The Star Tribune recently shared a great article about the $113 million of federal funding that is going to help restore the St. Louis River!

Check out ‘Dreams of a Restored St. Louis River’ written by Jana Hollingsworth at the Star Tribune. Distributed on May 17, 2022

Many projects are happening to help clean-up and delist the St. Louis River Area of Concern. Here are some current project updates for May 2022, continue reading for further details:

• Spirit Lake, Scanlon Reservoir and Munger Landing | EPA Announce $113 Million to fund the Great Lake Restoration Projects near Duluth, Mn

• U.S. Steel/Spirit Lake Project Public Meeting | Thursday, May 19th from 5-7:30 p.m.

• Kingsbury Bay | Goose exclusion fencing has been installed

• Perch Lake Habitat Restoration Project | Contract awarded to J.F. Brennan

• **Reminder: Munger Landing | Closed for 2022-2023

It is again migratory shorebird season here in the Twin Ports! May 1 - June 30. The St. Louis River Alliance (SLRA) is monitoring the beaches on Wisconsin Point and Minnesota Point for the critically endangered shorebird, the Great Lakes Piping Plover. For more information on the Piping Plover visit https://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/pipingplover/

The St. Louis River Alliance cautions the public to be aware of these vulnerable shorebirds when using local beaches during their nesting season. Loose dogs and human activity are the biggest deterrent to successful nests. On Minnesota Point, the public can help by avoiding the beach near the Airport, observing posted signs, leashing their dogs and cleaning up any garbage.

EVENT RECORDING: During our Annual Membership Meeting, the Alliance shared updates on the current state of the organization, what we're working on, upcoming event details and more! Margie Menzies highlighted the incredible migrations that come through Duluth. Focusing on the St. Louis River Estuary National Water Trail, Margie provided expert advice on where and what you can see and hear while enjoying the River this spring, summer and fall.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is accepting comments through May 5 on an Environmental Assessment Worksheet for a proposal to restore aquatic and wetland habitat in the St. Louis River estuary.

The installation of a 16- by 12-foot culvert between Perch Lake and the St. Louis River would improve hydrologic connectivity and aquatic organism passage, revitalizing the connection between the waterbodies with increased flow volumes, improved access to overwintering habitat for fish and reduced water residence time in Perch Lake.

Copies of the EAW are available on the project page. Additional copies may be requested by calling 651-259-5723.

Public Invited To Comment On Proposal To Remove Impairment In St. Louis River Area of Concern | The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources are seeking public comments on their recommendation to remove the Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations Beneficial Use Impairment from the St. Louis River Area of Concern.

The public comment period is open until April 26 and there will be a public open house on Thursday, April 14, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the Lake Superior Reserve Estuarium located at 3 Marina Drive, Superior, Wisconsin. A presentation about the impairment proposed for removal will begin at 5:30 p.m.

We are grateful to be the Round Up at the Register reciepients for not one grocery store, but TWO!! Throughout April 2022 you can make small donations at the register by rounding up your purchases at both Mount Royal Market and Whole Foods Co-op.

All of your donations in April will go directly to the Alliance and help support our work of protecting, restoring and enhancing the St. Louis River!

The St. Louis River Area of Concern (SLRAOC) is one of 31 AOCs in the U.S. portion of the Great Lakes basin. It was designated as an AOC under the U.S. – Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1987 because of significant impacts that occurred before modern environmental laws were in place.

After decades of work and partnerships, you can now see the progress throughout the SLRAOC: contractors are busy each construction season, plant and animal populations are rebounding, water is cleaner, and lost habitat is being restored.

As of March 31, 2022, 62.5% of the management actions are completed.

Join the St. Louis River Alliance for our 2022 Annual Membership Meeting with special programming by Margie Menzies 'Birding on the National Water Trail'.

This event will be held via zoom on Wednesday, April 27 from 7-8:30 p.m. Free and open to the public, though you must register.

