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St. Croix Conservation Collaborative
The St. Croix Conservation Collaborative provides
a forum for basin-wide conservation activities and needs, through
information sharing, cooperative partnership development and joint
fundraising efforts. The Collaborative emerged from a series of
meetings among groups and agencies working on conservation issues
in the river basin to address the lack of coordinated conservation
efforts, a role the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission
held until its dissolution.
The Collaborative partners identified
the need for a comprehensive map of all conservation activity in
the watershed. In addition to ongoing conservation, Collaborative
members and others involved in resource protection work came together
to identify conservation View
large map (3MB PDF)
priorities within the watershed. A Conservation
Priority Report for the St. Croix is being prepared based on the
results of those meetings.
The St. Croix River watershed comprises
7,760 square miles, and encompasses 8 counties in Minnesota and
9 in Wisconsin, with the river itself forming the border between
the two states for much of its length. The Upper St. Croix River
was designated a National Scenic Riverway by Congress in 1968,
and the Lower St. Croix in 1972. Within the watershed are numerous
state forests and parks, Scientific & Natural Areas (MN) and
State Natural Areas (WI). In addition, many communities, non-profit
land trusts and other conservation organizations are working to
protect critical resources under private and public ownership.
The conservation resources of the St. Croix watershed
are imperiled by an intersecting set of factors. Some resources
have already experienced moderate to severe degradation; others
are highly susceptible to negative impacts from land uses in the
watershed. Rapid population growth rate in the southern part of
the watershed is resulting in many hundreds of acres of new construction
each year. This development creates a cascade of impacts on aquatic,
terrestrial and cultural resources.
For more information about the St. Croix Conservation
Collaborative visit the Collaborative's
website or contact:
Pam Foster Felt , Gathering Waters' Outreach
Director, at (608) 251-9131 ext 11, or pam
[at] gatheringwaters.org
Bill Clapp, St. Croix Scenic Coalition Secretary,
at (651) 222-8137, or gusclapp@qwest.net
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