REDWOOD 1W1P Planning Grant

Redwood River One Watershed One Plan

REDWOOD RIVER ONE WATERSHED ONE PLAN

The Redwood River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan began in April 2024 with planning grant funds awarded by BWSR, through the One Watershed One Plan program, in late February of 2024. Grant Administration/Coordination and Fiscal Management is being provided by the Redwood-Cottonwood Rivers Control Area.

The counties of Lyon, Lincoln, Murray, Pipestone and Redwood; the SWCDS of Lyon, Lincoln, Pipestone and Redwood; Area II MN River Basin Projects, RCRCA, and the Cities of Ghent, Marshall and Redwood Falls comprise the 14 members of this Memorandum of Agreement (link). Murray SWCD, Yellow Medicine County and Yellow Medicine SWCD have opted out of the planning due to having <5% of their areas within the watershed boundary.

The Policy Committee (see below) meets the 2nd Monday of the month at 1:00 PM at the Lyon County Government Center. Information pertaining to the Policy Committee can be found below.

As the effort evolves, we will be establishing an Advisory Committee.

If you would like to serve on either committee, please contact Kerry Netzke at 507-532-1325.

Information is available below for the Policy Committee, its membership, minutes and other pertinent information regarding the Redwood River One Watershed, One Plan.

REDWOOD RIVER ONE WATERSHED ONE PLAN

POLICY COMMITTEE

The Policy Committee is comprised of 14 members; one appointed member for each partnering entity.

The committee meets the 2ndMonday of each month at 1:00 PM at the Lyon County Government Center.

Houston Engineering, Inc. was selected to provide consultant services to draft the Plan document and guide the partners through the process to prioritize sub-watersheds and target best management practices and activities that will provide measurable results.

The anticipated timeline for planning can be found here, with Plan approval by BWSR tentatively slated for January 2026.

NEXT STEPS - REDWOOD RIVER COMPREHENSIVE WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Redwood River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan Policy Committee, held a Public Hearing on Monday, November 10, 2025 at the Lyon County Government Center - Commissioners Room at 607 W. Main Street, Marshall, MN 56258.

Information was presented regarding the draft watershed plan for the Redwood River Watershed, which covers portions of Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Pipestone, Redwood, and Yellow Medicine Counties. This Plan was out for a 60-day Formal Review from August 1 – September 30, 2025. The comments received and it's response can be found in the agendas after the public hearing agenda.

No additional comments were made during the hearing.

A copy of the BWSR Approval Draft plan draft plan and appendix is available at https://rcrca.com (scroll down to Redwood River 1W1P Planning Grant).

The next steps include:

1) Once the resolutions of all MOA partners including the counties of Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Pipestone and Redwood; the Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) of Lincoln, Lyon, Pipestone and Redwood; the cities of Ghent, Marshall and Redwood Falls; the Redwood-Cottonwood Rivers Control Area (RCRCA) and Area II Minnesota River Basin Projects (Area II) are received, the 90-Day Final Review request will be made to BWSR.

2) The BWSR Southern Region Committee will meet to review the Plan and will recommend approval/denial of the Plan to the BWSR Board. This meeting has not yet been scheduled.

3) 1/28/2026 BWSR Board meeting at St. Paul to approve/deny the Plan.