ACD staff provide technical assistance for a wide variety of projects each year. Many of the requests for assistance come directly from landowners interested in improving natural resources or addressing concerns on their properties. Technical assistance is also provided for projects in collaboration with county, city, and watershed entity partners. The table to the right summarizes 2020 technical assistance provided by ACD staff.

Assistance begins with a site consultation. Consultations typically include a conversation with the landowner, desktop review of the site using GIS mapping software and available data sets, and a site visit to discuss options. If the landowner is interested in pursuing a project, ACD can provide design and installation oversight services. Maintenance guidance is also provided for previously installed projects.

Additional information about active projects and those previously completed is available on ACD's project tracking map.

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Shortlist/index.html?appid=d1e76c3d808743c1b149bde24c990894

The Anoka Conservation District is excited to have new survey gear. A survey-grade GPS unit has been added to our existing robotic total station survey unit. This gear increases the speed and accuracy (sub-centimeter) of our designs and our as-built checks of projects during or after construction. It will be used for riverbank stabilizations, rain gardens, and many other kinds of projects.

The survey gear was purchased by the Metro Conservation Districts, a coalition of soil and water conservation districts in the metro. This gear is shared with the Isanti and Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation Districts. ACD staff have taken a lead role in setting up and learning the new gear, and will be training the other SWCDs.

Carrie Taylor, ACD's Restoration Ecologist, enjoys all manner of outdoor adventures including skiing, gardening, camping, and canoeing. She always makes time to explore nature, go on hikes, and "hunt" for wildflowers with her family. She loves bringing her daughters out with her even though she sometimes has to remind them that "skiing… hiking… canoeing… it's what we do!"

Prior to living in Minnesota, Carrie lived in Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, Montana, and Sweden. Since moving to Minnesota 6 years ago, Carrie has made a point of exploring all the natural areas the state has to offer. One of Carrie's favorite places in Minnesota that she has explored thus far is the Superior Hiking Trail at Bean and Bear Lakes. She appreciated the topography, the wildness, and the beautiful multi-layer beaver dam complex that she and her family stumbled across.

Carrie is also active with the Master Gardener program and enjoys volunteering with many organizations especially coordinating landscape design and installation with new homeowners through Habitat for Humanity.

Outside of Carrie's work conducting natural resource monitoring, inventory, assessments, and planning, and coordinating ecological restoration projects for the District, she is involved in landscaping and adding native and edible plants at her daughters' schools and helping lead some of their Girl Scout activities.

To contact Carrie, reach out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (763) 434-2030 x19. 

District Capacity funds (DCF) have made the greatest difference in Anoka Conservation District (ACD) operations by serving as a highly adaptable funding source. We use DCF to tackle critical but small tasks that elevate our overall function and efficiency. Most individual projects and activities funded with DCF cost less than $5,000.

Inventory: ACD completed riverbank and lakeshore condition photo inventories for our major rivers (Rum and Mississippi) and many lakes, totaling over 50 miles of shoreline. Photos are uploaded to Google maps where they are available by using the StreetView function for the public, and ACD staff when fielding calls from landowners.

Planning and Analysis: Streambank and lakeshore photos were analyzed to determine erosion location and severity, enabling ACD to identify and rank potential projects based on cost-effectiveness for water quality benefits. This was the foundation to secure many grants. Similar analysis of wetland restoration opportunities facilitates targeted outreach efforts.

Technical Capacity: Building staff expertise through training and technology upgrades, including design software and survey equipment.

Technical Assistance: In 2020, DCF was used to help complete 198 site consultations, 19 surveys and designs, and construction management for 20 projects for landowners. Technical assistance is a critical service to achieve conservation on private lands.

Cost Share: DCF is used to supplement other funding to help projects such as shoreline and riverbank stabilizations over the finish line.

Project Life Extension: Approximately 25 landowners annually are provided project management guidance to extend the benefits of their project beyond the contracted life. 

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Global Headquarters parking lot was recently retrofit with a number of low impact development stormwater control measures to reduce runoff volumes and improve water quality. The demonstration project will provide visitors to the campus with an introduction to a variety of options for stormwater management.

One of the products installed was a FocalPoint high performance biofiltration system that also included a Rain Guardian Turret for pretreatment. Rain Guardians provide a stable inlet and effective pretreatment for bioretention systems by capturing sediment and debris in an easy to clean location. Other products installed included permeable pavers and porous concrete.

