Research and Demonstrations

Shoring Up Minnesota's Shores

Itasca Soil and Water Conservation District is sponsoring University of Minnesota Extension Shoreland workshops and buffer project cost-share over the next two years to promote shoreland stewardship in Itasca County. Pictured are several participants of the September 2005 Introduction to Shoreland Landscaping Workshop learning to install a 200-foot shoreland buffer at Wildwood Resort during a May 2006 Shoreland Planting Workshop near Grand Rapids. These "graduates" went on to install six additional buffer projects on their own properties by the end of May. They will attend the Shoreland Maintenance Workshop later this summer to learn how to fine-tune their projects.

Participants of Extension's May 24, 2006 Erosion Control Workshop take their knowledge of bioengineering gleaned in the morning classroom session into the field to stabilize failing slopes of the Rapid River near Baudette. The steep and slippery clay slopes and fluctuating water levels, common in the northwestern part of the state, offered challenges to the participants installing "brush mattresses" and "live fascines". This one-day workshop was sponsored by Lake of the Woods and Koochiching Soil and Water Conservation Districts.