Additional 2024 Achievements!

ACD delivered on a MPCA administered Environment and Natural Resource Trust Fund SSTS fix-up grant. ACD has an ongoing low-income SSTS fix-up program and was able to leverage these funds to help replace 10 failing septic systems in Anoka County. Photo: Map of Anoka County showing locations of SSTS fix-up projects.
ACD established a well sealing cost-share program, using a FY20 Clean Water Fund (CWF) grant. ACD worked with hundreds of landowners, promoting and educating on well sealing, resulting in the sealing of 64 high-priority unused wells. Photo: Map of Anoka County showing locations of well sealing projects. 
ACD completed a county wide buffer inventory using new 2024 ariel images. ACD staff will continue to work with Anoka County residents in 2025, to ensure the buffer law is implemented. Photo: Example profile of a river and the vegetative buffers in the riparian zone that treat stormwater runoff before it enters the waterbody.
ACD, Conservation Corps MN & Iowa (CCMI), and Anoka County Parks, delivered on a Clean Partners Legacy grant to install 2,933 feet of cedar tree revetments on the Rum River. Photo: ACD staff and CCMI crew installing a cedar revetment.
While 2024 was a fruitful year for project installation, it was also filled with behind-the-scenes planning setting the stage for exciting future work. Amongst these efforts was the identification of priority sites for holistic fish and wildlife habitat restoration projects throughout the Rum River Corridor; part of collaborative effort with a multi-phase Outdoor Heritage Fund grant, this will benefit several acres of wetland and riparian habitat and hundreds of linear feet of riverbank and in-stream habitat. Keep an eye out for projects resulting from these and many other exciting planning efforts that occurred in 2024! Photo: 6 acres of ditched wetland dominated by invasive species to be restored in 2025.
2024 also brought the completion of three Subwatershed/ Stormwater Retrofit Analyses covering both urban and rural priority watersheds in the county. Through these, we have new ‘playbooks’ to reference while pursuing the most cost-effective water quality improvement projects benefiting the Rum and Mississippi Rivers.
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Grant for Wetland Restoration Will Benefit Typo & Martin Lakes

Photo: A wetland restoration alongside a ditch, similar to the planned project.

Two local lakes and the Sunrise River will benefit from an upcoming wetland restoration project. ACD has secured a $221,375 Clean Water Fund grant, from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. The new wetland will receive water from Ditch 20 to remove phosphorus. That nutrient is responsible for "impaired" conditions, including excessive algae blooms, in downstream waters. The project is immediately upstream of Typo Lake, which in turn drains to Martin Lake and the West Branch of the Sunrise River. Construction is anticipated in 2026. For more information contact Jamie Schurbon, Watershed Projects Manager, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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ACD's Pollinator Conservation Programs, Successful in 2024!

We collected over 3.2 pounds of native wildflower seed with the help of volunteers. Photo: Volunteers show off native seed collected at Mikkelson Wildlife Management Area.
We surveyed over 14 acres, at 5 sites, for monarch butterflies, caterpillars, and the native blooming nectar plants they need to survive. Photo: Volunteers survey a prairie at Cedar Creek Conservation Area for monarch butterflies and blooming wildflowers.
ACD received funding for building pollinator habitat corridors in residential areas through the Lawns to Legumes Pollinator Pathways program. This grant will allow us to install 15 acres of pollinator habitat over the next 2-years.
ACD received a Habitat Enhancement Landscape Program (HELP) grant from the MN Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) to enhance 120 acres of habitat for pollinators. Key activities will include diversifying wildflower species available in natural areas and planting additional acres of pollinator habitat.

ACD's pollinator conservation programs were made possible by grant funding from BWSR and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Monarch Conservation program. For more information contact Logan Olson, Restoration Technician, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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Rain Garden Construction Video - 225th Lane Outlot, St. Francis, MN

This ACD video showcases a successfully completed rain garden that was built on a city outlot in St. Francis, MN. This rain garden was funded through the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment, with additional funds from the Upper Rum River Watershed Management Organization. The City of St. Francis will provide project maintenance. This video combines real footage, motion graphics, and 3D animation to showcase the entire construction process and illustrate the process of building a rain garden with an underdrain system. The underdrain system is largely hidden underground, so this video is intended to help inform on what a underdrain system may look like. 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..

