Hawk Creek and Yellow Medicine
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Minnesota River Basin 2010 Progress Report Hawk Creek & Yellow Medicine River Watershed HAWK CREEK AND YELLOW MEDICINE RIVER WATERSHED Classified as a major hydrologic watershed in the Minnesota River Basin, Hawk Creek and Yellow Medicine are separated into two management units. A section of land extending from the Lac qui Parle Reservoir to just below the mouth of the Redwood River along the Minnesota River’s mainstem is part of the Hawk Creek & Yellow Medicine Watershed. There are also a number of smaller tributaries draining directly to the Minnesota River in the watershed including Beaver Creek on the north side. Hawk Creek and Yellow Medicine Watershed drains 2,020 square miles with approximately 85 miles of the Minnesota River flowing through this large basin. The watershed is primarily agricultural Hawk Creek with over 80 percent of acres tied to farming, especially cropped lands. 31. Kandiyohi 27. 29. Madsen County 2. HCWP Top 5 25. Anderson Moonstone Prairie Accomplishments 28. Hooves 30. Hidden Drainage Lake 26. Low Farm Grass Buffer Impact & Wings History of 1. Hawk Creek Logging Field Tour Minn. River Watershed Project 3. HCWP – 24. Lake Project Shaokatan Phase II Eutrophication TMDL Study 4. Green Corridor 23 Lake Project Shaokatan 5. Beaver Restoration Project Tales Watershed Project 22. YMRWD EQIP Project 6. Land of the Lost 21. Streambank Watershed Restoration & Project Stabilization Project 7. HCWP – Wetland 20. Lake Restorations Shaokatan BMPs 8. HCWP – Annual 19 YMRWD Meeting Phase II CWP 9. Woodchip Biofilter 18. Yellow Medicine 16. 14. Kandiyohi 12. Willmar 10. HCWP – River 17. Minneota Minnesota SWCD – Wastewater Project 15. Granite 11. Lake Watershed Storm- Falls Dam Sediment Treatment Picnic District Falls Plant Assessments Sanitary Blocks 13. Renville Community Willmar Area lakes Project SWCD Building Hawk Creek was named for the European Kestrel (a small falcon). Translation of Dakota name for hawk is chetambe. The Yellow Medicine River got its name from the Dakota for the bitter, yellow roots of the moonseed plant, growing as lush vines in thickets along the streams banks. The Dakota dug the yellow root of the moonseed and used it as a medicine - Warren Upham, Minnesota Place Names – A geographical Encyclopedia Page 105 Minnesota River Basin 2010 Progress Report Hawk Creek & Yellow Medicine River Watershed HAWK CREEK – YELLOW MEDICINE RIVER 2. Top 5 Accomplishments of HCWP WATERSHED According to Cory Netland, project manager, one of the Normally, this major watershed is divided into top accomplishments is the established reputation as a two different management units with the Yellow trusted partner with the agricultural producers of the Medicine River Watershed District involved in water watershed. This was done by working with, not against, quality issues on one half and the Hawk Creek farmers in the watershed. A visible example is the highly Watershed Project handling water quality efforts on the successful annual meetings that are attended by nearly 140 other half. Both entities have made major strides in people each year, many of whom are people that have restoring and protecting the water resource along with cooperated with the project on in-field Best Management assistance from government agencies, citizens, and Practices (BMPs). nonprofit groups. 1. Project Spotlight - Hawk Creek Watershed Project Established in 1999, the Hawk Creek Watershed Project (HCWP) focuses on implementing Best Management Practices (BMPs) to correct and prevent land use challenges that Erosion on Drainage Ditch negatively affect Two, the project has developed an excellent water quality and network of partnerships with the conservation quantity. By professionals in the watershed. They have partnered with working with a most, if not all, of the entities who work on conservation variety of related issues in our watershed, including NRCS, SWCDs, partners, the Installing Alternative Tile Inlet DNR, US Fish & wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, HCWP provides Pheasants Forever, County Drainage Authorities, County assistance to landowners and others to implement BMPs Environmental Offices, Prairie Woods Environmental through both cost-share programs and a septic system Learning Center, among others. upgrade low interest loan program. Three is the routine success in obtaining grant dollars in highly competitive situations. More importantly, the project has encumbered and spent every dime it has been awarded, with a high percentage of the funds going to on-the-ground BMPs implemented on a 100 percent voluntary basis. Four, the project along with its partners has contributed to dramatically reduced Total Suspended Solids (TSS) in all of the streams they monitor. The buffer initiative and other BMPs have had a direct impact on the Hawk Creek Information Booth amount of sediment in the waterways. Five and final top accomplishment is how the Cost-share as of August 31, 2009: Abandoned project has directed its focus to on-ground BMPs and Wells Sealing (7), Ag-waste