Lake Superior North Stressor Identification Report

The Lake Superior North Watershed is located in extreme northeastern Minnesota and contains many of the state's most pristine lakes and rivers. Many of the streams and rivers support robust populations of wild Brook Trout and other sensitive and relatively rare aquatic organisms. Despite the abundance of healthy watersheds in this region, several streams are on the impaired waters list for water quality parameters, and localized impacts are present in many non-impaired waterbodies. This report builds upon intensive water quality and biological data that was collected in this watershed in 2013 and 2014. Additional monitoring efforts were completed in 2015 and 2016 in several watersheds that were identified as priorities for restoration and protection work. This report summarizes the follow-up "stressor identification" (Link: Stressor Identification Defined) monitoring completed in these priority watersheds with the goal of informing the Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) effort for the Lake Superior North basin.