Browsing by Author "Breneman, Dan"
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Item 21st Avenue West Remediation to Restoration Project: Biological Survey and Hydrodynamic Modeling Results(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2012) Host, George E; Reschke, Carol; Brady, Valerie; Breneman, Dan; Dumke, Josh; Niemi, Gerald J; Austin, Jay; James, Matthew; Johnson, Lucinda BThe lower 21 miles of the St. Louis River, the largest U.S. tributary to Lake Superior, form the 4856 ha St. Louis River estuary. Despite the effects of more than 100 years of industrialized and urban development as a major Great Lakes port, the estuary remains the most significant source of biological productivity for western Lake Superior, and provides important wetland, sand beach, forested, and aquatic habitat types for a wide variety of fish and wildlife communities. The lower St. Louis River and surrounding watershed were designated an “Area of Concern” (AOC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1989 because of the presence of chemical contaminants, poor water quality, reduced fish and wildlife populations, and habitat loss. Nine Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) have been identified in the AOC, including: Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat, Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations, Degradation of Benthos, and Fish Tumors and Deformities. The St. Louis River Citizens Action Committee, now the St. Louis River Alliance (SLRA), was formed in 1996 to facilitate meeting the needs of the AOC. Following the recommendations of the St. Louis River AOC Stage II Remedial Action Plan, the SLRA completed the Lower St. Louis River Habitat Plan (Habitat Plan) in 2002 as “an estuary-wide guide for resource management and conservation that would lead to adequate representation, function, and protection of ecological systems in the St. Louis River, so as to sustain biological productivity, native biodiversity, and ecological integrity.” The SLRA also facilitated development of “Delisting Targets” for each BUI in the St. Louis River AOC in December 2008. The Habitat Plan identified several sites within the AOC with significant habitat limitations. One of these sites, the “21st Avenue West Habitat Complex” (approximately 215 ha; Map 1), was identified by a focus group within the SLRA Habitat Workgroup as a priority for a “remediation-to-restoration” project. The focus group subsequently developed a general description of desired future ecological conditions at the 21st Avenue West Habitat Complex, hereafter referred to as the ‘Project Area’, including known present conditions and limiting factors of the area. In addition, the focus group recommended a process to develop specific plans and actions to achieve the desired outcomes at the site. As the next step toward the creation of an “Ecological Design” for the Project Area, Natural Resource Research Institute researchers, in cooperation with USFWS, USEPA, MPCA, MnDNR, and other partners, sampled the 21st Avenue West site in late summer of 2011 to establish baseline information on vegetation, sediment types, benthic macroinvertebrates, toxins and bird usage of the area. This work will inform development of an ecological design that will allow assessment of restoration scenarios in the Project Area. The project will build on the 40th Ave West Remediation to Restoration effort, which developed an aquatic vegetation model based on depth, energy environment (predicted from a fetch model), water clarity, and other environmental factors. The model allows the evaluation of restoration scenarios involving changes in bathymetry, remediation or enhancement of substrate, reduction in wave energy, and other strategies. In this report we also incorporate a hydrodynamic model of the estuary to inform the ecological design process. Relationships between vegetation and the macroinvertebrate and avian communities will provide information on the efficacy of these strategies in remediating and restoring overall habitat and biological productivity in the 21st Avenue West Habitat Complex. This project was funded under USFWS Cooperative Agreement Number F11AC00517; full details of the project can be found in Attachment 1 of that Agreement.Item 40th Avenue West Remediation to Restoration Project: Biological Survey Results(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2010-11) Brady, Valerie; Reschke, Carol; Breneman, Dan; Host, George E; Johnson, Lucinda BThe lower 21 miles of the St. Louis River, the largest U.S. tributary to Lake Superior, form the 4856 ha St. Louis River estuary. Despite the effects of more than 100 years of industrialized and urban development as a major Great Lakes port, the estuary remains the most significant source of biological productivity for western Lake Superior, and provides important wetland, sand beach, forested, and aquatic habitat types for a wide variety of fish and wildlife communities. The lower St. Louis River and surrounding watershed were designated an “Area of Concern” (AOC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1989 because of the presence of chemical contaminants, poor