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News from the Rum River Watershed
Volume #1 Issue #1May 15, 2005
 
Greetings, Everyone!After a visit to the arid Southwest, I am finally fulfilling a promise to produce an electronicnewsletter that will focus on news and issues that arise as they affect the Rum River, an aquaticsystem in Minnesota dear to your hearts and mine. But, why focus on its entire watershed, andwhat is a watershed, anyway? Most of you may know the answer to that question.Basically, the Rum River watershed includes all the land area drained by the Rum River,including agricultural and urban land, forest, wetlands, lakes and streams. The watershed startswhere the Rum emerges from Lake Mille Lacs, and extends down through Mille Lacs,Sherburne, Isanti, and finally Anoka County, where it empties into the Mississippi River. Tomaintain the health of the Rum River itself, the health of the whole watershed must becultivated.Some of you may think that with this newsletter we are forming a club. These can be of greatvalue: the “Friends of the Snake River”, and the “Friends of the Mississippi”, for instance. In fact,a “Friends of the Rum River” was formed in Mille Lacs County, and plans to get going againalong the upper Rum River. Contact Brett Larson at
Brett.Larson@anokaramsey.edu
for details.However, the purpose of the newsletter is merely to provide you with information you can use tohelp make wise decisions as you consider your activities, whether they be as you develop afarm, an industry, a housing development or recreation area. Perhaps the newsletter will help asyou make day-to-day decisions planning your family and personal activities. That would be mybest wish! And, as I work with my colleagues in putting it together, we will learn too, and will actmore wisely.This newsletter will be published monthly and will be fairly short, just four to five pages. It will besummarized in bullets in the body of the email. That way you can see at a glance what you’dlike to peruse. The newsletter itself will both be part of the email body and available as aseparate email attachment.I have a great advisory team: Mary Januschka, Brad Wold, Mary Jacobson, and Brett Larson atthe Anoka Ramsey Community College – Cambridge Branch; Mark Riverblood, Rivers Councilliaison; Lloyd Paulson with the Skogman – Fannie Lake Association; Ruth Oliver and Ken Deanwith the Isanti County school system; and Mike Mueller, hydrologist with the MN DNR. Thesepeople are scientists, journalists, educators, and lay people. I graduated from UMD in 1984, withtraining in the study of riverine systems and wetlands. I also like to write.Tell your friends about this service – I live in Isanti County, so news will be a bit heavy from thisregion until I hear from more of you. We will feature a different topic in each issue. This monthwe are focusing on natural resource concerns in Isanti County. Next month: natural resourceconcerns in Mille Lacs County. In other issues we will focus on agricultural or urban concerns,and so forth. I am open for suggestions.Thanks so much for your interest! I will value your input. If, at any time, you wish to be removedfrom this email list, feel free to do so. Instructions for adding or taking off names are at the endof the email and the email attachment.Thanks again. Kriste EricssonPO Box 82, Grandy, MN 55029
RumRiverWatershedNews-owner@yahoogroups.com
 
