Root River Watershed Landscape Stewardship Plan © Coldsnap Photography June 2013 Sections 1 through 9 and the appendices of this plan were written by Zach Reusch, Acer Forest and Tree, LLC. Sections 10 and 11 were written by Brooke Haworth, Ecologist with the Ecological and Water Resources Division of the Minnesota DNR. Funding provided by: US Forest Service, US Environmental Protection Agency and Minnesota Forest Resources Council This plan was written in order to provide guidance to natural resource managers in the Root River Watershed with the goal of promoting sustainable management of the landscape, the vegetation, and the wildlife in the watershed. It can serve as a reference for those writing stewardship plans, those interested in learning about natural features, those interested in watershed protection, and those seeking to improve the health of rivers, streams, soil, vegetation and terrestrial and aquatic animals in the watershed. The overall supervision of this project and editing and revision of the draft plan was provided by the Root River Landscape Stewardship Project Steering Team, which consists of the following members: Richard Biske, Southeast Minnesota Conservation Coordinator, The Nature Conservancy Lindberg Ekola, Landscape Program Manager, Minnesota Forest Resource Council Gary Michael, Private Forest Management Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Donna Rasmussen, Administrator, Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District Hannah Texler, Regional Plant Ecologist, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Oversight of the grant from the US Forest Service was provided by Dennis McDougall, Forest Stewardship Program Coordinator. The grant administrator was the Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District. Additional assistance was provided by the Root River Landscape Stewardship Planning/Coordination Committee. Members included the Steering Team members and these additional members: Name Title Organization/DNR Division Jaime Edwards Nongame Specialist DNR Ecological & Water Resources Valiree Green PFM Forester DNR Forestry Jim Edgar Forestry Specialist DNR Forestry Michelle Martin ECS Ecologist DNR Forestry Beth Reusch Forester DNR Forestry Emily Hutchins Private Lands Specialist DNR Wildlife Mitch Gilbert Consulting Forester Independent contractor Nancy Kafka Conservation Director, Southern Region Minnesota Land Trust Shaina Keseley Watershed Coordinator MPCA Root River Landscape Stewardship Plan i Brian Green Watershed Coordinator Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Bob Joachim District Conservationist NRCS (Preston) Angie Gupta Extension Educator, SE MN University of Minnesota Brad Gatzlaff Consulting Forester Zumbro Valley Forestry LLC Vaughn Snook Fisheries Specialist DNR Fisheries John Harford Planner Olmsted County Daryl Buck Manager Winona SWCD For more information, or to obtain copies of this document, contact: Rich Biske, [email protected], phone number (507) 765-2450 Root River Landscape Stewardship Plan ii Table of Contents Part 1: Where have we been and where are we today? ......................................................................................................................... 1 Section 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Section 2: Natural Resource Inventory & Assessment .......................................................................................................................... 6 A. Geology ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 B. Hydrology.................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 C. Soils............................................................................................................................................................................................ 14 D. Vegetation .................................................................................................................................................................................. 16 E. Rare Natural Features ................................................................................................................................................................ 25 F. Wildlife ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 29 G. Historic Cultural Resources ....................................................................................................................................................... 32 H. Land Use History ....................................................................................................................................................................... 33 I. Current Land Uses ..................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Section 3: Key Findings: Assets, Issues and Opportunities ................................................................................................................. 40 A. Assets ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 40 B. Issues .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 41 C. Opportunities.............................................................................................................................................................................. 45 D. Current Benchmarks of Success ................................................................................................................................................ 48 Part 2: Where do we want to go? .......................................................................................................................................................... 49 Section 4: Vision and Desired Future Conditions................................................................................................................................ 49 A. Vision ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 49 B. Desired Future Conditions (DFCs) ............................................................................................................................................ 50 Section 5: Goals, Objectives and Actions ............................................................................................................................................ 52 Part 3: How will we get there? ............................................................................................................................................................... 64 Section 6: Coordination Strategies....................................................................................................................................................... 64 A. Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................... 64 B. Coordination Strategies ............................................................................................................................................................. 65 C. Coordination Successes ............................................................................................................................................................. 71 Section 7: Implementation: Strategies and Action Plan ...................................................................................................................... 73 A. Implementation Strategies ......................................................................................................................................................... 73 B. Implementation Tools ................................................................................................................................................................ 74 C. 10-Year Action Plan (and goals actions are targeted at): Root River Watershed Landscape Stewardship ................................. 77 Section 8: Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................................................................................. 81 A. Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................... 81 Root River Landscape Stewardship Plan iii B. Short-Term: Monitor Performance and Evaluate Process ......................................................................................................... 82 C. Long-Term: Assess Results and Evaluate Effectiveness ........................................................................................................... 82 Section