Water, Air and Soil
The mission of the Superior National Forest Fisheries and Aquatics Program is to enhance and restore watershed, riparian, and aquatic resources to support dependent species and habitats as well as provide for public enjoyment of these resources on National Forest System lands. This mission will be guided by National Strategic goals, Forest Plan goals and objectives, as well as Forest and District Priorities.
Topography and Soils
Most of the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province has little relief with rolling hills. However, the highest point in Minnesota, Eagle Mountain, is on the Superior NF and is 2,301 feet high. The lowest point is approximately 600 feet on the shore of Lake Superior.
Early in the Earth’s history, the bedrock underlying the Superior NF was deposited during the Early, Middle, and Late Precambrian ages. Early Precambrian rocks have been a valuable source of iron ore and have yielded small quantities of gold. The present day Mesabi Range has been producing high quality iron ore from Middle Precambrian sedimentary rocks for over 100 years. The most important mineral deposits of the Late Precambrian age are the copper-nickel deposits that occur along the base (northwest margin) of the Duluth complex.
The formation of the Superior NF’s soils is directly related to glaciation. As the glaciers advanced and retreated, different textured soils were deposited. Mixed, poorly sorted depositions called glacial till dominate the surface soils on the Forest. These deposits vary from large, extensive ground moraines to localized drumlins. Outwash deposits, which tend to be more sorted and stratified than till, are limited on the Forest and occur primarily in small outwash plains and eskers.
Water
The Superior NF contains over 445,000 acres of surface water, or about 12 percent of the Forest area. There are almost 2,000 lakes at least 10 acres in size; over 1,300 miles of major streams supporting cold water fisheries; and over 950 miles of major streams supporting warm water fisheries. The quality of the water in lakes and steams is good to excellent.
Although many lakes and streams do not support a diversity of aquatic organisms, they are still an important fisheries resource. The quality of water in most lakes is good, with only a few classified as either very degraded or very pure. On a national, scale these lakes rank in the upper 50 percentile for water conditions; and on the average the lakes are in the upper 20 percentile.
Aquatic Inventory Projects
Objective/Purpose of Project
SLICE (Sustaining Lakes in a Changing Environment) is a cooperative lake monitoring program led by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Fisheries and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The study is designed to understand, predict, and respond to the outcomes of major drivers of change (e.g., development, agriculture, invasive species, climate change) on lake habitats and fish populations. Our approach is to first explore processes and mechanisms at the watershed scale that drive patterns in water quality and fish habitat in a diverse set of 24 sentinel lake watersheds spread across Minnesota’ s major eco-regions. This approach of augmenting traditional extensive data collection efforts with an intensive focus to understand processes in a few representative sentinel systems represents a novel and promising direction in water resource and fisheries management. The Forest Service’s role in SLICE is to sample the aquatic vegetation in the five sentinel lakes that occur on the Superior National Forest.
Methods or Techniques Used
Point-intercept method was used to determine sites. Each site was sampled using a vegetation rake. Plants were identified and entered into a database along with water depth and substrate type.
Realized/Expected Results
Five SLICE lakes were sampled for aquatic vegetation and they are the following: Tait Lake, Trout Lake, Echo Lake, Elephant Lake, and White Iron Lake. Total lake acres is 22,722 acres.
Contact Person and Phone #
Primary Partner List
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources , The Nature Conservancy - Minnesota , University of Minnesota - Duluth
Objective/Purpose of Project
Cooperating with the 1854 Treaty Authority, the Fond du Lac Resource Management Division and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources offices, the Superior National Forest’s Fisheries Program assists with the walleye (Sander vitreus) assessments in the 1854 Ceded Territory of Minnesota. The first objective of the walleye assessments is to obtain adult walleye population estimates during the spring spawning period using mark-recapture data and identify critical spawning sites where catches are the highest. The second objective targets the juvenile walleye and young-of-the-year individuals in the fall to evaluate recruitment and year-class strength. By conducting annual monitoring, fishery managers can better predict the future fishery of a lake as young fish grow into older, larger fish and more desirable to anglers.
Methods or Techniques Used
The spring assessment takes place once the ice cover melts from the lakes and the day length increases. The warming water temperatures trigger the walleye the impulse to spawn, or breed. The walleye are electrofished from a boat at night when they congregate in shallow, rocky areas of lakes to spawn. The fish are temporarily stunned, scooped up with a dipnet and placed in an onboard tank to recover. Once the sampling station is completed, shocking operations cease and the crew begins to collect the sex, the length of the fish, and spines to determine age and growth rates for the fish. The walleyes are then released. The surveys are also important to identify critical walleye spawning habitat in area lakes. As the water temperatures begin to drop below 70 degrees the annual fall electrofishing begins. Small 3 to 6 inch, young of the year (YOY) walleyes are captured in the shallows, measured, and samples of the scales are taken for aging and growth analysis. The fish are then released. Slightly larger, age – l walleyes are sampled at the same time and their catch rates are compared from year to year. This helps determine which index (YOY or age-1) is most useful in predicting how strong of a spawning stock will be available 4-5 years in the future when those fish have reached sexual maturity. The fall assessments are useful in documenting recruitment success or failure. Should the surveys show a continued lack of recruitment, local fisheries managers may choose to reevaluate their lake management plan.
