Recent Land Use Conversions in Cass/Wadena/Hubbard/Becker Counties and

Potential Implications for Water Quality

MPCA presentation to the Forest Resources Council

July 23, 2014Rebecca Flood

Prepared by Kevin Stroom with the assistance of Bonnie Finnerty, Phil Votruba and Scott Lucas

The Landscape

• Lake rich area• Significant rivers (Crow Wing, Shell, and

Straight) and all contribute to the Mississippi River.

• Sandy soils• Pineland Sands Shallow Aquifer• Surface waters here are intimately tied to

groundwater

Watershed Context(Crow Wing, Red Eye, Long Prairie)

The Crow Wing River contributes an equal volume of water to the Mississippi R. where the two meet near Brainerd.

The issue...

Regions in the Upper Mississippi River Basin are experiencing rapid and substantial conversion of forest and CRP lands to irrigated row crop agriculture.

• Commodity prices encourage cropland expansion• Forest incentives policy changes regarding the Sustainable

Forestry Incentive Act • Reduced demand from the forest products industry• Easy access to Pineland Sands Aquifer for irrigation (necessary

due to the extremely sandy soils)

MPCA Concerns...Minnesota has committed to protecting water quality in areas where quality is still high. MPCA is charged with protecting the physical, chemical, and biological

integrity of aquatic resources (Clean Water Act). WRAPS –Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies funded by

Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. Land use strongly influences water quality. This landscape is especially vulnerable to water quality degradation. Minnesota has examples of similar scenarios that have degraded water

resources. Scope of conversion acreage is large. (reports of 38,000 acres planned) Costs of protection are much less than costs of restoration (wise use of

public dollars).

DNR’s assessment of conversion potential in the Crow Wing River Watershed

Color KeyRed = highestOrange = secondYellow = thirdLt Yellow = lowest

1 mile

Brown area is undergoing conversion

WRAPSCrow Wing River WRAPS Project IWM/WRAPS Project started 2010 WQ Assessment and Stressor ID for Bio Impairments Completed Final WRAPS Report with Protection and Restoration Strategies (now

drafted and will be final by Dec 2014) $300K in study phase, more $$ to Implement Strategies

Key findings – This is a PROTECTION Focused WATERSHED with relatively good WQ Implementation document (w/significant DNR involvement):

Many of the 12HUC watersheds have recommendations for either protecting existing forest acreage, or adding significant forest. Groundwater levels and quality need to be maintained to protect lakes, wetlands, and streams.

The Pineland Sands Aquifer

The aquifer lies under parts of Becker, Hubbard, Cass, and Wadena counties.

Groundwater Vulnerability

Area experiencingconversions

The area’s sandy soils are porous and nitrogen fertilizers (nitrate) can easily migrate down into the surficial groundwater. Pesticide migration also may be an issue.

Stream/Lake/Wetland Vulnerability

Water table is very near the surface, and due to sandy soil, can easily move into streams/lakes/wetlands.

Straight River trout fishery and cool stream temperatures are due to the cooling influence of groundwater inputs.

The closer the farmland to a water resource, the quicker it will be for pollutants to move into these waters.

If water table is lowered by irrigation extraction, flow volumes in area streams will be reduced, resulting in multiple stress factors to aquatic organisms.

Case study: Straight RiverDNR data 2003-2013:• Maximum, Minimum and Average water temperatures have been increasing during

last decade.

• Water temperature changes do not appear to be related to air temperatures (no trend in air temps).

• The percent of time that water was within the range of thermal stress or above the lethal temperature for brown trout was about half the threshold for unsuitability in 2012

USGS study (1988-1990) - Continued extractions at 1988 levels would raise water temps 1.5o C (2.7o F). Recent years’ extraction volumes have been beyond the 1988 levels.

MPCA IWM data:• Straight River has elevated nitrates, nearing 3 mg/L, which is approaching a level

toxic to aquatic organisms, and may be enhancing algal growth (field observations) contributing to the DO impairment (a TMDL is being developed based on temp.) - http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/water/water-types-and-programs/minnesotas-impaired-waters-and-tmdls/tmdl-projects/upper-mississippi-river-basin-tmdl/project-crow-wing-watershed-tmdls-multiple-impairments.html

Lake Encroachment near Park Rapids

Sept. 2011

Aug. 2013

River Encroachment (Crow Wing River)

Sept. 2011

Aug. 2013

~ 220 feet

Wetland Encroachment near Nimrod

2012-14 conversion

Case study – Little Rock CreekBenton/Morrison Co.

