QUARTERLY REPORT 1ST QUARTER, 2003

John Alden, Watershed Coordinator

CLEAN WATER ACT GRANT: As of this spring, the TMLA, Inc. has been awarded 90% of a total $36,500 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and the Mississippi Headwaters Board for non-point source pollution evaluations in the Upper Boy River and nearby watersheds. As Watershed Coordinator, I wrote the grant proposal for the "Upper Boy River Hydrologic Assessment" that was accepted in June of 2001. The project should be completed by the end of 2003.

ACTION ITEMS FOR THIS GRANT:

1. Provide an assessment of the environmentally sensitive areas of the Boy River and evaluate the effectiveness of control structures and/or restraining fixtures along the river from Ten Mile Lake (the headwaters of the Boy River) to Big Deep Lake.
2. Integrate the Cass County computerized models for wetlands, uplands, and ground-water as they may help identify environmentally sensitive areas in the Upper Boy River Watershed. The Ten Mile Lake Association, Inc. has been instrumental in the development of these three models and will benefit from their applications for future growth in our watershed.
3. Initiate a study with University of Minnesota - Duluth Geology Department to evaluate ground-water recharge areas and ground-water flow movements in the Boy River watershed and also the Williams Lake watershed. A demolition landfill site has been proposed near Williams Lake. The proposed site is approximately 2.5 miles west of Ten Mile.
4. Cooperate with the United States Forest Service regarding its proposed revisions for the management the Chippewa National Forest. Shoreline in Flower Pot Bay of Ten Mile is in the CNF and a significant part of the drainage into Ten Mile comes from wetlands in the CNF. I will be reviewing the alternatives promoted by the Forest Service for the CNF that include recreation, timber harvesting, and the increased promulgation of conifers rather than aspen.
5. Provide funding for water quality studies on the Upper Boy River. These studies do include limited funding for Ten Mile. Water samples will be taken from the river and lakes to again document levels of phosphorus, nitrogen, chlorophyll and other indicators as deemed necessary.