St. Louis River Estuary Summit February 25 - 26, 2014 University of Wisconsin - Superior Yellowjacket Union Acknowledgments Special thanks to the following organizations that provided funding and in-kind contributions: Enbridge Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve LimnoTech Minnesota Coastal Program Minnesota Sea Grant Minnesota Land Trust National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration University of Wisconsin Extension University of Wisconsin – Superior West Wisconsin Land Trust Wisconsin Coastal Management Program Wisconsin Sea Grant Planning Committee David Bolgrien, United States Environmental Protection Agency Nick Danz, University of Wisconsin-Superior Deanna Erickson, Lake Superior NERR Nelson French, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Cherie Hagen, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Kari Hedin, Fond du Lac Resource Management Matt Hudson, Northland College John Jereczek, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Zachary Jorgenson, United States Fish and Wildlife Service Becky Sapper, Lake Superior NERR Shon Schooler, Lake Superior NERR Matt Steiger, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Erika Washburn, Lake Superior NERR Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant Editors: Michael Krick, Becky Sapper, Shon Schooler, Marie Zhuikov Published by the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, Superior, WI Cover photo by Tracey Ledder Interior Photos by Michel Anderson (www.singingcanoe.smugmug.com) and Lake Superior NERR Staff St. Louis River Estuary Summit (February 2014) Page 2 Summit (February 2011) Table of Contents Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 6 Survey Results .............................................................................................................................. 6 Abstracts for Oral Presentations .................................................................................................. 7 St. Louis River AOC Status and Progress – Implementation of the Remedial Action Plan ............. 7 St. Louis River Estuary Data System ............................................................................................... 7 Evaluating Site Condition to Inform Restoration Activities ............................................................ 8 Strategies for Investigating Bacterial Contamination to Address the Beneficial Use Impairment in the St. Louis River Estuary .......................................................................................................... 8 Are Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs) Correlated with Growth of Aquatic Plants in the St. Louis River Estuary?........................................................................................................................ 9 Sulfate, Sulfide, and Wild Rice Growth .......................................................................................... 9 The Role of Dissolved Organic Matter in Mercury Methylation in the St. Louis River Estuary .... 10 Reducing Sediment Loads and Restoring Streams When Nature Controls (Most) of the Cards . 10 Knowlton Creek Watershed Project: A Partnership to Improve Snow-making Capabilities at Spirit Mountain While Restoring Cold-water Stream Habitat in Knowlton Creek ....................... 11 ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 Progress Estimating Incidence Rates of Tumors and Deformities in St. Louis River White Sucker ...................................................................................................................................................... 12 Preliminary Cut and Fill Volume Estimates for Restoration Planning .......................................... 12 Incorporating Bioavailability into Sediment Assessments in the St. Louis Area of Concern........ 13 Using Non-degraded Areas in the St. Louis River Estuary to Set Biotic Delisting/Restoration Targets .......................................................................................................................................... 13 System-wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) 101 .......................................................................... 14 Studying the Effects of Climate Change on Freshwater Estuaries at the Pokegama Bay Sentinel Site ................................................................................................................................................ 14 Biotic Inventory Results of Clough Island, Red River Breaks, and Pokegama-Carnegie Wetlands ...................................................................................................................................................... 15 ...................................................................................................................................................... 15 Post-remediation Verification of Remedy Effectiveness Characterized Through Long-term Monitoring in Lower Fox River OU 1 ............................................................................................ 16 Outreach Needs Assessment in the St. Louis River Area of Concern ........................................... 17 St. Louis River Estuary Summit (February 2014) Page 3 Summit (February 2011) Mapping Ecosystem Services in the St. Louis River Estuary ......................................................... 17 Social Science 101: Economists, Geographers, and Anthropologists, oh my! ............................. 18 Opportunities for the Lake Superior NERR: Linking Social Science to Management and Policy.. 18 Measuring St. Louis River Corridor Knowledge and Perceptions to Connect Locals to the River Through Recreation and Restoration ........................................................................................... 19 Estimating Economic Activity Related to AOC Remediation and Restoration ............................. 19 (Is Beauty) In the Eye of the Beholder? Three Approaches to Public Participation in the Removal of the Degradation of Aesthetics Beneficial Use Impairment ...................................................... 20 Focusing on the Watershed: An evaluation of the Rivers2Lake Education Program ................... 21 Habitat Restoration and Public Outreach: Attracting and Protecting Nesting Piping Plover ...... 21 Invited Speakers: ........................................................................................................................ 22 Round Table Discussions .......................................................................................................... 23 Evening River Talk .................................................................................................................... 24 Posters ........................................................................................................................................ 25 Documenting Bird Use in the St. Louis River Estuary to Develop a Baseline for Restoration and Delisting ........................................................................................................................................ 25 Establishing a New Biotic Baseline for St. Louis River Estuary Restoration and Delisting ........... 26 Northwoods Cooperative Weed Management Area ................................................................... 26 Otter Creek ................................................................................................................................... 26 St. Louis River Area of Concern: Pickle Pond Fish Inventory ........................................................ 27 Bioavailability of PAHs in the 21st Avenue West Restoration Site .............................................. 28 Lake Superior Watershed Framework for Assessment of Wetland Services ............................... 28 An Inexpensive, Temporally Integrated System for Monitoring Occurrence and Biological Effect of Aquatic Contaminants in the Field ........................................................................................... 29 Douglas County Aquatic Invasive Species Program...................................................................... 29 Status of the Lake Superior Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP) ............................ 30 An Assessment of the Physical Factors that Trigger Landslides and the Relative Impact of a 500- Year Flood Within the Red River Breaks (Wisconsin/Minnesota) ................................................ 31 Patterns of Under Ice Dissolved Oxygen Concentrations Along Transects of Clay-Influenced Bays in the St. Louis River Estuary ........................................................................................................ 31 Where Have All the Crayfish Gone? Distribution of Native and Invasive Crayfish in the St. Louis River Estuary ................................................................................................................................. 32 Mapping Green Infrastructure with a High-Resolution Land Cover Map in a Forest-urban Watershed .................................................................................................................................... 32 St. Louis River Estuary Summit (February 2014) Page 4 Summit (February 2011) The University of Wisconsin-Superior's Lake Superior Research Institute .................................. 33 A Review of the Western Lake Superior Basin Erosion-Sediment Control Project; the Red Clay Research and Demonstration