Thief River Watershed Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan
(One Watershed One Plan)
The Final Draft Thief River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan has been completed and prepared for submittal to the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, along with supporting information.
2. Final Draft Thief River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan
3. All written comments received
4. Public hearing record (video, minutes)
5. Summary of responses to comments
Thief River One Watershed, One Plan
The Thief River watershed is one of seven areas that are participating in the second round of One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) projects that have been approved by the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). Several local agencies, including the Red Lake Watershed District, Pennington County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), Marshall County SWCD, and the Beltrami County SWCD are working together to create a single plan for the watershed.
Cooperation throughout multiple, connected jurisdictions is important because water management in Beltrami County affects the waters of Marshall County. Water management in Marshall County, in turn, affects the waters of Pennington County. Participation in the 1W1P Program will benefit the LGUs by combining our planning efforts and reducing redundancy in time and dollars used for plan writing and meetings. Counties and SWCDs attend planning meetings and sit on committees for the RLWD Water Plan. Staff from the RLWD attends planning meetings for county water plans.
The 1W1P will establish clear implementation timelines, milestones and cost estimates for restoration and protection activities. Combining multiple water planning efforts into one effort will create a more efficient and cooperative plan for water management. Plans will include goals and implementation actions that are prioritized and targeted on a watershed basis with measurable results, instead of the present individual plans that are restricted to political boundaries.
Draft Thief River Watershed Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) documents have been written and are being prepared for public review. Completed reports and other resources that provide information about the Thief River Watershed can be found on the Thief River Documents page.
News & Updates
- The Planning Work Group has been developing an annual work plan for the first round of Thief River 1W1P funding. A draft work plan and budget will be presented at the March 16, 2020 Policy Committee meeting.
- The BWSR Northern Regional Committee voted to recommend the Thief River Watershed Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan for Approval at their March 4, 2020 meeting.
- A revised draft plan is ready for approval at local watershed district, soil and water conservation district, and county board meetings
- The Public Hearing for the draft Thief River One Watershed One Plan was held at 9:00 a.m. Monday, December 2, 2019 at the Red Lake Watershed District. A video of the hearing can be viewed by clicking here.
- On November 7, 2019, the Policy Committee, Advisory Committee, and Planning Work Group met to discuss comments from the 60-day comment period and recommend revisions. A list of comments and revisions was approved by the Thief River 1W1P Policy Committee.
- The full draft Thief River One Watershed One Plan was completed and then reviewed during a 60-day public comment period that ended October 16, 2019. The Comments and revisions from the 60-day public comment period were discussed by all committees and approved by the Thief River One Watershed One Plan Policy Committee on November 7, 2019.
Thief River 1W1P Documents and Links
- Draft 2020 Bylaws Amendment
- 2020-2021 Work Plan
- Presentation to BWSR Northern Regional Committee on March 4, 2020: Powerpoint, PDF
- Revised Draft Thief River One Watershed One Plan for local approval
- Legal Notice of the December 2, 2019 Public Hearing on the draft Thief River 1W1P
- Comments and Revisions from the 60-day Public Review and Comment Period
- DRAFT THIEF RIVER ONE WATERSHED ONE PLAN for 60-Day Public Review and Comment Period
- August 2018 PTMApp Targeted Implementation Scenario Decisions
- July 6, 2018 Zonation Presentation
- June 2018 Thief River 1W1P Schedule
- May 2018 Draft Section 2
- April 2018 Priority Issues Ranking
- March 2018 Draft Introduction,
- March 2018 Priority Matrix Justification
- Draft Protection and Restoration Maps: Total Suspended Solids, E. coli, Dissolved Oxygen, Total Phosphorus, Index of Biotic Integrity
- December 2017 Homework Packet - Comments due on December 22, 2017
- October 2017 Homework Packet (Full Size, Smaller File Size) - Comments due on October 25, 2017 (Story Maps, Prioritization Matrix, and Resource Station Maps)
- Providing Input on Priority Resource Concerns and Issues
- Final Work Plan
- Thief River Watershed reports, resources, and other documents
Meeting Minutes
- December 2, 2019 Policy Committee Hearing
- November 7, 2019 Policy Committee
- July 31, 2019 Policy Committee
- May 3, 2019 Policy Committee
- April 17, 2019 Policy Committee
- March 13, 2019 Policy Committee
- January 9, 2019 Policy Committee, Advisory Committee
- December 12, 2018 Policy Committee
- November 14, 2018 Policy Committee
- August 8, 2018 Policy Committee
- July 11, 2018 Policy Committee
- June 13, 2018 Policy Committee, Advisory Committee
- May 9, 2018 Policy Committee, Advisory Committee
- April 11, 2018 Policy Committee, Advisory Committee
- March 14, 2018 Policy Committee, Advisory Committee
- February 14, 2018 Policy Committee, Advisory Committee
- January 10, 2018 Policy Committee, Advisory Committee
- December 13, 2017 Policy Committee, Advisory Committee
- November 8, 2017 Policy Committee
- October 11, 2017 Policy Committee
- September 13, 2017 Notes
- August 18, 2017 Minutes
Policy Committee Members
Advisory Committee Members
Planning Team Contacts:
Beltrami County Soil and Water Conservation District: Zachrie Gutknecht - zachrie.gutknecht@co.beltrami.mn.us
Houston Engineering, Inc.: Drew Kessler - dkessler@houstoneng.com
Marshall County Environmental Services: Josh Johnston - josh.johnston@co.marshall.mn.us
Marshall County Soil and Water Conservation District: Darren Carlson - darren.carlson@mn.nacdnet.net
Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR): Matt Fischer - matt.fischer@state.mn.us
Pennington County Soil and Water Conservation District: Peter Nelson - peter.nelson@mn.nacdnet.net
Red Lake Watershed District: Myron Jesme - Myron.Jesme@redlakewatershed.org