Northeast Minnesota Wetland Mitigation Inventory and Assessment, Phase 1: Final Inventory Report
2009
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Northeast Minnesota Wetland Mitigation Inventory and Assessment, Phase 1: Final Inventory Report
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2009
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"The Northeast Minnesota Wetland Mitigation Inventory and Assessment Project is a two phase project to identify potential wetland mitigation opportunities located in northeastern Minnesota and analyze those opportunities to develop goals and priorities. Both phases of the project are designed to only address the technical aspects of wetland mitigation, analysis of policy related issues are beyond the scope of this project. Phase 1 is designed to identify potential wetland mitigation sites and inventory and assess mineland wetlands and Phase 2 will assess siting recommendations based on priorities, including but not limited to: mitigation types/methods, water quality, proximity to impaired waters, technical feasibility and wetland functions. The wetland mitigation inventory has been conducted with a watershed emphasis to identify watershed and water quality improvement opportunities within the study area. Baseline data was collected to develop an initial understanding of the existing wetland resources and a regional assessment was conducted of potential opportunities for wetland restoration, enhancement, preservation and creation. The intent of this study is to use existing data to identify potential wetland mitigation opportunities and verify and assess the technical feasibility of a limited sampling of sites in the field. Based on the technical committee and stakeholder feedback, four general categories of mitigation methods were evaluated: wetland restoration, preservation, enhancement, and creation. A GIS model analysis was conducted utilizing existing data sources to identify potential wetland mitigation opportunities within the project area. Potential wetland mitigation sites were identified throughout the study area... Approximately three percent of the potential mitigation opportunities spread across 17 of the 18 counties have been evaluated in the field to determine the accuracy of the modeling methods and to sample landowner interest. Northeastern Minnesota faces unique challenges for wetland mitigation due to several factors, namely: • The presence of extensive wetland resources, • Approximately 57 percent of land is in public (federal and state) and tribal ownership, • Few established wetland mitigation banks currently exist, • A perceived lack of traditional wetland mitigation opportunities exist, and • The need for approximately 550 acres of wetland mitigation is projected annually in the foreseeable future. An ad hoc committee formulated a strategy which included five main recommendations: • Conduct a regional wetland mitigation inventory to determine the availability of wetland mitigation opportunities in the region. • Conduct a regional mitigation siting study to summarize the results of the regional inventory and help to streamline mitigation planning in the region. • Develop a northeastern Minnesota wetland bank cooperative – a third party to coordinate, promote, and develop wetland banking within the region. • Compile up-to-date knowledge or research on non-traditional mitigation methods • Update the National Wetlands Inventory for northeastern Minnesota Following discussions with northeastern Minnesota legislators, a legislative bill was introduced to fund the regional wetland mitigation inventory and the mitigation siting study. In 2007, after receiving stakeholders’ testimony the Legislature funded the inventory and the siting study recommendations through a two-year appropriation to the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) for 2008-2009."
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Prepared for Board of Water and Soil Resources. Saint Paul: BWSR.
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Barr Engineering. (2009). Northeast Minnesota Wetland Mitigation Inventory and Assessment, Phase 1: Final Inventory Report. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/189295.
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