"The assaults on the St.Croix watershed by development, run-off and loss of habitat, put at risk the river we protected 40 years ago.

Without a renewed commitment, we could lose the most unique Wild and Scenic River in the nation. Our challenge is to act."
 

~ Walter F. Mondale

Each river is a reflection. The health of the St. Croix River is a reflection of what is happening throughout its watershed (all of the lands and waters that drain into it.) The condition of the St. Croix River is also a reflection of the prevailing values of the people and communities in the watershed and, especially, those “riverfront” communities from the headwaters to the confluence with the Mississippi River.

Slowly, as people have inhabited this watershed and settled within it, we have modified the landscape and changed the river. But, while we recognize the very real negative impacts that some of our human actions have caused, this is not a diatribe about how people have ruined this place. On the contrary, the St. Croix River Association, as an organization of people who live, work and play in the watershed, recognizes that people are both the cause and the cure for the health of our environment and our communities.

At the same time that we have modified and damaged this landscape, we have taken some steps to care for it and restore it. In the last 3 centuries, we have extensively logged the forests, converted prairies and wetlands to farms and communities, built a vast infrastructure of highways, roads, bridges, power grids, communications system and water and sewer lines. In the process we have changed not only the physical appearance of the St Croix Watershed, but the scenic and social character of our communities.

On the downside, the visible and measurable impacts have included degradation and fragmentation of fish, bird and wildlife habitat, loss or decline in all manner of plant and animal species, and damage to the scenic character of the river corridor.

On the positive side, we have always been fortunate that there are people who see the critical importance of being good stewards of our resources. The St. Croix River Association, as a group of people, believes that the forests, the prairie, the oak savanna, the wetlands, and the lakes and rivers – have value. They have value for the ecological health of our environment AND for they are valuable for our communities and for each of us.

The St. Croix River Association has renewed its commitment to reverse the tide of present-day threats to the quality of life in this watershed and the health of the St. Croix River and its tributaries. These threats are what initially called us to act.

But we can do more than act to protect what we have. We can also take steps to improve the ecological health of this place and the economic well being of its people. The following is an initial list of key threats that we are addressing as well as some of the great work that is going on by people and organizations.

Threats

• Changes in land use causing degradation of water quality throughout the watershed, including an increase in phosphorous loading on the Lower St. Croix River.

• Resource harvesting and extraction practices causing fragmentation and loss of diversity of forest habitat, particularly in the upper watershed.

• Loss of scenic character and direct environmental impacts of urban development, including expansion of the supporting infrastructure of highways, roads, bridges, communication towers and related facilities.

• Threats to native habitat and species due to invasive plants and fish in lakes and rivers of the watershed as we increase our recreational uses of these resources.

• Lack of awareness and understanding about the significance of what we have here and the subsequent erosion of private and public financial and political support for resource protection and restoration. This is increasingly critical as global, regional and local economies decline and unemployment in the region increases.

• Insulation of people, particularly young people in our communities, from the natural world and resulting lost opportunities for young people to learn about the value of the natural world and their role as caretakers of this place.

The Good News

• A St. Croix Basin Team has mobilized to address water quality threats from headwaters to the lower river and they have developed an action plan that needs our support.

• A St. Croix Conservation Collaborative is working to identify high priority land protection and related conservation projects and is working to obtain funds for them.

• A St. Croix Scenic Coalition is working to help communities and landowners along the St. Croix River learn how to protect and enhance their community character.

• The National Park Service and the St. Croix River Association are communicating with the more than 1,000 scenic easement holders along the river to encourage and inspire them to be the first line of defense for this nationally significant Riverway.

• The St. Croix River Association is making a long-term commitment to work with all of the groups noted above, and beyond, to build a constituency for entire St. Croix Watershed.

• The St. Croix River Association has laid the groundwork for major expansion and a three-year work plan to address water quality, land protection, educational and stewardship-building activities by working on its own, by sharing information and supporting the work of others.

In the months ahead, on this website and through other means, we will provide more detailed information about these and other threats. We will also link the organizations and people in the watershed together through the internet, and at workshops and conferences, including an annual awards event.

We ask for your help in identifying other threats, regional or local, and in bringing to our attention the good work that you and others are doing so we can share the good news with others as well. We also ask for your financial support.

The St. Croix River Association, without apology, needs your involvement as a board member, a committee member, a volunteer, and as a financial supporter. This important work takes people, cash and commitment. The watershed, the river and us – we are all connected by the St. Croix River Association.

Minnesota Supreme Court Ruling

The Minnesota Supreme Court has decided that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources lacks authority to certify variance decisions by cities and counties along the St. Croix National Riverway, so the DNR's refusal to certify the variance granted to Mr. Hubbard by the City of Lakeland, has no effect. We are disappointed in the Supreme court ruling, yet it essentially invites remedial legislation to restore the practice of the last three decades. Despite this ruling, there are still strong local ordinances, and the DNR rule stands in all other respects, to help preserve our St. Croix Wild and Scenic River natural, and national, treasure.

The River Association will continue to support the partnership between local communities and the DNR, designed to balance the needs of property owners with the view from the river and the water quality for all to enjoy. To quote Gaylord Nelson, "If we don’t take care of this great resource, it will end up as ‘just another urban river’ whose values have been squandered.” The St. Croix River Association's goal is "to protect, restore and celebrate the St. Croix River and its basin.

For a summary of the threats and Issues in the Watershed and what the St. Croix River Association is doing about them, go to St Croix River Association Fact Sheet.