You don't have to be a Member to attend the Membership Meeting!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Public Invited To Comment On Proposal To Remove Impairment In St. Louis River Area of Concern | The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources are seeking public comments on their recommendation to remove the Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations Beneficial Use Impairment from the St. Louis River Area of Concern.

The public comment period is open until April 26 and there will be a public open house on Thursday, April 14, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the Lake Superior Reserve Estuarium located at 3 Marina Drive, Superior, Wisconsin. A presentation about the impairment proposed for removal will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Join the St. Louis River Alliance as we welcome Ricky DeFoe for our first installment of 'Water Wednesdays', a series of talks and events revolving around deepening understandings, connections, and stewardship of the land and our beloved River.

THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED ON MARCH 23, 2022: https://youtu.be/Z1hv0NcXCxw

During 'An Indigenous World View', Ricky will discuss cosmology, philosophy, and values and actions that lead to institutions, and the challenges to re-spiritualize a de-spiritualized community. He will also bring to light barriers to collective change in worldviews.

The St. Louis River Alliance is excited to introduce Water Wednesdays, a series of talks and events revolving around deepening understandings, connections, and stewardship of the land and our beloved St. Louis River.

Water Wednesdays will be held the 4th Wednesday of each month, March-August 2022. All virtual sessions will be free and open to the public, though registration is necessary.

A lot of field work is planned for the St. Louis River Area of Concern (SLRAOC) project sites and is explained in the attached 2022 Field Work. 

PADDLERS: It is important to know what projects are happening as you explore the St. Louis River Estuary National Water Trail! Check out the attached Paddlers Awareness handout to know where current project efforts could impede your paddling plans. Be sure to reference it before you launch so you can be sure to avoid active construction sites.

****Due to the start of the Munger Landing remediation project, the Clyde Avenue boat launch will be closed for two years, starting in June of 2022.

Due to high demand, the St. Louis River Alliance will be printing another 5,000 St. Louis River Estuary National Water Trail maps which will be distributed regionally and available online this coming May/June.

We are currently looking for map sponsors to support this project! Sponsorships start at $100 and there are limited spaces available, so claim your spot today.

The Water Trail map is a free, valuable resource for river enthusiasts and promotes the incredible local businesses of the Twin Ports!

ST. LOUIS RIVER AREA OF CONCERN UPDATES:

The 2021 Remedial Action Plan (RAP) has been posted!

The RAP describes the remaining impairments, targets to remove them, actions to achieve the removal targets, and the anticipated timelines for each action. Multiple local, state, federal, and tribal partners coordinate the implementation activities.

You can find the full document here: https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sit…/default/files/wq-ws1-37.pdf

Thank you to all of our staff, board members, volunteers, event participants, social media followers, donors and supporters for making 2021 another great year of growth. We couldn't do this work without you! Click ‘Read More’ to learn about a few of our accomplishments from the past year.

You are invited to a virtual public meeting about the Munger Landing sediment cleanup at the Clyde Ave. boat launch in Duluth, Minnesota. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at 6 p.m. online. This is a great opportunity for the public to learn more about the cleanup and to ask questions about the project.

Free, but registration is necessary: https://bit.ly/3q1YHUv

We want to welcome our current intern, Sienna Prom! Sienna is helping the Alliance with events, memberships, and office organization. Hopefully in the spring she will have the opportunity for some field work. Click to learn more about Sienna!

Pickle Pond is getting cleaned up and we need your help deciding the future of the project! Please take the 15-minute survey to let us know how you use Pickle Pond, how the restoration efforts would affect you and what improvements should be considered at the pond. All results will be considered to improve this and future projects.

Learn more and take the survey at: https://arcg.is/1aaiqv

84,660 cubic yards of contaminated sediments were removed from Howards Bay and the three slips within it: Hughitt Slip; Cummings Slip; and Fraser Slip. Maintenance dredging in the Federal Navigational Channel removed approximately 34,000 cubic yards of material.

The project leaves behind a healthier aquatic habitat that will improve the overall health of the St. Louis River. It also clears the way for future maintenance dredging, which had previously been restricted due to contamination in Howards Bay.