water quality, reduced fish and wildlife populations, and habitat loss. Nine Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) have been identified in the AOC, including: Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat, Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations, Degradation of Benthos, and Fish Tumors and Deformities. The St. Louis River Citizens Action Committee, now the St. Louis River Alliance (SLRA), was formed in 1996 to facilitate meeting the needs of the AOC. Following the recommendations of the St. Louis River AOC Stage II Remedial Action Plan, the SLRA completed the Lower St. Louis River Habitat Plan (Habitat Plan) in 2002 as “an estuarywide guide for resource management and conservation that would lead to adequate representation, function, and protection of ecological systems in the St. Louis River, so as to sustain biological productivity, native biodiversity, and ecological integrity.” The SLRA also facilitated development of “Delisting Targets” for each BUI in the St. Louis River AOC in December 2008. The Habitat Plan identified several sites within the AOC with significant habitat limitations. One of these sites, the “40th Avenue West Habitat Complex”(approximately 130 ha; Figure 1), was identified by a focus group within the SLRA Habitat Workgroup as a priority for a “remediation- to-restoration” project. The focus group subsequently developed a general description of desired future ecological conditions at the 40th Avenue West Habitat Complex, hereafter referred to as the ‘Project Area’,including known present conditions and limiting factors of the area. In addition, the focus group recommended a process to develop specific plans and actions to achieve the desired outcomes at the site. As the next step toward the creation of an “Ecological Design” for the Project Area, Natural Resource Research Institute researchers, in cooperation with USFWS, USEPA, MPCA, MnDNR, and other partners, sampled the 40th Avenue West site during the late summer and fall of 2010 to establish baseline information on vegetation, sediment types, benthic macroinvertebrates, and bird usage of the area. Vegetation, macroinvertebrates, and sediment characterization were also completed for five Reference Areas selected by project cooperators. These Reference Areas represent less disturbed locations having high or low wind and wave exposure that can serve to demonstrate restoration potential for the Project Area. This project was funded under USFWS Cooperative Agreement Number 30181AJ68; full details of the project can be found in Attachment 1 of that Agreement.Item Attraction and Consumption of Crayfish by Centrachids(University of Minnesota Duluth, 1996-07) Breneman, Dan; Richards, Carl; Gunderson, Jeffrey; McDonald, Michael EFish attractants are a small but stable component of the U.S. recreational fishing industry, generating $28.1 billion in 1985. Subsequently, fish attractant manufacturers compete for a share of the market, introducing new products annually. Although dilute concentrations of scent have been shown to influence fish behavior, there is little published information regarding the effectiveness of today's marketable products. As a demand for commercial attractants utilizing crayfish scent increases, the need to document crayfish attracting capabilities through fish behavioral research becomes more pertinent. To date, there are few fish attractant products on the market that utilize softshell crayfish, creating an identifiable marketing niche for:crayfish products. Commercial products utilizing Minnesota's abundant crayfish population would further develop Minnesota's crayfish industry, and assist local businesses in competing in the fish attractant market. The mechanism of odor detection in fish is well known. It is also well established that many fish species can detect odors with concentrations in the parts per billion or even parts per trillion. Taste and odor detection in fish is difficult to separate because both senses detect molecules dissolved in water. Odor has been described as distant chemoreception, while taste is nearby or contact chemoreception. Taste detection of molecules dissolved in water can be as sensitive or even be more sensitive than the sense of smell. The spectrum and minimum concentration detected by both olfaction and taste varies greatly between species. A variety of fish behaviors are influenced by odor. These behaviors include: 1) homing migrations, 2) feeding, 3) reproduction, 4) fright reactions, and 5) schooling. Feeding behavior is influenced by both olfaction and taste. The odors most frequently identified as eliciting fish behavior responses have been amino acids and bile acids. Several individual amino acids and combinations of amino acids have been found to elicit olfactory-mediated feeding responses in fish. Other compounds and some amino acid-like components have also been shown to elicit feeding responses. It is generally believed that scent which elicits the greatest response will most often contain mixtures of compounds rather than single substances. Studies attempting to correlate feeding behavior response to olfactory stimuli