Cottonwood-Middle MN WBIF Grant

Brown, Cottonwood, Lyon, Murray and Redwood counties along with the corresponding Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD), the City of Springfield, Area II, and RCRCA scheduled multiple planning sessions after the public kickoff meetings to discuss what the public priorities were and how they should be summarized in the CWMP. Flooding, erosion and resource management were the main concerns from the public and all organizations. 

These concerns led to a majority of the Watershed Based Implementation Funds (WBIF) being spent on agricultural practices and land management practices. A summary table of the Cottonwood-Middle Minnesota River CWMP's 10-year measurable goals is located in the "Important Links" section of this page. Priority subwatersheds were decided upon using modeling scenarios done by Houston Engineering Inc., discussions had by the Steering Team and approved by the Plan's Policy Committee. 

The One Watershed One Plan is the program administered by the Board of Water and Soil Resources and is funded through the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment section of the Minnesota Legacy and Trust Funds. Thirty-three percent of state sales tax revenue from the Legacy Amendment is allocated to the Clean Water Funds which are required to be spent on protecting, enhancing and restoring water quality in lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater systems.