Realized/Expected Results
The Superior National Forest’s Fisheries Program along with other program staff assisted the 1854 Treaty Authority and Fond Du Lac Resource Management Division with electroshocking 27 lakes during their spring and fall walleye population surveys. The annual surveys will help in managing and monitoring the walleye populations and to develop long-term databases to relate trends in spawning and recruitment.
Contact Person and Phone #
Primary Partner List
1854 Authority , Fond Du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa , Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Objective/Purpose of Project
This is a Cooperative project with Voyageurs National Park, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, South Dakota State University, Quetico Provincial Park, and the Superior National Forest (SNF). The on-going objectives of the project are to: (1) establish baseline information on presence and distribution of lake sturgeon in the upper Rainy River watershed, (2) gather population characteristics of fish captured (age/sex/size structure), (3) make inferences on the relative importance of individual spawning locations, movements between lakes and spawning sites, population size and characteristics, and genetics.
Methods or Techniques Used
Equipment used included gill-nets to collect, measure, tag, and release juvenile lake sturgeon. Data collected included: (1) Capture effort and success by mesh size (2) Site conditions and location (3) Standard Fish measurements (Total Length, Fork Length, Girth, Mass), and (4) tissue clip for aging and DNA analysis.
Realized/Expected Results
Often referenced as a relic from the age of dinosaurs, the Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) is a Minnesota state-listed species of special concern and listed by the US Forest Service as a Regional Forester Sensitive Species. Hydroelectric dams and habitat loss threaten this already rare fish. In 2007, Voyageurs National Park, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, South Dakota State University and the Superior National Forest joined forces to learn more about these prehistoric fish in a study of sturgeon in the Namakan Reservoir system along the US-Canadian border. In 2007-2009, adult sturgeon were caught by researchers using gill nets. Fish were carefully measured, tagged, implanted with a transmitter, and released after DNA and blood samples were collected. From these samples, researchers are able to determine a host of factors including age, sex, reproductive activity, and genetic diversity information. Biologists are quickly learning that these fish cover immense stretches of water in the Namakan Basin system. New this year (2010) was the addition of sampling for juvenile sturgeon to add a critical piece of information to the population structure of the sturgeon in the Namakan Basin.
Contact Person and Phone #
Primary Partner List
Voyageurs National Park , Minnesota Department of Natural Resources , Voyageurs National Park , South Dakota State University , Quetico Provincial Park
Aquatic Monitoring Projects
Objective/Purpose of Project
Monitor the presence/absence, distribution, and abundance of spiny water flea on the Superior National Forest and provide current information to State and Federal agencies and the public in an effort to slow or stop the spread of this exotic species in northeastern Minnesota.
Methods or Techniques Used
Spiny water flea (Bythotrephes longimanus) is an exotic zooplankton that is native to Europe and Asia. It was first introduced into the lower Great Lakes in the early 1980’s as a result of ballast water discharge from ocean going ships. This exotic zooplankton has the potential to compete with other native zooplankton and may eliminate other important species when introduced into a new lake or water body. In 2010, the Superior National Forest conducted spiny water flea surveys in Burntside, East Pike, North Fowl, South Fowl, and John Lakes. The two Fowl lakes, North and South are border lakes between the US and Canada. The 2008 survey utilized techniques and procedures developed and used by the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Boudreau and Yan (2004). Vertical plankton tows were conducted using a 0.5 meter wide, l meter long, conical net constructed of 500 micron mesh. Reference: Boudreau, S.A. and N.D. Yan 2004. Auditing the accuracy of volunteer based surveillance program for an aquatic invader "Bythotrephes". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 91: 17-26.
Realized/Expected Results
The total number of lake acres contained in the survey for the Bythotrephes longimanus is 10,459 acres. Spiny water fleas were detected in Burntside, North Fowl and South Fowl Lakes in 2010. They were not detected in East Pike and John Lakes. Currently, this exotic species occurs on the Superior National Forest in Caribou, Flour, Greenwood, Gunflint, McFarland, Pine, Little John and Crane Lakes as well as in Lake Saganaga (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Designation of Infested Waters, October 4, 2007, 11pp). Spiny water fleas have also been documented by Voyageurs National Park in Rainy and Namakan Lakes. The Superior National Forest will continue to conduct similar surveys at new and established monitoring sites to detect new and recent.
