters, USDA, E-mail: nwalters/nc@fs.fed.us.

April 1-2. Holistic Management: A New Paradigm for Land-Use Planning. St. Paul, MN. Two-day training on the mechanics of holistic management and how it can be applied to local planning efforts. Planning professionals, citizen activists and local officials are welcome. $60 registration covers all materials, plus a continental breakfast and a lunch on both days. Deadline for registration is March 20. Contact: Land Stewardship Project at (612) 653-0618 or lspwbl@mtn.org.

May 3-6. Watershed Management: Moving From Theory To Implementation. Denver, CO. Contact: Water Environment Federation Member Services Center at (800) 666-0206 or E-mail: msc@wef.org.

May 17-20: Extension Natural Resources Conference. Deerwood, MN. Contact: Melvin J. Baughman, U of M, at (612) 624-0734 or E-mail: mbaughma@forestry.umn.edu.

May 18-22. 41st Annual Conference of the International Association for Great Lakes Research. Hamilton, ONT. Conference theme is "Great Lakes Habitat Restoration and Conservation. Contact: Dr. Patricia Chow-Fraser, McMaster University, at (905) 525-9140 ext. 27338 or E-mail: chowfras@mcmaster.ca.

June 7-10. 25th Annual Conference on Water Resources Planning and Management & 1998 National Conference on Environmental Engineering—Water Resources and the Urban Environment. Chicago, IL. Sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Contact: ASCE at (800) 295-6300.

June 8-12. Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment Continental-scale International Project (GCIP) _ Mississippi River Hydrometeorology Conference—Predicting Climate Variability and its Implications for Water Resource Management. St. Louis, MO. Focuses on GCIP, general hydrometeorological research in the Mississippi River Basin, and a number of more general issues including environmental issues and water quality. Part of the workshop will feature a series of lectures and public debates for lay people. Funded by NOAA and NASA. Contact: Adrienne Calhoun, NOAA, at Fax: (301) 427-2222 or E-mail: calhoun@ogp.noaa.gov.

July 30-31. Minnesota River Conference. Redwood Falls, MN. Sponsored by the Minnesota River Basin Joint Powers Board. Contact: Steve Hansen at (612) 361-6590.

Requests for Proposals

The American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AWWARF) announces the selection of new research projects approved for funding in 1998. The Foundation sponsors practical, applied research for the drinking water community. Deadline: May 4 for projects seeking funding up to $250,000; July 15 for projects seeking funding of $250,000 or more. Contact AWWARF at (303) 347-6117 or (303) 347-6211. Be sure to indicate the RFP number. RFPs can also be requested from and sent to dhughston@awwarf.com or gpreston@awwarf.com and on AWWARF's Web site in the What's New section.

Publications

Water-quality assessment of part of the Upper Mississippi River Basin, Minnesota and Wisconsin - nitrogen and phosphorus in streams, streambed sediment, and groundwater, 1971-1994. S.E. Kroening and W.J. Andrews. 1997. USGS - Water Resources Investigations Report 97-4107. Available from the USGS, call: (612) 783-3100.

Water-quality assessment of part of the Upper Mississippi River Basin, Minnesota and Wisconsin - pesticides in streams, streambed sediment, and ground water, 1971-94. J.D. Fallon, A.L. Fong and W.J. Andrews. 1997. USGS - Water Resources Investigations Report 97-4141. Available from the USGS, call: (612) 783-3100.

Physical characteristics of stream sub-basins in the Middle Minnesota - Little Cottonwood River Basin, south central Minnesota. C.A. Sanocki. 1996. USGS - Open File Report 96-631. Available from the USGS, call: (612) 783-3100.

Shallow ground-water quality beneath cropland in the Red River of the North Basin, Minnesota and North Dakota, 1993-1995. T.K. Cowdery. 1997. USGS - Water Resources Investigations Report 97-4001. 1997. Available from the USGS, call: (612) 783-3100.

Sampling design for assessing water quality of the Red River of the North Basin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, 1993-95. D.L. Lorenz and J.D. Stoner. 1996. USGS - Water Resources Investigations Report 96-4129.

Great Lakes Research Review - Great Lakes Exotic Species. 1997. Produced by the Great Lakes Program. Available free of charge, call: (716) 645-3667.

Temporal trends and spatial patterns in acid-base chemistry for selected Minnesota lakes. J.M. Eilers and J.A. Bernert. 1997. Available from the MPCA, call: (612) 296-7800.

Watershed Restoration: Principles and Techniques. J.E. Williams, C.A. Wood and M.P. Dombeck, eds. Available from the American Fisheries Society, call: (412) 741-0609.

EPA Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection. 1997. Available free from the EPA National Center for Environmental Publications (NCEPI), call: (513) 489-8190 or (800) 490-9198 or Fax (513) 489-8695. Include the EPA document number (EPA 841-B-97-008) when ordering.

WRC News and Events