REDUCING PHOSPHORUS POLLUTION IN THE MINNESOTA RIVER: HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH?

A mail survey was conducted in Minnesota in 1997 to estimate the value of reducing phosphorus levels in the Minnesota River by 40%. The general population survey of river basin residents was designed to gather information about respondents' use of the Minnesota River in addition to their valuation of a hypothetical water quality improvement program. An estimate of the value of a specific recreational site along the River, the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, was also obtained. Three distinct models were estimated in this research. The first was a contingent valuation model estimating the willingness to pay (WTP) for water quality improvements in the Minnesota River using only stated preference data. There were two different payment vehicles used in this question, an increase in the state income tax and a water bill surcharge. Respondents' annual mean willingness to pay for a 40% reduction in phosphorus was estimated to be $14.07 using this model and the tax vehicle, while the mean willingness to pay via the water bill surcharge was estimated to be$19.64 annually. The second model utilized stated preference data from respondents along with responses about their actual visit behavior. A panel model was constructed using the responses to three separate questions concerning the value of a 40% reduction in phosphorus pollution and yielded an estimate of $38.88 per year. The final model used only data from the subset of respondents who had actually visited the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. The recreational value of a typical trip to the Refuge was estimated to be$28.71 per individual.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Intertemporal Valuation of River Restoration

Willingness to pay for an environmental improvement is a function of how long it takes to deliver the improvement. To measure the effect of time on benefits, I utilize a discrete choice experiment that includes an attribute for delay until the improvement occurs and simultaneously estimate discount rates and valuation parameters. I estimate the present value of immediate and delayed Minnesota River Basin improvements using discount rates directly estimated from the econometric model. Compared to an immediate river basin cleanup, Minnesota residents lose almost half of the benefits when cleanup is delayed by 5 years

A Brief Agrarian History of the Cottonwood River Watershed in Southwestern Minnesota

The Cottonwood River Watershed is located in southwestern Minnesota, draining 1,310 square miles of land within the Minnesota River Basin. The watershed is comprised of parts of Brown, Cottonwood, Lyon, Murray, and Redwood Counties. This essay gives a brief account of the initial European settlement of the area and the establishment of the current political boundaries. It then focuses on the major developments in agricultural production during the past 150 years, touching on the changes in landscape and wildlife due to drainage and restructuring of water bodies and the clearing of forest land.Land Economics/Use,

Tectonic setting and evolution of late Archaean greenstone belts of Superior Province, Canada

Late Archean (3.0-2.5 Ga) greenstone belts are a major component of the Superior Province of the Canadian Shield where alternating, metavolcanic - rich and metasedimentary - rich subprovinces form a prominent central striped region bordered in part by high-grade gneiss subprovinces, the Pikiwitonei and Minto in the north, and the Minnesota River Valley in the south. The high-grade gneiss subprovinces are characterized by granulite facies gneiss of plutonic and supracrustal origin, and by abundant plutonic rocks. Minnesota River Valley has rocks older than 3.5 Ga; absolute ages of Pikiwitonei and Minto rocks are unknown but Minto does have north-south structural trends distinctive from the dominant east-west structures of Superior Province. A discussion follows

Drainage Basin Characteristics of the Minnesota River

The geomorphology of the Minnesota River Basin is poorly understood, yet much of modern fluvial ecology requires this information as a prerequisite to physical, chemical, or biological studies. The purpose of this paper is to provide background descriptive geomorphological river basin data for the Minnesota River. Eleven descriptive parameters (river gradient, Form f, Shape 1, Shape 2, circularity ratio, elongation ration, stream order, bifurcation ratio, average area by order, number of lakes per order and number of lower order streams entering higher streams) were determined for the Minnesota River Basin as a whole as well as for ten subbasins. A total of 6,188 streams were categorized, with 77% being first order, 18% second order, 4% third order, 1% founh order, 0.3% fifth order and 0.01% sixth order. The Minnesota River itself was determined to be a seventh order stream. A bifurcation ratio of3.8 for the entire Minnesota River was found to be consistent with an earlier prediction of 3.5 for the average basin. The streams that run off the Coteau des Prairies were found to have a smaller drainage basin per order of stream than the Blue Eanh, Chippewa and Pomme de Terre rivers. No difference was found among the subdivisions of the Minnesota River in the number of lower order streams entering higher order streams. Of the remaining descriptive parameters only two, Shape 2 and river gradient, showed any noticeable difference among basins. The river gradient is higher in the Coteau des Prairies than in other streams in the Minnesota Basin. The Blue Earth and Pomme de Terre River basins had different values from the mean for Shape 2. The Pomme de Terre River Basin had high value, meaning it is a long and narrow basin. The Blue Earth River Basin had a low value, meaning its basin is wider than it is long. The two most notable findings were, first, that the Minnesota River is a seventh order river for most of its length beginning at the junction of the Yellow Bank and the mainstem. Secondly, even though Big Stone Lake is considered as the source of the Minnesota River for geopolitical reasons, this study indicates the source of the Minnesota River is the Little Minnesota River, because it is already a fifth order river when it enters Big Stone Lake and drains 1,157 square kilometers

