Soil Health & Watershed Groups

Clean River Partners

Cannon River Watershed

Southeast Minnesota

Professor Kathy Shea, St. Olaf College, and students collect macroinvertebrates in Rice Creek.
Professor Kathy Shea, St. Olaf College, and students collect macroinvertebrates in Rice Creek.

Contact

Contact: Alan Kraus - Conservation Program Manager, Clean River Partners

Phone: (507) 786-3913

Social Media:

Mission

Our mission is to inspire people and organizations to value, protect, and improve the Cannon River Watershed’s land and water. We envision prosperous farms, healthy soils, clean water, thriving ecosystems, and vibrant communities. The main goals of our Conservation Program are: 1) Increase implementation of farm conservation practices that improve farm profitability and the environment; 2) Reduce erosion and nutrient loading into area lakes, streams and rivers; 3) Improve soil and water quality; and 4) Protect and restore critical habitats.

News & Stories

About Us

Growing a Group:

  • Active group 5+ years
  • Book sharing
  • Farmer-led group
  • Formed a new group
  • Fundraising
  • Grant writing
  • Member-led project planning
  • Neighbor to neighbor mentoring
  • Personal invitations to neighbors to grow the group
  • Other

Collaboration:

  • Actively participated in local watershed planning process
  • Collaboration with agriculture or conservation organizations
  • Collaboration with local ag retailers and/or crop advisors
  • Collaboration with local civic groups
  • Collaboration with local college or university
  • Other

Outreach:

  • Engage local schools
  • Media interviews
  • Presentation to groups
  • Promotion to media outlets
  • Social media cultivation
  • Video Development
  • Website Development
  • Other

Land & Water:

  • Bioreactors
  • Cover crops
  • Crop diversification
  • Floodplain restoration
  • Grass waterways
  • Grazing
  • Nutrient management & retention
  • Perennial crops
  • Prairie strips
  • Saturated buffers
  • Stream buffers
  • Stream restoration
  • Water retention basins
  • Wetlands
  • Other

Assessment & Data:

  • Agronomic data collection
  • Field edge data collection
  • Field walkovers
  • Stream monitoring
  • Other

Events:

  • Fishing event
  • Farm field days
  • Paddle event
  • Upstream or downstream connections/visits
  • Booth at local event
  • Other

Fishers & Famers Partnership Program Participation:

  • Workshop
  • Neighbor to Neighbor Radio Podcast
  • Boots on the Ground Online Conversation
  • Group Presentation
  • Project Tour
  • Featured in a Story
  • Featured in a Video
  • Meetings
  • None

Additional Photos

John Becker, Rice Creek Watershed farmer, explains how cover crops affect his soil.
Heidi Kueler, USFWS and Fishers & Farmers Partnership coordinator, at Clean River Partners' Cover Crops, Tillage & Trout Field Day in Rice Creek Watershed.
Dane McKittrick, Clean River Partners, collects water samples from Rice Creek.
Professor Paul Jackson, St. Olaf College, and student collect drainage samples in Rice Creek Watershed.

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