Contact Person and Phone #
Primary Partner List
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources , University of Minnesota - Duluth , University of Minnesota - Duluth
Objective/Purpose of Project
Fish collections in support of the Joint Fire Sciences Mercury Fire Project in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Methods or Techniques Used
The JFSP Mercury Fire Project is currently being conducted in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) which was designated as non-motorized wilderness in 1978. The project was initiated to study fire, ecosystem, and mercury interactions resulting from a large pre-scribed burning program developed to reduce fuel loadings in the BWCA following the July 4, 1999 wind storm event. Part of this study includes sampling fish from eight study lakes that range from relatively high to relatively low fish tissue mercury concentrations. Yellow perch was selected as the target collection species due to its perceived abundance and because it had been commonly used in other studies (e.g. Voyagers National Park). Two person fish sampling crews, including at least one experienced electrofisher (crew leader), utilized battery backpack electrofishing gear, seines, waders, and/or canoes to capture yellow perch or other available fish species in each study lake. All shoreline electrofishing surveys (wading and boat) occurred at depths less than 6 feet to increase gear efficiency and safety. Yearling (Age 1+) yellow perch were targeted for fish tissue samples during fish collection activities in each study lake. If yellow perch were not present in a lake, an alternate fish species was selected for collection (i.e. bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, smallmouth bass, etc.) provided that the alternate species was sufficiently abundant to reasonably satisfy sample size requirements. Following collection activities in each study lake, all fish were placed in labeled one gallon Ziploc bags, placed in a cooler with ice, and transported to the Superior National Forest Supervisors Office in Duluth, Minnesota or to an appropriate sample location to be individually measured, weighed, bagged, labeled, and frozen. Samples were later transported to the University of Minnesota for tissue analysis.
Realized/Expected Results
In 2010, Superior National Forest Fisheries and Aquatics Program staff and the North Central Research Station cooperated in collecting yellow perch, bluegill, and pumpkinseed sunfish from 8 study lakes within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Fish collections were subsampled, aged, and transported to the University of Minnesota for tissue analysis.
Contact Person and Phone #
Primary Partner List
North Central Research Station , University of Minnesota , USDI USGS , Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Objective and Purpose of Project
The purpose of this project was to improve stream crossings on county roadways within the Superior National Forest to facilitate watershed-wide fish passage and stream function.
Methods or Techniques Used
Partnerships were set up with Cook, Lake, and St. Louis Counties, Minnesota to improve fish passage and stream function with Superior National Forest watersheds. An additional partnership was put in place with the Southern St. Louis County Soil and Water Conservation District to aid in survey and design at the sites. These partnerships lead to identification of mutual priorities, survey and design, and implementation. Design was based on stream simulation and followed: Stream Simulation: An Ecological Approach to Providing Passage for Aquatic Organisms at Road-Stream Crossings. U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service National Technology and Development Program, San Dimas, California; http://www.stream.fs.fed.us/fishxing/publications/PDFs/AOP_PDFs/Cover_T…
Realized/Expected Results
Four Participating Agreements were established for survey, design and construction at six sites (Cook=1 site, Lake = 2 sites, St. Louis County = 3 sites). Funding source was obtained through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Construction will take place in 2011.
Contact Person and Phone #
Agreement Type(s)
Participating
Primary Partner List
Lake County, MN , Cook County, MN , South St. Louis Soil and Water Conservation District , St. Louis County, MN
Habitat Improvement Projects
Objective/Purpose of Project
The objective of lake and stream riparian planting projects is to establish or re-establish long-lived tree species such as white pine, red pine, northern white cedar, and white spruce within riparian areas. Planted trees eventually grow to maturity and help to improve lake and stream habitats by increasing shade and cover, promoting bank stability, and enhancing recruitment of large woody material.
Methods or Techniques Used
During the months of May through June of 2010, the Gunflint Ranger District completed several lake riparian habitat improvement projects on Thompson, Northern Light, Mink, Kimball and McDonald Lakes. A combination of white pine and northern white cedar seedlings were planted in approximately 10-20 small openings averaging 20 feet by 20 feet in diameter. The openings were first cleared of brush and then planted. Approximate locations varied within the riparian areas and were generally within 100 feet of the lakes' shoreline. This work was performed by The Nature Conservancy, Minnesota Chapter and the Minnesota Conservation Crew. In addition to the planting, the MCC crew also released existing seedlings and saplings of white pine. After planting was completed, they returned to the openings and either bud capped, placed grass matts around the seedlings or sheltered the trees from animal foraging.
Realized/Expected Results
The project is designed to promote the establishment of long-lived trees that will increase shoreline shading, promote bank stability, enhance the recruitment of large woody material and improve habitat for aquatic species, as well as provide future habitat for bald eagles and osprey.
Contact Person and Phone #
Primary Partner List
The Nature Conservancy - Minnesota
Laurentian Ranger District
Objective/Purpose of Project
The purpose of this project was to plan, design and develop a contract packages for two dam removals on the Superior National Forest. Removal of the structures along with associated floodplain fill will facilitate aquatic organism and debris passage, floodplain conveyance, and stream resiliency.
Methods or Techniques Used
A partnership with the Southern St. Louis County Soil and Water Conservation District was established to aid in survey and design at two remnant logging dam sites on the Superior National Forest (Cloquet River and Little Langley River). Forest Service and SWCD personnel worked together to clear the sites, perform total station surveys and develop plan sets for contract packages.
Realized/Expected Results
A Participating Agreement was established for survey, and design at both sites (Cloquet River and Little Langely River. Funding source was obtained through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). Contracting for the dam removals will take place in Fiscal Year 2011.
Contact Person and Phone #
Agreement Type(s)
Participating
Primary Partner List
South St. Louis Soil and Water Conservation District