AN ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF WETLAND MITIGATION IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA

The economic efficiency of wetland mitigation in Minnesota's Red River Valley was examined using the Minnesota Routine Assessment Method on ten wetland case studies to rate the functions of impacted and replacement wetlands. Secondary sources were used to assign dollar values to wetland functions of impacted and replacement wetlands. Mitigation costs for projects ranged from $279 to$4,171 per acre. Estimated annual social values ranged from $207 to$1,027 per acre for impacted wetlands and from $268 to$927 per acre for replacement wetlands. Social values of replacement wetlands exceeded the social value of impacted wetlands in seven cases. Values of replacement wetlands were 1.8 to 4 times greater than the values of impacted wetlands due to 2-to-1 replacement ratios. When society gains benefits from mitigation, public cost-sharing may be appropriate. In one case the value of the impacted wetlands was higher than the value of the replacement wetland. There were insufficient data to evaluate two cases. Results are only indicators of efficiency, since not all social costs and benefits of the impact-mitigation activity are addressed by legislation. These results suggest wetland mitigation policy in Minnesota needs to be reevaluated if efficient use of society's resources is a legislative goal.Wetland(s), mitigation, economics, values, Minnesota, Red River, Wetland Conservation Act, Minnesota Routine Assessment Method, restoration, Land Economics/Use,

Geological Controls on Water Resource Variability in Minnesota, USA

Sustainable management of water resources requires quantitative description of spatio-temporal variability, and the map is a universal medium to reflect the spatio-temporal distribution of water resources. The long history of cartography and the recent digital revolution have culminated in the Google Earth web portal with unprecedented frequency of daily use. System analysis with combination of a cyber model of landscapes, multidimensional methods of data analysis, and GIS cartography of water resources in Minnesota started in 1996 with support from faculty of Department of Geology University of Minnesota-Duluth and has continued ever since. The “Water Resource Sustainability” project, funded by the Legislative Citizens Commission on Minnesota Resources (2007-2009) was the most resent phase of the research. 

Research using river flow monitoring data available from USGS for Minnesota and bordering areas of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin was completed for the territory. Analysis of landscapes properties for watersheds taken from maps - Bailey’s Ecological Provinces, Soil Taxonomy Order, topographic characteristics (average altitude, average watershed slope, total, intermittent, and perennial drainage density), thickness of quaternary sediments, and Hydrogeological Hierarchical Regionalization - revealed control of geological conditions on water resource variability. The trends of interannual patterns and seasonality of river runoff depend on bedrock type and presence or absence of thick depositions of quaternary sediments in NE and SE of research territory and also on thickness of quaternary sediments in NW. The same parts of territory have main differences in annual and February monthly yields for interval of observations 1955-1978. The numbers of river discharge yield reach difference from 5 to 20 times. 

The control over water resource distribution and variability belongs to geological boundaries for types of bedrocks, lithology, and thickness of quaternary sediments. Groups of watersheds recognized by mutual landscape properties (geological conditions) with statistically proven influence on hydrologic characteristics provide a basis for regionalization and creation of a water resource map. The regionalization on the water resource map opens the way to study and climate change for regional level

Distribution and Ecology of Orconectes iowaensis Fitzpatrick and Orconectes rusticus (Girard) in Minnesota

During 1979, a field study was conducted to determine the species of crayfish present in southern Minnesota. Specimens of Orconectes iowaensis Fitzpatrick, Orconectes rusticus (Girard), and Orconectes virilis (Hagen) were collected. These represent new state records for O. iowaensis and O. rusticus. O. iowaensis appears restricted to the Root River drainage system in extreme southeastern Minnesota. O. rusticus was found in the West Fork of the Des Moines River in southwestern Minnesota and the Cedar River drainage system in south central Minnesota. Notes on the ecology of these species are included

Occurrence of Corbicula manilensis Phillipi in the Lower Minnesota River

On March 2, 1978, several empty shells of the fresh water clam, Corbicula manilensis Phillipi, were collected in the Minnesota River near the Blackdog electric generating plant in Burnsville, Minnesota. Since this Asiatic species was first observed in America in 1935, it has spread into all major river systems of North America. Its northernly extension in the Mississippi River system was, however, thought to end in northeast Iowa and to exclude Minnesota. Occurrence of this species is a potential liability because it often exerts a disruptive influence in the community that it invades

Profile: Successful Partnerships

Inside: Regional Fitness Center; Campaign Minnesota; Class Notes; Minnesota River; Cougar Sportshttps://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/profile/1048/thumbnail.jp