are limited and have not been conducted on primary U.S. recreational fish species. Two methods have been used to evaluate olfactory responses in fish: 1) behavioral studies, and 2) electrophysiological response of anesthetized fish. Electrophysiological studies are similarly limited in scope and are not necessarily suitable predictors of feeding behavior since they only detect physiological stimulation and not instinctive foraging activity. Soft crayfish are more desirable than hard shell crayfish for use as angling bait, presumably because a perception exists that soft crayfish are a more effective in catching fish. Glycine betaine (found in marine invertebrates and elasmobranch fish, but not in teleost fish) increases the attractiveness of amino acids combinations. Based on reports describing the effectiveness of live and dead crayfish as bait to attract marine crustaceans, it is possible that crayfish possess the amino acid combinations that would attract popular recreational species. While many species universally respond positively to certain amino acids, even closely related species can vary significantly in their response. Crayfish are readily consumed by a variety of fish species including smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleye, yellow perch, catfish and others. Major physiological changes occur as crayfish grow. The transformation results in individuals shedding a hard exoskeleton. Following the molt, crayfish are soft, have limited coordination, and are completely vulnerable to predators or other crayfish. As a result, they secure secluded locations to molt and allow the new shell to harden. Since crayfish are vulnerable during the time immediately post molt, it is likely that they would be especially attractive to fish. An odor that is unique to this highly vulnerable life stage may be more attractive than odors from a hard shell crayfish.Item Benthic Macroinvertebrate Survey of the St. Louis River Estuary in the Vicinity of the U.S. Steel and Interlake Tar Superfund Sites(University of Minnesota Duluth, 1994) Richards, Carl; Breneman, DanThe St. Louis River estuary contains a diverse set of habitats with both relatively pristine as well as impacted regions. Benthic communities within the estuary are of special concern due to impaired conditions in some areas (St. Louis River System Remedial Action Plan, 1992). These communities play a large role in detrital decomposition, nutrient cycling, and provide an important food source for fish. Benthic macroinvertebrate communities have been used extensively for monitoring environmental condition for many years and can be good indicators of sediment quality (Rosenberg and Resh 1993). This study examined benthic communities in the vicinity of two US EPA superfund sites adjacent to the St. Louis River Estuary. The study was limited to descriptive analysis of existing communities in embayments near the superfund sites.Item Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District Biological Sampling for the Poplar River Quality Assurance Project Plan(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2007) Breneman, Dan; Brady, Valerie; Johnson, Lucinda BBenthic macroinvertebrate and habitat sampling evaluations will be conducted at locations chosen to represent the most common instream and riparian conditions. A best effort was made to minimize bias from either direct or indirect landscape alterations when selecting sampling locations. Sampling sites outlined below (see Bl. Study Design) are proposed based on several parameters (e.g., biological, geomorphological, etc.), but logistical considerations including best available access will influence site selection. Sampling protocols will follow standard operating procedures outlined by the NRRI-UMD Microscopy Laboratory standard operating procedures for field collection, laboratory sample processing, and data analysis (NRRI/TR-1999/37). All procedures outlined in the NRRI document are subject to change to respond to MPCA guidance and field conditions.Item Evaluation of Problems and Solutions relating to Stormwater Runoff from Roadside Ditches(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2008) Brady, Valerie; Breneman, DanDitches along roads in rural areas are a dominant conveyor of stormwater to streams along the north shore. Loss of forest cover as well as increased rural development can increase runoff amounts, but ditches provide the structure that moves this water quickly to nearby stream channels (Forman and Alexander 1998, Wemple et al. 1996). Ditches capture overland flow from nearby forests, wetlands, homes, and businesses in rural areas and channel the flows to discharge points, often into streams (e.g., Duke et al. 2006). Much of this runoff would have otherwise infiltrated into the ground, evaporated, drained into wetlands, or flowed slowly across the landscape until reaching a natural stream channel (Forman and Alexander 1998). The result is more water reaching streams much faster after rainfall events (Trombulak and Frissell 2000). The resulting high stream flows during and after storms can increase the erosion of susceptible clay banks, increase bank