Kettle River Watershed Stressor Identification Report

The KRW (Figure 1), located in the St. Croix River Basin, is situated within a mixed-landcover region of east central Minnesota, consisting of forests, large bog-type wetlands, and agricultural fields and pastures. Water resources are primarily streams/rivers and wetlands. Few lakes are found in this part of Minnesota, and those in the KRW are small in size, with the one exception of Sturgeon Lake. Agricultural land usage is generally not dense, but is more abundant than watersheds to the north. There are several parcels of Native American Reservation lands in the KRW. Two parcels are located at the very northern boundary of the watershed, both of which are parts of the Fond du Lac Reservation. The Mille Lacs Band also has trust lands in the KRW. Also contributing to the relatively natural condition of parts of the watershed are the large peatlands, particularly along the north and northwest portions of the KRW. Given these landscape/land use attributes, the primary anthropogenic stressors in the KRW are likely to be non-point types, and most likely from development and agricultural activities. Some ISTS failure may be present as well. One stressor that can occur anywhere roads are present is barriers to fish migration caused by the structures used to place a road over a stream. In particular, culverts are commonly found to be at least partial barriers to fish passage