Citizen | MCWD: Minnehaha Creek Watershed District

2011 Watershed Heroes

Excellence in Development Award: Solution Blue, Inc.
Innovation in Government Award: Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs
Outstanding Partner Award: Minnesota Waters
Youth Naturalist Award: Youth of Pierson Lake Association (APPLE)
Citizen Engagement Award: Lake Action Alliance
Outstanding Contribution Award: Bob and Jan Halverson

Solution Blue, Inc.	Excellence in Development Award	This St. Paul-based development firm specializes in sustainable design. It routinely goes above and beyond stormwater runoff requirements on projects including its work with the MCWD at St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church and Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis and at the Eldridge Subdivision in St. Louis Park.
Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs	Innovation in Government Award	The MDVA partnered with the MCWD on the installation of underground stormwater chambers and a pervious paver driveway and parking lot at the Minneapolis Veterans Home to help reduce stormwater runoff that was damaging Minnehaha Falls and the surrounding glen. The MDVA was collaborative, solution-oriented and helped cover unanticipated costs to help get the job done.
Minnesota Waters	Outstanding Partner Award	This non-profit organization has been an invaluable partner in helping form and organize lake associations, which is the foundation of the District’s education and outreach work. It’s also taking a leading statewide role in confronting aquatic invasive species (AIS).
Youth of Pierson Lake Association (APPLE)	Youth Naturalist Award	These young people caught and removed about 35,000 pounds of carp from Pierson Lake, where the District installed barriers as part of a carp management program this summer.
Lake Action Alliance	Citizen Engagement Award	This coalition of three lake associations (Christmas Lake Homeowners Association, the Lake Minnewashta Preservation Association and the Lotus Lake Association) has been a powerful force in the effort to protect its lakes and others against zebra mussels and other AIS.
Bob and Jan Halverson	Outstanding Contribution Award	The Halversons sold their 112-acre farm in Minnetrista to the MCWD this year for less than the appraised value as a gift to the community. The District plans to conserve and restore most of the land to protect nearby Halsted Bay, which has a water quality grade that’s among the lowest in the District.

Photos from the night:

CLOSE About the Watershed Association Initative

With 126 lakes, countless wetlands and miles of streams in the District, we know that citizen leaders are essential part of protecting and improving our waters. In September of 2006 the Watershed Association Initiative (WAI) began. Through this program the MCWD wants to activate groups of citizens who have come together with the common value of protecting their local water resources.

The scientific expertise, organizational development resources, and citizen-led conservation experience that both the MCWD and the Freshwater Society provide are important for a strong start and a sustainable future for lake, stream, and watershed associations.

Discover the District

Connect with us

OPEN Apply to the CAC

OPEN Past Watershed Heroes

2011 Watershed Heroes

CLOSE About the Watershed Association Initative

OPEN General Public

Interactive Displays and Exhibits

Enviroscape

Putt Putt for Clean Water

Your Street Connects to Lakes and Rivers