The ditch plugs and berms at Cedar Creek Conservation Area are retaining this year's rainfall in the wetland basins, keeping the water on the landscape instead of channeling it to Cedar Creek and the Rum River during larger rain events. The organic wetland soils are saturated instead of dried out and vegetation is shifting to a native plant community to provide habitat for wildlife. These late summer photos below show native plants and standing water in an area that was previously drained and dominated by reed canary grass. ACD staff continue to control reed canary grass in some areas and spread native seed as needed. See 2021 Construction photos here. 

New stormwater treatment is in place to benefit the Rum River, thanks to a collaborative effort by the City of St. Francis, ACD, and Upper Rum River Watershed Management Organization (URRWMO). While St. Francis has a strong network of stormwater ponds and other practices, certain areas of the city were built before stormwater treatment became the norm. We are "retrofitting" stormwater treatment into these older neighborhoods. 

The most recent project is a rain garden installed on a city owned out-lot. Stormwater in this residential neighborhood drains directly to the Rum River. The new rain garden has a curbside inlet, allowing water into a basin that filters and infiltrates stormwater. The garden will hold water for no more than 48 hours. It will remove 44% of solids (111lbs/yr) and 46% (0.6 lbs/yr) of phosphorus from a two acre drainage area. The rain garden is planted with native shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers. We are hopeful this project results in other landowners wishing to have a rain garden on their property.

When residents begin to get their homes ready for the upcoming winter season, they may find household materials that may pose a hazardous risk to the environment and public safety. The fall is a great time to get rid of these unwanted item in a safe and easy way. Unusable or unwanted chemicals are considered household hazardous waste when their disposal poses an environmental or health threat. When disposed of in the garbage, down the drain or on the ground, some household chemicals can threaten our environment, harm garbage collectors or hurt you. 

Most household hazardous wastes are hazardous because they are flammable, corrosive or toxic. Characteristic words indicate the type of hazard posed by a product - flammable, corrosive or toxic. Look for the signal words on the label. Signal words - caution, warning, danger, poison - indicate the product's degree of hazard. To help protect the environment and your health, choose the least hazardous product to get the job done. For more information contact Kris Larson, Water Resource Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Do you want to start a new garden or fill in some gaps? Fall is a great time to plant. The soil is still warm and promotes good root growth and the cooler weather and fall rainfall reduce heat stress on new plants. Select plants based on the area's soil moisture and light exposure. Blue Thumb's Plant Finder is a great tool for selecting native plants and has a list of MN native plant nurseries. Protect pollinators! - Be sure the plants you buy were not grown with systemic pesticides such as neonicotinoids, which are highly toxic to bees and other pollinators.

Choose plants to create habitat for birds and pollinators. Find bird-friendly native plants with Audubon's plant database. Select plants that flower from spring to fall to provide pollen and nectar for pollinators. Learn more about pollinator preferences and include host plants in your garden. Join ACD and help plant pollinator gardens throughout Anoka County. Learn more and sign up here. For more information contact Carrie Taylor, Restoration Ecologist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

We secure lots of grants at ACD. They are a mainstay of our funding; we do not levy taxes. For our water quality projects, grants are changing significantly with a recent program called Watershed Based Implementation Funding (WBIF). These recurring grants are providing the foundation for sustained, cohesive programs rather than a start-and-stop approach.

Historically, grants were competitive. And many still are. We complete a lengthy application process and our proposals are scored against others. The grant lasts a few years and is done. This continues to work well for many of our largest, stand-alone projects. In fact, ACD has applied for a half dozen of them in just the last few months. 

You can contribute to ACD's efforts to enhance habitats across Anoka County by collecting wildflower seed! You can send us a picture of the plant if you're uncertain of the ID. You can tell that seeds are ready to collect when they are dry and hardened. Milkweed plants produce large seed pods. Their seeds are ready to collect when the pods begin to brown in color and split open with gentle pressure. We prefer that seed is detached from its fluff. See an example of how to clean milkweed seed. 

When collecting seed, please follow these guidelines:

1. Never collect more than 1/3 of available seeds from a given area.
2. Always have landowner permission before collecting seeds. Do not collect seeds from public lands without a permit!

Calling all city council members, county commissioners, planning commissions, watershed supervisors, board of adjustment members, and other community leaders! Join us for a FREE evening workshop on practical approaches to building resilient communities and protecting water resources in the Lower St. Croix Watershed.

Learn about:

• Tools available to help guide where and how development happens
• Strategies for preserving rural and agricultural areas
• Approaches to protect lakes and shorelines
• Cost-effective strategies to reduce stormwater pollution

Register at https://tinyurl.com/stcroixwowland. 

ACD serves all of Anoka County's 369,000 residents, spanning 284,000 acres, 72 lakes, 446 miles of streams and rivers and critical groundwater resources. ACD staff have been busy working on projects to improve and maintain natural resource throughout Anoka County. Projects include lakeshore & streambank stabilizations, rain gardens, habitat restorations, and many more. Learn more about what is going on in your neighborhood by taking an interactive project tour today! For more information contact Kathy Berkness, Office Administrator, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

In 2023, ACD coordinated the installation of several lakeshore restorations on Lake George, in northwestern Anoka County. High lake levels this spring, mixed with heavy winds, resulted in several of the projects being damaged. This summer, ACD staff and a Conservation Corps field crew were able to make repairs and enhance the projects so that they will be prepared for future weather events. For more information contact Brian Clark, Natural Resource Technician, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Cedar tree revetments are a low cost, environmentally friendly option to address eroding streambanks. Cedar revetments use Eastern red cedar trees to serve as natural armor, providing protection along eroding riverbanks. Revetments will slow or stop erosion during the project's lifespan and reduce the likelihood of a much larger and more expensive corrective project in the future. Riverbank erosion contributes sediment and other pollutants into waterways, reduces riparian habitat, and results in property loss. Stabilizing your eroding riverbank will provide water quality benefits as well as protect your property. 

Approximately 1,500 feet of severely eroding riverbank in the City of Anoka's Mississippi River Community Park was stabilized in late 2021. The project included tree clearing, bank reshaping, riprap, erosion control blanket, seeding, and planting a variety of native plant species. Since installation, the site has been subjected to multiple years of high water levels. Both the riprap on the lower elevations of the bank and the vegetation on the upper elevations have successfully stabilized the site. 

Ford Brook is a stream tributary to the Rum River draining over 24,000 acres of rural lands in northwestern Anoka County. Nutrient concentrations in Ford Brook regularly exceed state standards for impairment, thereby contributing to excess nutrient loading in the Rum River. Addressing this issue requires watershed-level analyses and an understanding of which best management practice (BMP) would provide the greatest benefit per dollar spent; ACD's Subwatershed Analysis ("SWA") approach does just this.

ACD has completed over 20 urban SWAs in order to strategically plan for BMPs such as stormwater ponds, rain gardens, and subsurface structures treating stormwater runoff. However, replicating this process in rural watersheds, dominated by agriculture, required different tools and techniques; ACD achieved this for the Ford Brook Watershed through the use of desktop analyses, targeted water quality monitoring, field surveys, and a new modeling tool called PTMApp.