• Sandy soil agriculture with irrigation adjacent to LRC.• Trout population crash in late 1990’s• Rapid expansion of irrigation in LRC subwatershed in early-mid 2000’s.

• High nitrates in stream and groundwater (both > 10 mg/L).• Reduced flow volumes in LRC...habitat, temperature, and geomorphology

detrimental effects.• LRC webpage: http://

www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/water/water-types-and-programs/minnesotas-impaired-waters-and-tmdls/tmdl-projects/upper-mississippi-river-basin-tmdl/project-little-rock-creek-biota.html

Recreational/economic value of the forest

Riverfront property is becoming more desirable with lake frontage all taken

Straight River trout fishery and other nearby designated trout streams are exceptional and unique

Crow Wing River is unspoiled for recreation – canoe kayak fishing Property Values Affected by Water Quality Impacts

Krysel, C., E. Boyer, C. Parson, P. Welle (May 2003). “Lakeshore Property Values & Water Quality: Evidence from Property Sales in the Mississippi Head-waters Region.” Mississippi Headwaters Board and Bemidji State University

(see http://www.minnesotawaters.org/group/hccola/property-values)

Impact to general tourism revenues (41 Central, NW, NE Counties)“Explore Minnesota” - Minnesota’s Leisure and Hospitality Industry, 2010 – gross revs• Crow Wing - ranks #3 in revenue• Cass - #4• Becker – #11• Hubbard – (average)• Wadena – (low)

Crow Wing River

Drinking water – case study Park Rapids

Significant irrigated row crop acreage exists adjacent to Park Rapids.

Straight River

Park Rapids, cont.

PR municipal well exceeded 10 mg/L nitrate

2013 drilled new well, needed to go deeper to escape nitrate contamination

Deeper waters contain high iron/manganese

Required a $5M treatment system to remove iron/manganese, at public expense.

Agriculture Industry Perception ...

“The land has always been cropland, it just happened to be in a crop of trees owned by the Potlatch company. It’s actually ag land. We’re just farming it in a different way.” – Keith McGovern, CEO of RDO, “AgWeek” May 19, 2014

See more at: http://www.agweek.com/event/article/id/23335

Potato Farming and Managed Forests are Very Different

Use of forest acreage for forest products: No fertilizer and little pesticide (if any) used No extraction of groundwater for irrigation or

degradation/pollution of aquifers Causes very little (and temporary) water quality degradation Protects soil from erosion and waters from sedimentation Provides decades-long wildlife habitat between harvests as well

as during recovery. Provides ecological services, including providing a source area of

clean water. Provides public recreation or personal leasing of lands for

recreation.

Chlorothalonil 720 SFTFungicide

In the US, chlorothalonil is used predominantly on peanuts (about 34% of usage), potatoes (about 12%), and tomatoes (about 7%). Chlorothalonil was found to be an important actor in the decline of the honey bee population and is highly toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates.

Material Safety Data Sheet - Listed Environmental Hazards

This product is toxic to aquatic invertebrates and wildlife. Do not apply directly to water, to areas where surface water is present, or to intertidal areas below the mean high water mark. Drift and runoff may be hazardous to aquatic organisms in neighboring areas. Do not contaminate water when disposing of equipment washwater or rinsate. This chemical is known to leach through soil into groundwater under certain conditions as a result of labeled use. Use of this chemical in areas where soils are permeable, particularly where the water table is shallow, may result in groundwater contamination.

This chemical can contaminate surface water through spray drift. Under some conditions, it may also have a high potential for runoff into surface waters for several days to weeks after application. These include poorly draining or wet soils with readily visible slopes toward adjacent surface waters, frequently flooded areas, areas overlaying extremely shallow groundwater, areas with infield canals or ditches that drain to surface water, areas not separated from adjacent surface waters with vegetated filter strips, and areas overlaying tile drainage systems that drain to surface water.

Will this sign become obsolete?

WADENA CASS

= Very recent conversions

MPCA Contacts

Bonnie Finnerty – Brainerd, Project Manager for Crow Wing River WRAPS

Kevin Stroom – Brainerd, Crow Wing River Watershed Stressor ID Lead

Chuck Johnson – Brainerd, Red Eye/Leaf River Watershed Stressor ID Lead

Phil Votruba – Brainerd, Project Manager, Forestry Issues

Laurel Mezner – Brainerd, Watershed Unit Supervisor

Reed Larson – Brainerd, Watershed Section Manager