St. Ansgar Students Plant Trees to Help Creek
Posted: July 2008

Trout anglers in the area may notice some changes near one of their favorite fishing holes. The Saint Ansgar Future Farmers of America (FFA) class planted 40 Red Oak trees this spring. These St. Ansgar High School juniors were supervised by Mitchell County Conservation Board naturalist Jim Doidge and FFA Instructor Andy Johnson.

The Mitchell County Conservation Board has been conducting a timber stand improvement project in the riparian area of Turtle Creek on the Boerjan Wildlife Area for the past several years. The trees were provided by the Mitchell County Conservation Board and planted in areas where the undesirable vegetation, such as Box elder trees and other less desirable species, had been removed the year before. It was initiated with funding from Alliant Energy and has been continued by the Mitchell County Conservation Board.

This area is also located in the Turtle Creek Watershed. These trees will benefit water quality in Turtle Creek in a number of ways. Trees stabilize the soil in riparian areas and keep sediment from entering the creek channel. A vegetated riparian area will filter nutrients from surface water that would otherwise runoff into the creek. The trees also provide shade in the warm summer months, beneficial to this cold water trout stream and will offer wildlife habitat and food as they mature.

Practices like this tree planting and other vegetated filter strips offer a great environmental benefit. There are a number of cost share programs to help private landowners establish conservation practices on their property. If you are interested in more information about these practices or the water quality project on Turtle Creek or Burr Oak Creek, please contact Dan Bratrud at the Mitchell County SWCD office at 641-732-5504.