Open House on St. Louis River Beneficial Use Impairment

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources are seeking public comments from until April 26 on their recommendation to remove the Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations Beneficial Use Impairment from the St. Louis River Area of Concern. Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations was one of nine Beneficial Use Impairments identified in the St. Louis River AOC.

All six management actions required to remove the impairment designation have been completed. Projects included restoring piping plover habitat at Wisconsin Point and common tern habitat at Interstate Island, as well as surveys and studies to show the estuary’s capacity to support healthy fish and wildlife populations.

The public open house is hosted by Area of Concern partners and will include a presentation about the work completed to propose removal of the impairment. The presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m.

Public comments on the impairment removal proposal will be accepted through April 26. The impairment removal documents and comment submittal information are available online at the MNDNR’s St. Louis River Restoration Initiative website.

Copies of the impairment removal documents are also available to review in-person at:

Duluth Public Library, 520 W. Superior St., Duluth
Fond du Lac Resource Management Division Office, 28 University Road, Cloquet
Superior Public Library, 1530 Tower Ave., Superior

If removed, this will be the fourth of the nine impairments removed so far for this Area of Concern. For more information about the AOC program visit the Wisconsin DNR or Minnesota Pollution Control Agency websites.