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Legacy Funds Stabilize Eroding Rum Riverbanks in 2024

ACD has been busy stabilizing severely eroded riverbanks along the Rum River to reduce the load of sediment and nutrients entering the river and to enhance the habitat of the Rum. A large initiative utilizing phases of grant funding from the Clean Water Land and Legacy amendment kicked off after a 2017 erosion inventory highlighted just how much need there was along the Rum River. To date, this initiative has garnered significant local investment beyond the competitive state grant dollars from Anoka County, the Upper and Lower Rum River WMOs, the Cities of Anoka and St. Francis, ACD, and numerous property owners. In 2024, we substantially completed construction for Phase 1 of funding from two competitive state grant sources; the Clean Water Fund (CWF), and the Outdoor Heritage Fund (OHF). 

Photo: Before (left) and after (right) stabilization of the some of the most severely documented erosion along the Rum River in Oak Grove.

With these funds, along with local match dollars from the all the sources mentioned, we successfully installed the following in 2024:

  • 405-feet of articulated concrete toe to normal water levels, with low rock riprap armoring to the two-year flood elevation along some of the highest, steepest, and deepest erosion on the river in Oak Grove (CWF grant funds).
  • 115-feet of supplemental rock toe around 40-foot tall bank with toe erosion, susceptible to critical failure in the near future in Oak Grove (OHF grant funds).
  • 415-feet of rock toe armoring to a two-year flood elevation with upper banks graded and seeded with native vegetation in Oak Grove, (OHF grant funds). Bank heights ranged from 12-feet to 20-feet with a shear vertical eroded face.
  • 400-feet of rock toe armoring to a two-year flood elevation with 225-feet of vegetated reinforced soil slope, and 175-feet of graded upper bank, all of which was seeded to native vegetation in Anoka (OHF grant funds). This bank was approximately 10-feet in height with a paved walking trail actively falling into the river.
  • 200-feet of cedar revetment along moderate toe erosion at the Anoka Nature Preserve in Anoka (OHF grant funds). A 550-foot stretch immediately upstream of this segment is planned for a bioengineering project in 2025.
Photo: A 400-foot bioengineered riverbank near the Anoka High School. Photo credit: MNL
In sum, this 2024 Rum Riverbank work protects 1,535-linear feet of shoreline, enhances 1.2 acres of habitat, and reduces annual pollutant load delivery to the river by more than 824 tons of sediment and 700 lbs of phosphorus. These installations were the culmination of years of work with landowners and partners, engineering, design, and construction management. Please see ACD's Project Dashboards for a detailed description of these and each of our completed conservation practices at https://anokaswcd.org/projects/interactive-progress-dashboards.html.
Photo: A total of 935-feet of severely eroding riverbank was stabilized in Oak Grove
Future phases of Rum River Initiative work focus more heavily on habitat enhancement through the Outdoor Heritage Fund grant while continuing the stabilization of eroding banks. See future updates throughout 2025 as we work to benefit in-stream, floodplain wetland, and riparian habitat, as well as continue to stabilize eroding banks using bioengineering approaches. 2025 promises to be a big year as well! For more information contact Jared Wagner, Water Resource Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Anoka Sand Plain Rare Plant Rescue Program Accomplishments

Anoka Sand Plain Rare Plant Rescue Program is a collaborative partnership focused on protecting rare plants in the Anoka Sand Plain (ASP) region. The ASP spans across several metro counties and supports 59 of MN's state-listed species (or nearly 20%) while representing only 2.2% of MN's land area.Our team collaborates with the MN Department of Natural Resources, landowners and developers to rescue rare plants from permitted development project areas before construction begins. We accomplish this with a team of ecologists and dedicated volunteers who help us to quickly mobilize and implement rescues. Rescued plants are transplanted into permanently protected natural areas with ecologically appropriate habitat and are monitored. Since the start of the ASP Rescue Program in 2019, state-protected species were rescued from eleven permitted donor sites and were translocated into 230 monitoring plots located within 13 permanently protected recipient sites. The work involved the rescue of ten species of state endangered, threatened, special concern and watch list vascular plant species. An additional project is underway with Xyris torta. MN Landscape Arboretum conducted germination trials with Xyris torta seed, which resulted in an opportunity to conduct an outplanting with plants that successfully propagated. Xyris torta was planted at the University of MN Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve for the purpose of conducting research and establishing a new population.

Photo: Monitoring seeding area at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve.
Photo: Transplants in experimental planting at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve.

