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Upper Mississippi - Grand Rapids, One Watershed One Plan
Upper Mississippi - Grand Rapids
Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan
In 2022, the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) awarded a One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) planning grant to the Upper Mississippi River - Grand Rapids watershed. This initiated a collaborative planning effort between local, state, and Tribal governments and local community members within the watershed. The planning group looked at issues and concerns within the watershed, developed potential practices and strategies to address those concerns, and outlined measurable goals to guide future work in the watershed.
The Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan (CWMP) for the Upper Mississippi - Grand Rapids watershed was approved in 2025. This document will be the guiding document for implementing voluntary water conservation practices through 2034.
Upper Mississippi - Grand Rapids 1W1P CWMP
Upper Mississippi - Grand Rapids Appendices
What is a WATERSHED? A watershed is an area of land where all the water from rain, snowmelt, and springs drains to a shared low point, such as a river, lake, or wetland. Watersheds vary in size and can include forests, farms, towns, lakes, and rivers. No matter where you live, work, or travel, you are always in a watershed.
The Upper Mississippi – Grand Rapids watershed is located in north-central Minnesota. It covers over 2,000 square miles of land, almost 2,000 miles of rivers and streams, and 625 lakes. While the main stem of the Mississippi River flows from the U.S. Army Corp dam just west of Grand Rapids and flows south to where the Willow River flows into the Mississippi River SW of Palisade, the Mississippi River - Grand Rapids watershed also include all the area that collects water into smaller creeks and streams that eventually flow into the Mississippi River in this stretch. The way land is used in this watershed influences water quality, habitat, and community well-being.
What Is One Watershed, One Plan?
One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) is a program in Minnesota that helps local governments and partners work together on shared water planning. Instead of each county or agency creating separate water plans, 1W1P encourages collaboration to develop one common plan for the entire watershed.
The goal is to create a comprehensive, long-term plan for managing land and water resources in the Upper Mississippi – Grand Rapids watershed. This planning process includes identifying local water issues and concerns, setting goals that reflect community values, coordinating funding and implementation efforts, supporting voluntary land management and conservation practices.
The planning partners for this comprehensive watershed management plan include Aitkin County, Aitkin SWCD, Carlton County, Carlton SWCD, Cass SWCD, Itasca County, Itasca SWCD, Salo Township, and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
Advisory Committee Notifications
The Upper Mississippi Grand Rapids 1W1P has completed its advisory committee meetings. The planning committee is incredibly grateful to all of those who have dedicated their time to collaborating on this comprehensive watershed management plan.
Policy Committee Notifications
The next Policy Committee Meeting will be held Thursday, September 25th at 10:30am (location TBD).
Policy Committee Meeting Agendas
Approved Policy Committee Meeting Minutes
Advisory Committee Reports
Big Fork River - One Watershed, One Plan
Take the Watershed Survey!!!
We're looking for your input! Please fill out this short survey to share your thoughts about Big Fork River watershed. We'll use this information throughout the planning process to help guide how the watershed plan is developed.
Overview
In 2024, The Big Fork River Watershed began undergoing a comprehensive planning effort through the One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) program. This is a state-supported initiative to develop watershed-based, locally driven plans that guide how we maintain and improve water resources. The Big Fork River Watershed spans over 1.3 million acres across multiple counties in northern Minnesota and includes many lakes, wetlands, rivers, and forested lands.
What is 1W1P?
One Watershed, One Plan brings together local governments and communities to develop one coordinated watershed management plan. The goal is to align local priorities with state goals—focusing on what matters most to the people who live, work, and spend time here. This plan does not change any existing regulations or ordinances. It is a collaborative effort to identify where voluntary conservation work and funding can make the biggest impact on water quality.
Why This Matters
Planning at the watershed scale allows us to focus efforts where they will make the most difference. Whether it's improving stormwater systems, restoring wetlands, managing runoff from forest lands, or protecting drinking water, watershed-based planning helps ensure healthy land and water for future generations. This process is not about new regulations. It's about working together to make the most of existing programs and resources.
