Mississippi River – St. Cloud Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy Report

The Mississippi River (St. Cloud) (MR-SC) Watershed covers 717,479 acres (1,121 sq. mi) in central Minnesota within the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The Watershed originates at the confluence of the Sauk and Mississippi Rivers (upstream of CSAH 3, near St. Cloud, Minnesota). This portion of the Mississippi River flows approximately 50 miles southeast, where it joins with the North Fork of the Crow River. The Mississippi River (St. Cloud) watershed contains a total of 907 river miles, draining approximately 717,374 acres (1,121 sq. mi.). The watershed includes all or parts of seven counties in central Minnesota: Benton, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, and Wright. The watershed is entirely contained within the North Central Hardwood Forests (NCHF) Ecoregion (Omernik, 1988) (Figure 1). Ecoregions are areas of relative homogeneity based on land use, soils, land and surface forms and potential natural vegetation. Researchers have observed distinct surface water characteristics based on ecoregion location; thus, water quality standards for this watershed are based on those set for the NCHF ecoregion.