2024 ASP Rescue Program accomplishments include:

  • Rescued over 1,000 plants, sod, and plant cuttings from future development sites including Rubus missouricus, Rubus stipulatus, Rubus semisetosus, Hieracium longipilum and Oenothera rhombipetala.
  • Expanded rescue methods to include sod removal in densely populated patches. Cut sod was transported to the University of MN Landscape Arboretum and will be planted in the future. Additional cane-cutting experiments were conducted to refine methods for rescuing Rubus species.
  • Conducted rare plant habitat surveys at potential recipient locations resulting in 3 new recipient sites and new partners.
  • Transplanted over 1,200 rescued plants into three new permanently protected recipient sites with the help of local land managers and volunteers.
  • Monitored Viola lanceolata, Rubus semisetosus, Rubus stipulatus, Rubus fulleri, Gaylusssacia baccata, Xyris torta and Rotala ramosir rescue transplants at 10 protected recipient sites.
  • Collected over 6,900 seeds from Viola lanceolata, Rubus semisetosus, and Rubus stipulatus for long-term genetic preservation in the UMLA Rare Plant Seed Bank.
Photo: Monitoring Viola lanceolata rescue transplants at the Beach Conservation Easement.
Funding was provided by the Outdoor Heritage Fund. We are anticipating additional rescue events in 2025. Please stay tuned and sign up here to join our contact list! Read more about the ASP Plant Rescue program or for more information contact Carrie Taylor, Restoration Ecologist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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ACD Tree and Shrub Sale!

ACD's tree sale is right around the corner! Trees and shrubs are sold in bareroot seedlings or transplants, ranging from 8" to 18" in height. They may be purchased in bundles of ten for $24.00, or twenty-five for $47 not including tax. Native prairie seed and tree aides are also available. You do not need to be an Anoka County Resident to order. The order form is organized to group native trees and shrubs according to their ecosystem and non-native trees and shrubs based upon their primary use. Call 763-434-2030 x 100 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get added to the notification list. 

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Protecting Groundwater in Anoka County

In Anoka County, 330,000 residents (94%) depend on groundwater for drinking water, using about 12 billion gallons annually. Wells (residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial) that are unused and unsealed pose a significant health and safety hazard by creating a direct conduit to introduce contaminants (e.g. pesticides, nutrients, pathogens) into groundwater supplies. The highly permeable sands of the Anoka Sand Plain are likely a significant source of groundwater recharge for several of the major aquifers that supply water needs throughout the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Visit the Minnesota Department of Health webpage for more information on well sealing in MN. 

Photo: Drinking Water Supply Management Area Vulnerability in Anoka County
Photo: Pollution Sensitivity in Anoka County

Anoka County was one of the few counties in Minnesota that lacked a program to assist landowners with paying to seal unused wells. In response, ACD established a well sealing cost-share program, using a FY20 Clean Water Fund (CWF) grant. As awareness of the program grew, demand increased, highlighting the need for such financial assistance. Since 2020, ACD's well sealing program has made significant progress. ACD staff has worked with hundreds of landowners, promoting and educating on well sealing, resulting in the sealing of 67 high-priority unused wells.

Photo: Unused wells sealed with ACD's well sealing cost-share program, 2020-2024

Unused wells remain to be an issue that threatens Anoka County's groundwater resources. ACD's current CWF grant expires at the end of this year but the district has applied for another round of funding to continue the well sealing cost-share program. Through administering the last grant, ACD developed working relationships with licensed well sealers and partnerships with neighboring cities to advertise the program. ACD's goal is to build on previous successes, ensuring ongoing protection of Anoka County's groundwater resources. By focusing on high-priority wells, providing financial incentives, and leveraging existing outreach efforts, the well sealing program will mitigate groundwater contamination risks and enhance public health and safety in Anoka County in a cost effective way. 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.

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Stormwater Pond Enhancement - Update

Apex Pond in the City of Fridley was enhanced in 2023 to improve water quality in both Springbrook Creek (County Ditch #17) and the Mississippi River. Originally constructed in 1999 with a ponding depth of 1-foot to slow the rate of runoff entering Springbrook Creek, the enhanced pond is ~6-feet deep and provides water quality treatment for nearly 90 acres of residential neighborhoods. The increased ponding depth enables sediment and nutrients to settle and accumulate in the pond. Runoff enters the pond via three inlets and a single outlet serves as the connection to Springbrook Creek. 

