March 23, 2011

The DNR, local chapter of Trout Unlimited named Kiap-TU-Wish, and the City of River Falls confirm: A vision is forming for the Rocky Branch, one of the Kinni’s tributaries that runs south and east of the city and is locally known as a “creek.” Read more…

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Kinni Clears

March 23, 2011

Kinnickinnic State Park Conditions

As of Wednesday, March 23, 2011:

The U.S. Geological Survey river level gauge on the Kinnckinnic river in the park reports that water levels and flow are above normal but coming down. Trout anglers are out of luck for a while, but the Kinnickiinnic will drop and clear faster than the nearby Willow River.

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SETAC Sponsors KinniRiverCleanUp – Kinni to the Gulf of Mexico

March 18, 2011

The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) is hosting several member-supported Earth Day activities across the United States. We are fortunate that one is an event with the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust. KRLT member Stefanie Giese-Bogdan, who is spearheading the SETAC partnership on this event, said “The Kinnickinnic River is at the upper end of the Mississippi River drainage in the northern U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Trust has been working to show the connection between the Kinnickinnic River and the Gulf of Mexico. Though far away, they are in fact connected, as the Kinnickinnic flows into the St. Croix River, which in turn flows into the upper Mississippi.” SETAC members are contributing an interactive display, focused for children, on how to clean oil from water and a presentation on the Gulf oil spill and clean up efforts. The interactive display will include lake/lakeshore models, set up in 9 x 13 pans. Children will be able to explore the use of different materials to clean up a vegetable oil spill in their “lakes.” SETAC members also will be contributing a poster on endocrine disruption and financial support for a luncheon to be held as part of the event. A similar event currently is in the works thousands of miles away in Florida, another part of North America that drains to the Gulf.

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KRLT Executive Director takes new position

March 11, 2011

French departing KRLT for new post in Duluth

Nelson French has resigned as executive director of the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust to take a new position with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in Duluth, KRLT president Dan Wilkening announced Thursday night.

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Wild Side: Restore the St. Croix River by limiting what flows into it

March 3, 2011

The Federal Clean Water Act requires states to identify waters that are not meeting water quality standards and supporting designated uses. Water quality in the St. Croix River Basin, including Lake St. Croix, has been studied for more than 30 years. Both Wisconsin and Minnesota have determined that water quality in Lake St. Croix is impaired, not meeting water quality standards for nutrients due to excess phosphorus concentrations. Read how the Kinni plays a role in this situation.

Wild Side: Restore the St. Croix River by limiting what flows into it

Learn more about this issue and what you can do to help by attending the 12th Annual Protect the St. Croix Conference on April 5, 2011 right here in River Falls. Click the image below to learn more about the conference and to register.

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The Kinni from Where I Sit – Swans Over the Kinni

February 27, 2011

Click image to visit Nelson’s blog.

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State budget scrutiny affects river conservation project

February 27, 2011

State budget scrutiny affects river conservation project

The Department of Natural Resources has severely curtailed spending on land purchases through the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.

On February 7, 2011 nine land trusts received notice that projects that were in the final stages of review by the Governor had been placed on temporary hold. The organizations impacted organizations are: Door County Land Trust; Natural Heritage Land Trust; The Prairie Enthusiasts; Kettle Moraine Land Trust; Kinnickinnic River Land Trust; The Aldo Leopold Foundation; Mississippi Valley Conservancy; The Nature Conservancy of Wisconsin; and Waukesha County Land Conservancy.

Partners in Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program projects, including nonprofit organizations and local units of government, have been requested by the DNR to “to refrain from making commitments that rely on Stewardship funding.”

Since 1990, the program has purchased 600,000 acres for public recreation in Wisconsin. The program received broad bipartisan support as it was reauthorized by the Legislature in the 2007-’09 budget bill. The program’s funding was set at $86 million per year from 2011-’19.

The fund is paid for by general obligation bonding and is not directly part of the state’s current $137 million budget shortfall and the projected deficit of $3.6 billion in the next biennium. Click on image to view story about a Kinnickinnic River project that has been placed on hold. Click below to learn more about the Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program.

Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program Background

Economic benefits of Knowles Nelson Stewardship Program

History of Bipartisan and Broad Community Support for Warren Knowles (R) and Gaylord Nelson (D) Stewardship Program

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Riverfront property gains permanent protection

January 6, 2011

Riverfront Property gains permanent protection

Olympia Preserve Trail Map

Olympia Preserve Vegetation Types

Quarry Road-Olympia Priority Conservation Site Map

Debbie Griffin, River Falls Journal

The Kinnickinnic River Land Trust ended the year on a high note when last week it closed a bargain-sale land contract to acquire 4.3 acres that are within the city limits and include 530 feet of riverbank.

The L-shaped piece of land sits on the south side of the Bye, Goff and Rohde office building, adjacent to the north end of Riverside Drive (near McDonald’s) and the south end of Paulson Road.

KRLT Director Nelson French said the land trust closed the deal with local attorney and businessman Chuck Bye, who negotiated the deal on behalf of his limited liability corporation, New Wood Construction and Forestry, that owned the property. French said they signed the deal Dec. 29 during a closing at St. Croix Valley Title Company.

“I have found great enjoyment in watching fisherman and others enjoy the natural surroundings of this property over the years,” said Bye. “I can now take great satisfaction in knowing that this area will be permanently protected, restored to better ecological health, and available for the public to use forever.”

French says it is the first property within city limits to gain permanent protection from development. He speculates that some of the well-beaten paths within the site may have been blazed by American Indians traveling to and from the river.

Existing paths at the site will be left alone, and mowed paths will be maintained. The land will be open and accessible to all for bird watching, fishing, hiking and observing nature.

French says the site will be named the Olympia Preserve and become part of the broader effort to conserve natural resources in the Quarry Road area, also known as the Olympia Priority Conservation Site.

KRLT Conservation Manager Eric Forward said the latest acquisition is the fourth to be added with the conservation area, which also includes: 14.7 acres called the Kaplan Conservation Easement and acquired in 1997; 53 acres acquired in 1999 in the area of the Swinging Gate access point just north of the city along Hwy. 65; and most recently in 2010, 114.8 acres near Quarry Road that were once slated for a controversial housing development but were acquired in a deal last year from the First National Bank of River Falls.

French said land management of the Olympia Preserve will include restoring wetlands and native-species vegetation, encouraging healthy plant communities, removing invasive or exotic species, preventing erosion, improving recreation, and protecting the streambank and resident wildlife.

French said DNR Fisheries Manager Martin Engel agreed that the newly protected area is a natural extension of the of the fishery area and commented, “the adjoining DNR land has some of the heaviest fishing pressure in the state of Wisconsin.”

As part of its Protect the Kinni campaign, KRLT seeks funding assistance to complete the land deal from the DNR’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Stream Bank program and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service North American Wetland Conservation Act Small Grant program. But, French said private donations are always welcomed and tax deductible.

KRLT is a non-profit organization dedicated to the mission of working with the community to protect the natural resources and scenic beauty of the Kinnickinnic River. Learn more about KRLT by calling 715-425-5738 or online at at www.kinniriver.org

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