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
The Thief River watershed is one of seven areas that participated 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 cooperated 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.
The 1W1P established 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. The plan includes goals and implementation actions that are prioritized and targeted on a watershed basis with measurable results.
The Thief River Watershed was awarded $529,892 in Watershed-Based Implementation Funding for the 2020-2021 Biennial Work Plan.
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.
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