failure rates, damage aquatic habitats, and impair water quality (Forman and Alexander 1998, Wemple et al. 1996). Road runoff and excess sediment are then delivered to the sensitive nearshore zone of oligotrophic Lake Superior. Eleven north shore streams are currently on the state’s impaired waters list for turbidity (http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl/tmdl-303dlist.html), and evaluations on both the Knife and Poplar rivers have indicated that increased flows and bank erosion are major contributing factors (Brady and Breneman 2007, 2008). We have also recently seen an increase in the frequency of large rainfall events, consistent with climate change predictions for this region, indicating that the need for runoff control will only increase in importance. Despite their critical role, ditches are seldom the target of active runoff management programs. Governmental officials who are responsible for ditches in the region have not had the resources and techniques available to address this issue comprehensively, even though ditch maintenance and culvert repair often use up large amounts of local government road budgets, and local and state governments (LGUs) are actively seeking solutions to ditch issues. We brought together a cross-section of experts on rural road and ditch issues to identify the role of ditches in protecting water quality, enumerate the most pressing issues and problems with existing ditches, identify ditch stormwater best management practices (BMPs), and prioritize research, technical, and educational needs on ditch runoff management for the North Shore. The outcomes of this project identify the major ditch problems in northeastern Minnesota, identify appropriate BMPs to solve these problems, the obstacles to the installation of these BMPs, and suggest solutions to overcoming these obstacles. We also identify needed research on ditch BMPs and suggest next steps for improving ditches so that they can help protect our streams and our coast.Item Great Lake Environmental Indicators (GLEI) Standard Operating Procedures: Fish and Invertebrate Community Sampling(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2003-05-21) Breneman, Dan; Brady, Valerie; Johnson, Lucinda B; Ciborowski, Jan HItem Knife River Macroinvertebrate and Sediment Survey(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2007) Brady, Valerie; Breneman, DanThis effort was conducted as part of the Knife River TMDL (total maximum daily load) study for turbidity, and includes data to compare invertebrate community composition, habitat structure, and sediment deposition among Knife River sites. Macroinvertebrate, stream substrate, water quality, and fish and invertebrate habitat data were collected from five sites along the Knife River and its tributaries in August 2006. The study’s objectives were two-fold: first, to collect baseline data from several locations within the Knife River watershed, which is currently listed as impaired for turbidity; and second, to compare these data to historical data from the Knife River watershed and other North Shore streams. Turbidity and embeddedness affect stream invertebrates and fish by raising water temperature, reducing search distances for visual predators, clogging or abrading delicate gill tissue, filling in interstitial spaces among stream cobbles, and other detrimental effects. To put current data into perspective, Knife River TMDL sample locations were compared to historical samples within the Knife River watershed and other North Shore streams using macroinvertebrate assemblage metrics and, for one set of samples, substrate and water physical parameters. Due to differences in sampling methodology, macroinvertebrate metrics had to be calculated differently for comparison with historical data.Item Little Rock Creek Biological Survey, Habitat Evaluation, and GIS Analysis(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2008) Breneman, Dan; Brady, Valerie; Hollenhorst, Thomas; Johnson, Lucinda BLittle Rock Creek was listed as a Minnesota 303(d) impaired water in 2004, resulting in a TMDL (total maximum daily load) study for aquatic life due to the lack of a cold water fish assemblage. Data presented in this report provide biological survey summary information on the stream community associated with Little Rock Creek (LRC), local habitat measurements, and land use/land cover characteristics of the watershed in an effort to identify causes of impairment. This report will describe the biotic stream community and quantify potential relationships among landuse characteristics, local habitat conditions, and biotic assemblages including fish, and macroinvertebrates. This report will focus on trends in the macroinvertebrate and fish communities (abundance and functional traits), physicochemical, and local habitat conditions from five sample locations within the Little Rock Creek watershed (Fig. 1a,b). Additional data is provided by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), and an earlier Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) study, for the purpose of regional comparisons (hereafter referred to as ‘MPCA and/or NRRI regional comparison