Prioritization within the Hawk Creek or Yellow Medicine Watershed
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Name/Affiliation:______________________________________ Prioritization within the Hawk Creek or Yellow Medicine Watershed The land prioritization model is based on the DNR’s five components of a healthy watershed. The components include Connectivity1, Fish & Wildlife Habitat (biology), Water Quality, and Minimize Flooding and Erosion (hydrology & geomorphology). Because land use within the watershed is primarily agricultural, an additional component incorporating agriculture is also included. A variety of data layers within these major components are used to prioritize areas for protection and restoration. First you will be asked identify your priorities at a broad scale (i.e., the components of a healthy watershed). Second, you will be asked to identify your priorities at a finer scale (i.e., the variables that make up the five components). You will be identifying your priorities as they relate to both protection (protect the high-quality habitat and attributes within the watershed and maintain a functional ecosystem) and restoration (return disturbed or degraded areas of the watershed to a condition similar in ecological function to what they were prior to disturbance or degradation) scenarios. A list of variable descriptions is provided to assist you. Prefer Strongly Prefer Dogs Dogs Equal Dog lover: Cat lover: Prefer Example: Strongly Prefer For each paired choice, please check the box to indicate which criterion you think is more important within the watershed2. Make only one selection per row, and make a choice for each row. ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☒ Cats Cats The connectivity component is incorporated primarily within the optimization analysis software (Zonation). Therefore, there are no fine-scale data layers within this component described in this document or available for ranking. 1 Selecting “prefer” or “strongly prefer” for a criterion indicates that you believe protection and restoration efforts within the watershed should be focused on that criterion. Accordingly, criteria that are preferred or strongly preferred will be given a higher weight in the Zonation model that prioritizes areas for protection and restoration. 2 1 You are asked to identify your priorities at a broad scale. A list of variable descriptions used for this prioritization exercise includes: Variable Name Description Fish & Wildlife Habitat Environment of animals. The biological systems of a watershed encompass the plant and animal species that are present in water and the contributing watershed. Water Quality Water quality refers to the chemical, biological, and physical characteristics of water. Water quality changes when human activities or pollutants upset the basic conditions of the system. Poor water quality can lead to multiple problems, including algal blooms, aggradation of stream beds, and health problems in waterfowl and fish. Reduce Flooding & Erosion Flooding and erosion are sometimes the result of changes in hydrology and geomorphology. More water runs off land with impervious surfaces in urban areas and areas that have lost vegetation. Hydrology is the study of the interactions between water and its environment. Geomorphology is the study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Connectivity Connectivity refers to pathways and corridors that allow safer animal movements across an area. As connectivity is reduced, the landscape becomes fragmented. Fragmentation may lead to the decline or disappearance of plant and animal populations or increases in invasive species. Agriculture (Ag lands) Includes row crop agriculture (corn, soybeans and other row crop cultivation), livestock feedlot agriculture (lots and/or buildings for confined feeding, breeding, raising, or holding of animals), and pasture (grass and other plants for grazing). 2 Prefer Equal Prefer Strongly Prefer Fish & Wildlife Habitat Ag Land Restoration Water Quality Reduce Flooding & Erosion Reduce Flooding & Erosion Ag Land Restoration Connectivity Fish & Wildlife Habitat Reduce Flooding & Erosion Water Quality Connectivity Water Quality Fish & Wildlife Habitat Ag Land Restoration Fish & Wildlife Habitat Strongly Prefer 1) Broad-scale prioritization ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ 3 Water Quality Fish & Wildlife Habitat Reduce Flooding & Erosion Ag Land Restoration Minimize Interference w/Ag Land Water Quality Minimize Interference w/Ag Land Minimize Interference w/Ag Land Connectivity Connectivity Ag Land Restoration Minimize Interference w/Ag Land Connectivity Minimize Interference w/Ag Land Reduce Flooding & Erosion Variable descriptions for use in the fine-scale prioritization are listed below. Variable Name Description Fish & Wildlife Habitat (Biology) Rare features Sites of biodiversity significance Native prairie Prairie core areas USFWS priority wetlands USFWS priority grasslands Locations of species currently tracked by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), including Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern plant and animal species as well as animal aggregation sites. Areas with varying levels of native biodiversity that may contain high quality native plant communities, rare plants, rare animals, and/or animal aggregations. Identified by Minnesota Biological Survey. Intact native prairie. Areas with concentrations of native prairie and grasslands. Wetland complexes with the potential to