 
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Contents:Mission Statement:
To provide a base of knowledge that we can use to help make wise decisions concerningthe Rum River watershed.
Vision Statement
To improve our ability, both as part of the private and as part of the public sector, to care forthe Rum River watershed and all of the associated watersheds that make up the MississippiRiver system.
•
Q/A: Why is the Rum River designated a “Wild and Scenic River”?
•
Natural resource issues affecting the health of the Rum River Watershed
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Feature article by area hydrologist Mike Mueller: “Water Quality”
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Adding/removing names from RumRiverWatershedNews@yahoo.com list serve
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To be addressed in our June 15 issue:
What is the Rum River Watershed?
Natural Resource Concerns in Mille Lacs County
Q/A: Why is the Rum River designated a “Wild and Scenic River”?
To answer this question we go the MN Department of Natural Resource’s website,
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/waters/watermgmt_section/wild_scenic/wsrivers/rivers.html 
.Legal classification definitions (excerpt from 1997 Minnesota Rules): 
To be eligible for inclusion in the Minnesota Wild and Scenic rivers system, a river or segment ofa river, and its adjacent lands must possess outstanding scenic, recreational, natural, historical,scientific, or similar values. The river or its segments shall be classified into one or more of thethree classes of rivers:
wild, scenic,
and
recreational
. Each river shall be managed so as topreserve and protect the values which qualify it for designation and classification.
Classification: Wild
Wild rivers are those that exist in a free-flowing state with excellent water quality and withadjacent lands that are essentially primitive. Wild rivers should not be paralleled by conspicuousand well-traveled roads or railroads.Minnesota rivers with segments classified as wild: Kettle, Rum.
Classification: Scenic
Scenic rivers are those rivers that exist in a free-flowing state and with adjacent lands that arelargely undeveloped (i.e., adjacent lands still present an overall natural character, but in placesmay have been developed for agricultural, residential, or other land uses.)Minnesota rivers with segments classified as scenic: Kettle, Mississippi, Minnesota, Rum,Cannon, St. Croix.
Classification: Recreational
Recreational rivers are those rivers that may have undergone some impoundment or diversionin the past and that may have adjacent lands which are considerably developed, but that are stillcapable of being managed so as to further the purposes of this act. This means that borderinglands may have already been developed for a full range of agricultural or other land uses, andmay also be readily accessible by pre-existing roads or railroads.
 
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Minnesota rivers with segments classified as recreational: Mississippi, North Fork of the Crow,Minnesota, Rum, Cannon, St. Croix.
Rum River
 
Wild:
 From the Ogechie Lake spillway (excluding the shoreland of Shakopee Lake), to the river'snorthernmost confluence with Lake Onamia.
Scenic:
 From the Mille Lacs CSAH 20 bridge to the Mille Lacs CSAH 9 bridge, and from the Mille LacsCSAH 13 bridge to the T 31 N -- T 32 N line on the southern border of the Anoka Countyfairgrounds.
Recreational:
 From the State Highway 27 bridge in Onamia to the Mille Lacs CSAH 20 bridge, from the MilleLacs CSAH 9 bridge to the Mille Lacs CSAH 13 bridge, and from the T 31 N -- T 32 N line onthe southern border of the Anoka county fairgrounds in the city of Anoka to a line crossing theriver between the center lines of Madison Street and Rice Street.
Natural Resource Issues Affecting the Rum River Watershed System
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Updates proposed for a Local Water Resource Management Plan for Isanti County
 
On February 24, 2005, a public meeting and visioning session was conducted at the MNDept. of Natural Resources in Cambridge to discuss priority concerns as the WaterResource Management Plan for Isanti County is updated. Thirty-six people attended. Thelast update was made in 2000.Respondents to an earlier public survey ranked wetlands as the most threatened resource inthe county, followed by lakes, then groundwater. Stream and river concerns ranked fourth.Participants in the public meeting process mirrored the top four problems as expressed inthe survey.Upon further scrutiny, the Isanti County Local Water Management Plan Task Force decidedthe following items are of paramount concern in the next five years:
•
Development of TMDLs (total maximum daily loads) for impaired waters in Isanti County,in cooperation with Chisago and Anoka Counties.
•
Examination of the cumulative effects of development on waters (surface andgroundwater) in the county.
•
Protection and restoration of natural habitat is a priority in the county.
•
Quality and quantity of the waters in Isanti County is a priority.Contact Area Hydrologist Mike Mueller at
mike.mueller@dnr.state.mn.us
for specifics on this plan.
Extension of the Runway of Cambridge Municipal Airport
 
A plan is underway by MN DOT to extend the asphalt runway at the Cambridge Municipalairport 1000 feet north from the current 4000-foot runway. A local citizen’s task force, formedof area residents, has expressed concern that a 1999 environmental impact statement of thearea does not adequately address wildlife habitat considerations in the wetland that thisrunway would cross.The task force is undertaking to examine how increased air traffic and usage by largeraircraft would impact the decibel level of noise in the area. The runway would bisect a roadthat currently allows through-traffic from County Rd. 70 to County Rd. 10 in Isanti County.
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