The campus has served as the ASCE Global Headquarters since 1994, is located just outside of Washington D.C., and hosts several thousand visitors each year.

Additional project information is available at https://www.ascefoundation.org/asce-sustainable-parking-lot-project.

Climate change has many impacts on the natural environment and there are many ways we can help reduce climate change. There is yet another way to help with the impacts of climate change. Planting a diversity of trees that are predicted to thrive in a changing climate will help the landscape adapt and become more resilient.

Minnesota's climate is changing. Average temperatures have increased 1 - 3 ◦F statewide with the greatest temperature increases in the winter. Total precipitation has increased with more intense rainfalls. Despite the increase in total precipitation, there have been more days between precipitation events, which increases the potential for drought. The US National Climate Assessment predicts that these trends will continue in Minnesota. By the end of the century, Minnesota will likely have the summer climate of Nebraska and Kansas (Figure 1). Plant communities and habitat types will change along with the changing climate. Most tree species northward range are predicted to shift about 300 miles by the end of the century (McKenney et al. 2007). The change in tree cover alters the understory and the habitat for wildlife. One way to help the landscape adapt and become more resilient is to plant a diversity of trees and include species from more southern areas.

US Forest Service climate change models predict these trees are likely to thrive in a changing climate in the Metro region:

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/treecare/best-native-yard-trees.html

McKenney DW Pedlar JH Lawrence K Campbell K Hutchinson MF. 2007. Potential impacts of climate change on the distribution of North American trees. BioScience 57:939-948.

The Metropolitan Conservation Districts (MCD), through funding provided by a Clean Water Fund Accelerated Implementation Grant, created the Campus Groundwater Conservation Planning (CGCP) protocol with the ultimate goal of water conservation project implementation. ACD served as the host district and led protocol development, provided staff training, conducted final report reviews for all 11 Metro counties, and prepared a final report summarizing all completed analyses.

The CGCP protocol provides a detailed analysis of all water using systems on a campus, both indoor and outdoor, and can be implemented by Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) staff throughout the state to produce prioritized lists of water conservation project opportunities. The straightforward work products produced by the CGCP protocol empower campus decision makers to confidently implement cost-effective water conservation projects.

Throughout the 11-county Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (TCMA), the CGCP protocol was implemented on 21 campuses with at least one analysis occurring in each county (see map below).Initial outreach efforts to campuses were prioritized based on campus age, with older campuses having a higher likelihood of inefficient fixtures, and selected campuses were required to be publicly owned and use groundwater as a water source.

Cumulatively, the 21 analyses identified significant opportunities for conserving groundwater and saving money. Potential projects from all campuses were compiled, and a total of 2,043 potential projects were identified that would cumulatively save over 113 million gallons over the estimated life of the projects, which averaged 8.4 years. However, not all 2,043 of the projects were financially favorable because the required payback period of some projects exceeds the project's lifespan.

There were 1,182 projects with a positive net financial savings (i.e. the payback periods for the projects are shorter than the estimated lifespan of the projects, so implementation results in a net financial savings) that cumulatively reduce water use by over 101 million gallons over the estimated lifespan of the projects, which averaged 8.6 years. Implementing all 1,182 projects would cost approximately $250,000, but the net savings over the life of the projects is over $485,000.

Nearly 200 of the projects had estimated payback periods of less than one year. Implementation of these projects would save over 15 million gallons of water over the estimated lifespan of the projects and requires an investment of just over $7,500.That initial investment is recouped within the first year, and over the lifespan of the projects, an additional $100,000 would be saved in water and energy costs.

Within Anoka County, Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids and Anoka High School in Anoka were both analyzed. Implementation of the 486 projects identified would cost approximately $100,000 and provide a net savings of over $135,000 over the lifespan of the projects. The total water savings over the life of the projects is estimated to be over 43 million gallons. The detailed reports are available on ACD's website.

Common and glossy buckthorn are common invaders in native landscapes; common buckthorn grows mostly in upland environments while glossy buckthorn grows in wetland environments. ACD is working to control buckthorn at sites that still have intact native plant communities and rare plants to ensure those quality sites do not become further degraded. Work this winter is taking place at Robert and Marilyn Burman WMA, Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, and Blaine Preserve SNA with funds from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.