How You Can Get Involved
This planning process depends on local knowledge and public input. There will be opportunities to attend planning meetings and share ideas. Anyone who lives in, works in, or cares about the watershed is encouraged to participate. See below for the schedule of topic-based planning meetings.
Big Fork River Planning Area
***Public Kickoff Meeting***
Join Us at the Public Kickoff Meeting!
We’re launching the Big Fork River 1W1P planning process with a public kickoff meeting on Wednesday, July 23rd from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at the Pizza Parlor in Bigfork, MN (201 Main Ave, Bigfork, MN 56628).
Stop by any time during the open house to learn more about the watershed plan, share your thoughts, and connect with the local staff and partners involved in the process. Light food and beverages will be provided. Everyone is welcome—landowners, residents, outdoor enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the future of the Big Fork River Watershed.
Can't make it to the kickoff meeting? You can still provide your input in this online survey. Your input with the survey helps guide the planning process, and if you live, work, or spend time in the Big Fork River watershed then your input matters!
Advisory Committee Notifications
Topic Advisory Meetings are where most of the collaborative work happens. These meetings bring together technical experts, landowners, residents, and local staff to explore key resource concerns and potential solutions. They are open to the public, and anyone interested in the watershed is encouraged to attend.
Each meeting focuses on specific planning topics:
August 6th, 1-4pm: Lakes & Rivers at the Marcell Family Center (49103 MN-38, Marcell, MN 56657)
September 3rd, 1-4pm: Forests & Wetlands, Location TBD
October 8th, 1-4pm: Urban Stormwater & Drainage, Location TBD
November 5th, 1-4pm: Farms & Groundwater, Location TBD
Topic Meeting Summaries and Materials:
Kickoff Meeting Summary – July 2025
Policy Committee Notifications
Policy Committee Meetings
The Policy Committee is made up of elected officials from each local government participating in the plan. This committee is responsible for final decisions about what goes into the plan and how priorities are set. Policy Committee meetings are open to the public and include time for updates and discussion.
The next Policy Committee meeting for this watershed is planned for Wednesday, August 27th at 10:30am- Location TBD.
Big Fork River
The Big Fork River watershed, which covers 1,326,947 acres, flows 165 miles from Dora Lake (45 miles northeast of Bemidji in north-central Itasca County) to the Rainy River, which forms the Minnesota/Canadian border. This confluence is 16 miles west-southwest of International Falls. Nearly 60% of the watershed is land owned or managed by the state.
Characteristics
Development pressure is moderate in most areas, with occasional farms being parceled out for development, recreation, or country homes. Soil content in the watershed varies from sand to clay glacial till, while low bog areas consist of loam over clay soils. The watershed is mostly low relief with an elevation change of about 375 feet from the headwaters to the confluence at the Rainy River. There are approximately 113 tributary streams that flow into the Big Fork River, though many are seasonal or intermittent that are present during the heavy spring runoff.
What's being done
The Big Fork River watershed is currently in its WRAPS (watershed restoration and protection strategies) Cycle II starting in 2018. Starting in 2020, a Surface Water Assessment Grant (SWAG) was provided to collect water samples from 23 lakes in theBig Fork watershed within Itasca County. Results from this study will help determine the health of the watershed and identify any possible lakes that may need restoration or protection to improve water quality. In previous monitoring, Jessie and Island lake were identified as impaired waterbodies due to excessive nutrients in the lake- current research is underway to help identify possible sources and protect the water quality of these lakes. The Watershed Pollutant Load Monitoring Network (WPLMN) measures and compares data on pollutant loads from Minnesota’s rivers and streams and tracks water quality trends. Water pollution load monitoring is currently being completed on the Big Fork River to find how much and what type of runoff pollution ends up in the Big Fork River following rain events. This helps identify if the water quality is improving, helps identify what pollutants are in the river and try to reduce them.
