Lower St. Croix River Watershed Management Plan - Policy Committee

Purpose

Since 2017, the Chisago County Board of Commissioners has worked together with Counties, Soil and Water Conservation District, and Watershed Management Organizations located within the Lower St. Croix River Watershed to develop a new watershed based management plan with basin-wide priorities and goals through a One Watershed One Plan (1W1P) Process. The new Lower St. Croix River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan will replace the current Chisago County Local Water Management Plan. Policy committee members will serve as liaison to their respective local governing boards.

Meetings

The Lower St. Croix River Watershed Management Plan – Policy Committee (1W1P) meetings are held:

• Twice Annually
• Special Meetings are also called as necessary

Members

Citizens interested in joining must reside within Chisago County.

One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) Planning Process

On January 18, 2017, the Chisago County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to support a Lower St. Croix River Watershed, One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) Implementation Framework Project. Through the 1W1P process, Counties, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and Watershed Management Organizations within the Lower St. Croix River Watershed (PDF) are working together to develop a new watershed based management plan with basin-wide priorities and goals. Funding will be available through the Minnesota Board of Soil & Water Resources to implement the priorities and goals identified in the plan.

In 2017, local entities within the Lower St. Croix River Watershed developed a Work Plan, project budget and timeline to develop the new watershed based plan. There are several committees identified in the Work Plan that will meet to develop a draft plan and make final plan recommendations. Over the next two years, the various committees meet to develop the comprehensive watershed management plan for the Lower St. Croix River Watershed.

In 2018, 1W1P held several public input workshops and provided an online survey to identify priority water-related issues for the Lower St. Croix River Watershed. The Steering, Advisory and Policy Committees developed seven priority issues statements based on public input, previously completed local plans and comments from government agencies.

In 2019, the 1W1P Committees developed prioritized, targeted and measurable strategies and goals to protect and restore the watershed.  The Committees incorporated these strategies and goals to develop Implementation Actions and Measurable Outputs for the comprehensive watershed management plan for the Lower St. Croix River Watershed. 

In 2020, the 1W1P Committees continued to refine the organizational arrangement and Lower St. Croix River 1W1P Watershed Management Plan for public comment and adoption by partnering agencies.

For more information on the 1W1P for the Lower St. Croix River Watershed, please visit www.lsc1W1P.org or, contact Susanna Wilson Witkowski at 651-213-8380 or email Susanna.

View the Fact Sheets on the Lower St. Croix River 1W1P:

• 2017 1W1P Fact Sheet (PDF)
• 2018 1W1P Fact Sheet (PDF)
• 2019 1W1P Fact Sheet (PDF)
• 2020 1W1P Fact Sheet (PDF)
• 2021 1W1P Fact Sheet (PDF)
• 2022 1W1P Fact Sheet (PDF).