impact populations of focal species (black terns, migrant shorebirds, ducks, and pheasants). Factors include integrity of the surrounding wetland complex, the proximity of wetland and grassland areas, and the potential for significant water quality enhancement benefits for shallow lakes. Grassland complexes with the potential to impact populations of focal species (marbled godwit, nongame birds, migrant shorebirds, ducks, and pheasants). Factors include integrity of the grassland patch, the surrounding landscape context (% grassland and terrain relief), proximity of grassland and wetland, the potential for significant water quality enhancement benefits for shallow lakes, and the potential to create large grassland patches with minimal cropland retirement. Water Quality Focusing on drinking water management supply vulnerability areas Reducing water quality risk Focusing on impaired waters Focusing on catchments with high pollution Focusing on groundwater contamination susceptibility The likelihood for a potential contaminant source within the drinking water supply management area to contaminate a public water supply well. This likelihood is based on the aquifer's inherent geologic sensitivity and the composition of the groundwater. The potential for an area to deliver sediment and/or nutrients to surface waters. Areas with high potential for overland flow (based on terrain analysis) and near surface waters (based on proximity analysis) will have high water quality risk values. This variable is from the BWSR and UMN’s Environmental Benefits Index. Catchments upstream of (i.e., contributing to) aquatic-life impaired lakes within the watershed (identified as impaired by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency). Estimated total suspended solids, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus by catchment as determined by Hydrological Simulation Program (HSPF) model. The relative susceptibility of an area to groundwater contamination (based on soil type, aquifer makeup, and recharge potential). Reduce Flooding & Erosion (Hydrology and Geomorphology) Existing wetlands Remaining wetlands as documented by the National Wetland Inventory (NWI). Restorable wetlands Drained, potentially restorable wetlands in agricultural landscapes. Susceptibility of soils to erosion. This variable is from the BWSR and UMN’s Reducing soil erosion risk Environmental Benefits Index; it was calculated from a subset of the universal soil loss equation. Stream riparian areas and potential flood zones (based on location, elevation and soil Stream riparian areas type). Shorelands Land within 1000 feet of lake shoreline. Connectivity Agriculture Pasture/hay Cultivated croplands Land cover type is pasture or hay (areas used for livestock grazing or planted with perennial seed or hay crops). Land cover type is cultivated crops (areas used for the production of annual crops or actively tilled areas). 4 Prefer Equal Prefer Strongly Prefer Fish & Wildlife Habitat Prairie core areas Rare features Rare features Sites of biodiversity significance Rare features Native prairie Prairie core areas Sites of biodiversity significance Sites of biodiversity significance Rare features Sites of biodiversity significance Native prairie USFWS priority wetlands Native prairie Rare features Strongly Prefer 2) Fine-scale prioritization ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ 5 USFWS priority wetlands Prairie core areas USFWS priority wetlands USFWS priority wetlands Native prairie USFWS priority grasslands USFWS priority grasslands USFWS priority grasslands Native prairie USFWS priority grasslands Prairie core areas Prairie core areas USFWS priority grasslands USFWS priority wetlands Sites of biodiversity significance Strongly Prefer Prefer Equal Prefer Strongly Prefer 2) Fine-scale prioritization, continued ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Impaired waters Impaired waters Impaired waters Water quality risk Impaired waters ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Reduce Flooding & Erosion Riparian areas Riparian areas Soil erosion risk Shorelands Shorelands Riparian areas Soil erosion risk Soil erosion risk Soil erosion risk ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Shorelands Existing wetlands Shorelands Restorable wetlands Existing wetlands Restorable wetlands Riparian areas Restorable wetlands Existing wetlands ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Minimize Interference w/Pasture/Hay Land ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Pasture/Hay Land Restoration for Multiple Benefits Water Quality Drinking water mgmt. area vulnerability Water quality risk Catchments with high pollution Drinking water mgmt. area vulnerability Drinking water mgmt. area vulnerability Water quality risk Drinking water mgmt. area vulnerability Groundwater contamination susceptibility Catchments with high pollution Water quality risk Groundwater contamination susceptibility Groundwater contamination susceptibility Catchments with high pollution Catchments with high pollution Groundwater contamination susceptibility Agriculture* Protection Strategy Minimize Interference w/Row Crop Land Restoration Strategy Row Crop Land Restoration for Multiple Benefits *Within the protection prioritization, the objective was to minimize interference with important agricultural areas. Within the restoration prioritization, the objective was to identify those agricultural lands suitable for potential restoration for the goal of providing multiple benefits. 6
