Ryan Pulley and his son look at Pine Creek, which flows through the land where he raises beef cattle in southeastern Minnesota. Photo: Julie MacSwain.
Pine Creek wanders through prairies and rocky bluffs, and forests and pastures, including the land where Ryan Pulley raises beef in southeastern Minnesota. Pine Creek is beautiful – fed by limestone springs and home to freshwater trout.
Coldwater streams like Pine Creek flow throughout the Driftless Area, a unique Midwestern landscape marked by its craggy limestone, sandstone valleys and steep hillsides. This terrain, which was bypassed by the glaciers, is blessed with one of the highest concentrations of limestone spring creeks in the world.
While beautiful, the land’s soil easily erodes. Heavy rains and flooding greatly degraded Pine Creek several years ago, causing its banks to erode and soil to wash into the stream.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service worked with five farmers in the region as well as conservation partners like Trout Unlimited, Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council and the Winona County Soil and Water Conservation District to restore a four-mile section of the stream, which eventually sends its waters to the Mississippi River.
Restoration work takes time. To restore the stream, NRCS worked with farmers to stabilize and smooth the sides of the creek. Then native shrubs and grasses were planted to hold the ground in place. This restoration work benefits Pulley because it safeguards his pastures against erosion. It also helps improve water quality, preventing sediment from polluting the shallow stream.
Pine Creek is one of hundreds of spring-fed streams in the Driftless Area, a unique landscape in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. Photo: Julie MacSwain.
Coldwater streams provide critical trout habitat. High amounts of sediment can cover the bottom of streams, preventing trout from spawning. The spring water provides a near constant flow of cold water, and the water – enriched with limestone – provides essential minerals for aquatic insects, a common food of trout.
“Working on this project in Pine Creek has been challenging, but satisfying, as a NRCS district conservationist in Winona County,” NRCS’ Sue Glende said. “Knowing that I played a role in solving the bank erosion was gratifying.”
NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to farmers to help them implement conservation practices on their land. This assistance covers part of the cost. NRCS uses a variety of Farm Bill conservation programs to provide assistance as well as targeted initiatives to accelerate the delivery of the programs. NRCS launched the Driftless Area Landscape Conservation Initiative in 2013 to help restore and protect the unique landscape.
For more on technical and financial assistance available through conservation programs, visit nrcs.usda.gov/GetStarted or a local USDA service center.
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