Total annual reductions to Springbrook and the Mississippi River include 16.80 lbs-TP/yr and 6,617 lbs-TSS/yr. The City of Fridley funded pond maintenance, and a combination of Watershed Based Implementation Funds from the Board of Water and Soil Resources, a Coon Creek Watershed District Water Quality Cost-Share Program grant, and the City of Fridley funded the pond enhancement. For more information contact Mitch Haustein, Stormwater & Shoreland Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Enhancing Wetlands to Increase Species Diversity

ACD is collaborating with Anoka County Parks to enhance wetland basins in the Cedar Creek Conservation Area. Efforts are underway to increase plant diversity and to shift the wetland plant communities to sedge meadow and wet meadow. Both basins were initially dominated by reed canary grass. In 2021, two sheet pile plugs were installed in the ditch system and reed canary grass scrapes occurred in the east side basin (see map below). Native plants emerged where reed canary grass was scraped away. Management including mowing, spot herbicide treatment and seeding continue in this area to increase plant diversity. 

Photo: Map of Cedar Creek Conservation Area, showing ditch-plug and reed canary grass management locations.
Photo: Wetland Basin in Cedar Creek Conservation Area.

The upland – wetland basin in the CCCA has the potential to be restored to native dry prairie and sedge meadow habitats. Many of the remaining sedge meadows are often only fragmented narrow strips, adjacent to non-native cattails, making them difficult to manage. It is feasible to create a burn break around this unique wet meadow and prairie habitat to restore and maintain the plant communities. There is an opportunity to include this area with an adjacent dry prairie that is part of a regularly scheduled prescribed burn management plan. Additionally, the soil type along the wetland margin in this basin are known to support rare plant species. Once restored, this site could be a recipient site for rescued rare plants. For more information contact Carrie Taylor,Restoration Ecologist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Rum Riverbank Stabilization in Oak Grove

Construction was completed in early November to stabilize one of the highest priority riverbanks in Anoka County. Two separate projects, spanning multiple properties, stabilized 935-feet of some of the tallest and most eroding riverbank on the Rum River. Portions of this stretch ranked at the top of the list of 80+ identified eroding banks during a 2017 erosion inventory of the Rum River through Anoka County. Altogether, these projects are estimated to reduce annual pollutant loading to the Rum River by 753-tons of sediment, and 640-lbs of total phosphorus.  

Photo: Before and after construction of upstream half of riverbank stabilization project, looking upstream.
Photo: Before and after construction of downstream half of riverbank stabilization project, looking downstream.

The project utilized a combination of hard armoring techniques, including rock riprap and concrete block mat to stabilize the water adjacent slope that reached 10' deep. The concrete block mat was installed on a low bench and topped with rock riprap to hide the concrete block visually from the river during all but the lowest water conditions. A portion of the bank was left alone to self-stabilize over time with the help of native vegetation. Where possible, the upper bank was graded back and also seeded with native vegetation. A rock barb was installed at a strategic location to redirect the erosive current away from the riverbank and to provide in-stream habitat benefit.

Funding sources include the Clean Water Fund and Outdoor Heritage Fund (both from the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment) as well as contributions from landowners, Anoka County, and the Upper Rum River WMO. For more information contact Jared Wagner, Water Resource Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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2024 Anoka County Outstanding Conservationist

Each year, Anoka Conservation District (ACD) works with dozens of partners to install conservation projects and implement programs that improve water quality, hydrology and habitat across our shared natural resources. ACD employees nominate partners for consideration by ACD's elected Board of Supervisors to be honored as Anoka County's Outstanding Conservationist.

This year, we are excited to announce that the City of Circle Pines has been named the 2024 Anoka County Outstanding Conservationist. While this honor typically goes to a candidate that collaborated with ACD on a project in any given year, in this case, the award highlights a milestone reached in 2024 for Golden Lake due to the City of Circle Pines' long-standing partnerships with ACD and others. Golden Lake is the jewel in the crown of the City of Circle Pines' natural resources and a focal point for recreation. Efforts to improve water quality in Golden Lake culminated in 2024 with water quality levels that warrant removal of Golden Lake from the MN Pollution Control Agency's Impaired Waters List. For context, only eight other lakes were removed from the list in 2024, and the list includes 1,765 lakes. 

At the December 10, 2024 City of Circle Pines Council meeting, ACD presented the city with an award featuring a small bronze statue of a green heron for the City's accomplishments. While this milestone achievement is exciting and worth taking a moment to revel in, it's as City of Circle Pines Mayor Dave Bartholomay acknowledged, we don't get to say "well, we're done, let's move onto something else." We must continue to implement projects to maintain the ground we've gained, but we can do so moving forward at a slower pace with less annual investment.

Photo: Far left: Steve McChesney (Council), Nici Dorner (Council), Meagan Bachmayer (Council), Dave Bartholomay (Mayor), Matt Percy (Council), Mary Jo Truchon (ACD Chair), Kate Luthner (ACD Supervisor), and Chris Lord (ACD Manager)
Photo: Outstanding Conservationist Award, designed by ACD.