sites;’ Figs. 2,3). Data collected by the MPCA between 1996-2006 includes 16 streams in the same area as the TMDL sites. A 1998 sampling efforts at 18 streams (c.f., Hutchens et al. 2009) in southeastern Minnesota were conducted in a heavily agricultural area to determine landuse/landscape interactions with macroinvertebrate and fish communities.Item Miller Creek Macroinvertebrate, Habitat, and Temperature Report(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2010) Brady, Valerie; Breneman, DanWe sampled benthic macroinvertebrates and stream habitat at five locations in Miller Creek during late May 2008 as part of a TMDL (total maximum daily load) study on temperature. Data collected included: macroinvertebrate community composition, in-stream habitat for invertebrates and fish, stream bottom substrate types, and sediment particle size distribution. These data were linked with temperature logger data supplied by the South Saint Louis Soil and Water Conservation District (SSL SWCD) at or near these five sites, as well as additional sites (total of 27 stations) along the creek. Miller Creek macroinvertebrate and habitat samples were compared to data from several other streams where samples were collected during the early summer.Item Pre-restoration Assessment of Biological Condition for Radio Tower Bay in the St. Louis River Estuary(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2011) Brady, Valerie; Dumke, Josh; Breneman, DanThe St. Louis River originates in northeast Minnesota and the lower 20 miles forms a 4856 ha freshwater estuary along the border with northwest Wisconsin. At the confluence with Lake Superior, the harbor is home to one of the busiest shipping ports on the Great Lakes. Despite more than 100 years of industrial use and urban development in the region, the St. Louis River estuary remains a significant source of biological productivity for western Lake Superior. Land use alterations through years of residential expansion and active industrial operations have created conditions in the estuary ranging from heavily impacted to those that remain relatively pristine. The estuary provides numerous sand and gravel beaches, islands, upland forests, sheltered bays, wetlands complexes, and other aquatic habitat types deemed essential for maintaining viable fish and wildlife communities. The lower St. Louis River and surrounding watershed was designated an “area of concern” (AOC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1989 due to chemical contaminants, poor water quality, reduced fish and wildlife populations, and habitat loss. Nine beneficial use impairments have been identified in the AOC, including loss of fish and wildlife habitat, degraded fish and wildlife populations, degradation of benthos, and fish tumors and deformities. The St. Louis River Alliance is a community-sponsored organization that facilitates collaborative efforts associated with the St. Louis River AOC. Following the recommendations of the St. Louis River AOC Stage II Remedial Action Plan, the St. Louis River Alliance completed the Lower St. Louis River Habitat Plan (Habitat Plan) in 2002 as “an estuary-wide guide for resource management and conservation that would lead to adequate representation, function, and protection of ecological systems in the St. Louis River, so as to sustain biological productivity, native biodiversity, and ecological integrity” (SLRA 2002). The St. Louis River Alliance also facilitated development of “delisting targets” for each beneficial use impairment (BUI) in the St. Louis River AOC in December 2008. Radio Tower Bay is a small (18 ha) bay located in the upper reaches of the estuary near Gary, MN. Radio Tower Bay contains shallow open water, emergent and submergent aquatic vegetation, and is influenced hydrologically by both river currents and seiche activity. Historically, a sawmill operation in the early 1900s left the bay with significant amounts of wood waste and support pilings. The Minnesota DNR (MNDNR) and Minnesota Land Trust (MLT) secured funding from NOAA’s Marine Debris Removal Program to begin the restoration process by removing wood waste, pilings, and abandoned radio tower footings from the site. An adjacent reference location (North Bay) was included in the habitat assessment in order to provide an opportunity to establish comparisons both temporally and spatially regarding a target condition as restoration progresses in Radio Tower Bay. The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI), in cooperation with MLT and MN DNR, sampled Radio Tower Bay and North Bay to establish baseline information benthic macroinvertebrates, adult, juvenile, and larval fish assemblages and accompanying sediment and vegetation types. The project has been informed by previous collaborative efforts among NRRI, MLT, USFWS, MPCA, and MNDNR through the 40th Avenue West and 21st Avenue West remediation-to-restoration efforts.Item Predicting the Impacts of Development on Lake Superior North Shore Streams using High Resolution GIS Spatial Data(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2011-06-05) Johnson, Lucinda B; Axler, Richard P; Breneman, Dan; Erickson, Jeremy; Hollenhorst, ThomasThe