structures (10), Alternative Intakes (100), Bank Stabilizations (7), Tile Bioreactor (1), those efforts have been very successful with an impressive Buffer Strips (133 at 1,192 acres), Critical Seeding (1), Field 949 BMPs implemented since 2001. The amount of Windbreaks (2), Grade Stabilization (9), Nitrogen phosphorus and sediment saved from these BMPs has Management (7), Rain Gardens (3), Sediment Basins (34), been quite astounding. If an average project life span of 20 Sediment Retention Ponds (1), Septic System Upgrades years is met, these projects will reduce sediment by (370), Shelterbelt (1), Side Inlets (246), Terraces (7), 205,802 tons, total phosphorus by 415,792 pounds, and Waterways (10 – 563 acres) and Wetland Restorations (9 at reducing fecal coliform bacteria by 4,023,380,000 2,264 acres). organisms. Page 106 Minnesota River Basin 2010 Progress Report Hawk Creek & Yellow Medicine River Watershed 3. Hawk Creek Watershed Project Phase II 5. Beaver Tales Watershed Project From August of 2004 to August of 2005, the Hawk Creek As one of the smaller, direct tributaries to the Minnesota Watershed Project conducted a Phase II Clean Water River in the Hawk Creek Watershed, the “Beaver Tales” Partnership Continuation Grant by helping installing Best project is sponsored by the Hawk Creek Watershed Project Management Practices (BMPs) and upgrading out-of- and consists of approximately 122,302 acres over 161 miles compliance septic systems along with educational and of water courses. Beaver Creek and similar monitoring activities. tributaries can play a significant role in Environmental Education Program Results of this determining the health of the Minnesota River. A continuation grant U.S. EPA 319 grant funded the installation of 23 were as follows: cost- buffer strips (122 acres), two side inlet/drop inlets share for 117 BMPs affecting 54 acres, four alternative surface treating 5,177 acres; drainage systems intakes and tile intake protection maintained an active projects affecting 21 acres, eight projects with 21 Citizen Monitoring individual sediment basins affecting 196 acres and Network with 27 six additional BMPs affecting 1,319 acres. These volunteers; continued BMPs provided an estimated soil loss reduction of water sampling at six 705 tons/yr. and reduced phosphorus loading by primary and four additional sites; continued to hold the 561 lbs. /yr. annual public information meeting; promoted the project Hawk Creek at 810th Avenue at county fairs and made presentations to schools, local organizations and agricultural shows. Water quality benefits of the BMPs translate into sediment and phosphorus reductions of 2,302 tons and 3,368 pounds per year. 4. Green Corridor Project Hawk Creek Watershed Project (HCWP) received a Clean Water Partnership grant to work exclusively in the Green Corridor area of the watershed. Over the lifespan 6. Land of the Lost Watershed Project of the project – Sponsored by the Hawk Creek Watershed Project July, 2006 to July, (HCWP), the “Land of the Lost” project focuses on 25 2009 – HCWP small streams along the Minnesota River an area helped install 43 comprising of approximately 197,765 acres and over 191 side/drop inlets miles of watercourses. According to the HCWP, these affecting 549 tributaries are often forgotten Drainage Ditch Repair acres, 22 about but play a significant role in determining the health alternative intakes and tile intake protection projects affecting 106 acres, 17 buffer strips of 106 acres, restoring of the Minnesota River. The 553 acres of wetlands and 4 additional BMPs affecting 59 HCWP installed 12 buffer acres. This total of 89 BMPs affects 1,419 acres with an strips affecting 178.2 acres, 22 Eroding bank on Hawk estimated soil loss reduction of 474 tons per year and side inlet/drop inlets affecting Creek reduced phosphorus loading by 539 pounds per year. 257.1 acres and 13 additional Major accomplishments of the information and education BMPs affecting 977 acres. A total of 86 BMPs have been program included the distributing 6,000 newsletters to installed since the project started in 2002 affecting 1,627 watershed residents, hosting public meetings, and acres. These BMPs provide an estimated soil loss presenting at local schools and community organizations. reduction of 1,193 tons/yr. and reduced phosphorus loading by 1,485 lbs. /yr. Page 107 Minnesota River Basin 2010 Progress Report Hawk Creek & Yellow Medicine River Watershed 7. HCWP - Wetland Restorations 9. Hawk Creek Woodchip Biofilter Incentives are being offered by Hawk Creek Watershed A woodchip “bioreactor” was installed on a subsurface Project in an effort to reduce the phosphorus runoff into drain tile line near Willmar to remove nitrogen and the Minnesota River, suffering from low oxygen levels in phosphorus from its lower reaches. The basin-wide effort will use $326,768 the water before in grant funds to restore wetlands in Chippewa, Renville it reached a and Kandiyohi counties. In addition, other agencies will waterway. Hawk be offering funding and technical assistance to help Creek Watershed address the problem of low oxygen levels.