The City of Circle Pines collaborated with ACD to construct the Golden Lake pump assisted iron-enhanced sand filter and provided significant matching funds. They previously installed several rain gardens associated with a road reconstruction project and installed a stormwater infiltration feature at Golden Lake Park. They supported the formation of the Friends of Golden Lake group, which now works with those living on the lake to manage their properties in lake-friendly ways. The City of Circle Pines also provided financial support for the creation of several animated videos, including "Our Lakeshore Connection."

The City's overall success starts with a vision at the Council level based on public input, which leads to investment of staff and financial resources. City Administrator, Patrick Antonen's ability to create partnerships to share resources to bring the Council's vision to life was impressive. The City's engineering firm, WSB, turned good ideas into great designs, which were refined by the insight of the men and women in the field that make these projects work. Project construction is completed by talented contractors under the guidance of experienced City representatives and eventually projects are up and running. Frankly, the final phase is the most critical. The project is passed on to landowners or others who are expected to keep the project running for ten to twenty-five years. These homeowners and City staff, too numerous to name, deserve great thanks for their dedication and hard work.

Of course, the credit for this success extends well beyond the City of Circle Pines and ACD to other partners and conservationists. This includes, but isn't limited to, the City of Blaine completing projects further upstream, Rice Creek Watershed District holistically implementing projects throughout the watershed and lending their expertise on projects along the way. We thank the landowners living on the lake and adjacent neighborhoods who do their part individually, without accolade, to improve Golden Lake by reducing pesticide and fertilizer use, sweeping road gutters, stabilizing shoreland erosion, installing lakeshore native plant buffers, and other activities. Finally, none of this would have happened if not for the generosity of the Minnesota taxpayer and the passage of the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment, which increased sales tax. This provided our state agency partners at the Board of Water and Soil Resources and others with the resources they needed to provide significant financial support to impactful projects proposed by outstanding conservationists, like the City of Circle Pines. 

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ACD Tree and Shrub Sale

ACD's tree sale is right around the corner! Trees and shrubs are sold in bareroot seedlings or transplants, ranging from 8" to 18" in height. They may be purchased in bundles of ten for $24.00, or twenty-five for $47 not including tax. Native prairie seed and tree aides are also available. You do not need to be an Anoka County Resident to order. The order form is organized to group native trees and shrubs according to their ecosystem and non-native trees and shrubs based upon their primary use. Call 763-434-2030 x 100 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get added to the notification list. 

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Improving Fish Habitat in the Rum River

ACD has grant funding available to enhance in-stream habitat in the Rum River! This effort focuses on areas adjacent to public land and those which are accessible for shore fishing. Rock vanes, woody overhangs, and similar features will be installed in areas where aquatic habitat structure is currently lacking to provide adequate holding and resting areas for game fish and the forage they rely on. This is part of a larger, corridor-scale river restoration effort supported by funding from the Outdoor Heritage Fund and several collaborating agencies. 

Photo: Existing high-quality habitat observed in northern Anoka County. The combination of rock and wood creates variation in structure and flow conditions, benefitting fish and their prey.

We are currently compiling a detailed inventory of existing conditions at several sites throughout Anoka, Isanti, and Mille Lacs Counties. Do you enjoy shore fishing along the Rum? Let us know which areas you think could use improvement! Share your feedback with Breanna Keith, Water Resource Specialist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

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Leaf Diseases on Broadleaf Trees - Rampant but Mostly Harmless

You may have observed a major difference between this year and our last few growing seasons: plenty of precipitation. According to the DNR's Climatology Office, the amount of rain that's fallen from April through August 2024 has been nearly the most on record over a good share of Minnesota. Overall, this is good news for our forests – but all that near- historic rainfall has had additional impacts to trees. 

Photo: Severe apple scab on crabapple trees resulting leaf loss from the lower canopy.

As shoots and leaves emerge in the spring, they're particularly susceptible to infection from fungal pathogens. Extremely wet weather during this timeframe promotes sporulation (formation of spores) of these microscopic fungi, and rain spreads the spores around. The end result is a slew of common leaf diseases that we've seen in 2024. 

Photo: Bur oak blight in mid-September. Note the rim of healthier green leaves.
Photo: Severe leaf infection on a quaking aspen in mid-August.
Photo: Marssonina leaf blight on quaking aspen. An impacted clone on left and a tolerant clone on right. 
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