study incorporated historical and recently collected data from a total of 60 sites on 42 streams within the Lake Superior basin. The study watersheds included both highly urbanized areas and rural populations. Urban development was concentrated near the bottom of suburban watersheds, resulting in tributaries that are relatively undisturbed, whereas within the core of the City of Duluth, urbanization is wide-spread across the watersheds. The study site distribution represented this gradient of urbanization.Item St. Louis River Watershed Streams & Lakes: Water Quality/Biological Monitoring(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2011-06-29) Axler, Richard P; Breneman, Dan; Brady, Valerie; Johnson, Lucinda B; Ruzycki, Elaine; Henneck, Jerald; Olker, Jennifer; Host, George E; Brown, Terry; Bartsch, WillThis provisional report is an addendum to the Surface Water Assessment Final Report entitled Surface Water Assessment St. Louis River Watershed: Streams and Lakes: Water quality/biological monitoring submitted to the MPCA electronically on June 29, 2011. That final report summarizes the water quality, habitat, macroinvertebrate, and fish data previously submitted to MPCA as the major part of this SWA project. This provisional report represents a detailed summary of the statistical analyses that the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) at the University of Minnesota-Duluth is conducting using the data collected from this project together with previous and ongoing landscape stressor analyses conducted by NRRI via other funding sources over the past several years.Item Standard Operating Procedures (SOP): Aquatic Field Collection Guidelines Habitat Characterization Benthic Sample Processing(University of Minnesota Duluth, 1999) Breneman, DanAssessing biological condition of aquatic habitats involves multiple phases and a variety of methodologies and techniques. Monitoring, as one form of assessing biological condition includes, but is not limited to, field observations, data and sample collection, laboratory processing, and data interpretation. This document is limited to aquatic biota sampling, characterizing habitat structure, assessing aquatic macrophytes and adjacent riparian condition, and evaluating water quality parameters. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to collect biological samples and evaluate habitat characteristics for interpreting, or continually monitoring, biological condition. Guidelines are provided to establish sample collection protocols once an experimental design is formulated. Descriptions that follow will be limited to habitat characteristic evaluation, monitoring water quality parameters, and fish, macroinvertebrate, and periphyton community sampling.Item Stream and Wetland Biological Survey(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2005) Breneman, DanA biological monitoring survey was conducted on four stream sites and two wetlands in the vicinity of a proposed mining operation in northern Minnesota. Fish and macroinvertebrate community composition, habitat characteristics, and water chemistry parameters were examined to establish biological condition at four stream reaches and two wetland complexes. Fish assemblages were sampled in streams by electrofishing, and in wetlands with 24-hour trap net sets. Macroinvertebrates were collected qualitatively with D-frame kick nets, and quantitatively with Hess, Ekman, or Petite Ponar dredge sampling gear. Total number of fish and total lengths per species were determined within each stream reach to estimate catch per unit effort (CPUE). Macroinvertebrates were identified, enumerated, and the relative abundance and taxa richness per site determined. Stream habitat characteristics and water quality parameters at each site were summarized by point estimates along randomly placed transects. Invertebrate community composition between sites was predictable, with two wetland communities sharing similar characteristics (B5 and B7). The number of macroinvertebrate taxa was similar among stream sites (B1, B2, B3, and B6), but much higher than found in both wetland habitats. Three stream sites, including a designated reference reach located within the same drainage area (B1), provided similar community compositions. The remaining stream sampling location (B6) contained a macroinvertebrate and fish community that was unlike the previous three stream sites, and more similar to the wetland habitats based on the fish community composition. Fish communities among all sites were similar in respect to the functional proportions of taxa present. This survey suggests that the biological characteristics associated with stream and wetland sites sampled at the proposed NorthMet Mining Project site varied with respect to the distribution of fish and invertebrate functional categories between sites, but the overall community composition was typical of other systems in the region.Item Volunteer Assisted Water Quality and Biological Monitoring of North Shore Superior Streams Project(University of Minnesota Duluth, 2008-05) Axler, Richard P; Ruzycki, Elaine; Brady, Valerie; Breneman, Dan