our Projects

• 01/

  Bear park Project

  The Bear Park Project was completed in 1984. The designed to hold 4000 acre feet of water during high runoff events, reducing flood damages on the Sand Hill and Red River.
• 02/

  V. Olson Dam

  The Verdell Olson Dam began with the construction of a detention dam in the outlet channel from a 50 acre basin. The dam eliminated damages caused by extremely high flows each spring.
• 04/

  Winger Dam

  The proposed Winger Dam was designed to hold 12,000 acre feet creating a lake with 6,000 acrea feet of possible flood storage. After years of effort and expense, the project died due to the inability to obtain proper permiting from the US Army Corp and MN DNR.
• 08/

  Ogaard Impoundment

  The project was meant to complement the Winger Dam and provide mitigation for the dam. This project died when the Winger Dam was denied permitting.
• 09/

  River Clean up

  To complement the district's missions statement, the district supported all efforts to clean our local river. Tires, mattresses, garbage, carcuses, and appliances were just a few things found and removed from our river.
• 09/A

  River Stabilization

  The Sand Hill River Watershed district installed riprap at four erosion protection areas along the Sand Hill River. Three of these areas are located in the vicinity of the city of Fertile in sections 20 and 29 of Garfield Township. The fourth site is located in the NW 1/4 of sect(ion 28, Liberty Township.
• 10/

  West Mill

  The City of Fertile petitioned the Sand Hill River Watershed District with a proposed recreational lake west of Fertile at the site of a feed mill that failed in 1950. The project died due to a lack of funding and MN DNR permitting restraints.
• 15/

  Ring Dikes

  Farmstead Ring Dikes

  City Ring Dikes

  The Sand Hill River Watershed District has assisted in the construction of many ring dike projects, mostly on the west end of the district. The latest project is a ring dike around the City of Climax. The district is waiting funding for a ring dike around the City of Nielsville
• 16/

  Kurass Lake

  The Watershed District assisted Garfield Township in 1998 with control structure to lower the lake level of Kurass Lake and establish an ordinary high water level.
• 18/

  Vesledahl Wetland Banking

  Multiple agencies planned to develop and restore areas of wetlands that will serve as a "bank" for wetland "credits" to be used to offset damages done to other wetlands for road construction projects.
• 19/

  Union Lake Erosion Control

  The district discovers a a workable solution for solving the erosion that was occurring at the site in section 31 of Knute Township, Polk County, Minnesota.
• 21/

  Fish Passage

  Since the early 2000's the Sand Hill River Watershed District has collaborated with partnering agencies to restore the Sand Hill River and make it a viable fishery once again.
• 22/

  Section 23/Russia Boundary

  Collaboration between the Red Lake Watershed District and the Sand Hill River Waterhsed District solves flooding for local landwoners.
• 23/

  Section 23/Russia Boundary

  Collaboration between the Red Lake Watershed District and the Sand Hill River Waterhsed District solves flooding for local landwoners.
• 28/

  King Township- Hopke Diversion

  The district cost shares with King Township to maintain the district's policy to manage water through a grass waterway vs. crossing farm fields.
• 29/

  Rock riffles

  The Sand Hill River Watershed District collaborated with many partners to minimize future head cutting along the Sand Hill channel and reduce to occurrence of bank sluffing.
• 30/

  Jerde/Taylor Erosion control

  The District helps landowners implement erosion control measures in Section 13 of Liberty Township.

Vesledahl Wetland Banking

Description/Location:

The Vesledahl Wetland Mitigation Project is a combined effort of the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources to develop and restore areas of wetlands that will serve as a "bank" for wetland "credits" to be used to offset damages done to other wetlands for road construction projects. The site of the Vesledahl Wetland Project is in Winger and Garden Townships of Polk County.

History:

In June, 1999, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was drafted up between the agencies involved to continue with the development of the project. The MOU detailed each agency's role and responsibility toward the project in teh areas of acquisition, design, construction, operation, and maintenance.

In June of 1999, MN DOT began negotiations to acquire the property from the Vesledahl owners. BWSR began the initial design phase for the project. Site evaluations were done to ensure their potential for wetland restoration.

Construction was planned for the summer of 2000 and was done in three phases approximately 620 acres per phase. It was determined that each phase woudl be the maximum number of acres that could be constructed and seeded each year as the MN DNR continues with it's management plans for the porperty. The remainder of phase 1 was planted in the fall of 2000.

In 2002, BWSR gave the district $21,320 to use the interest towards maintenance for the community ditch system running through the Vesledahl property. Many meetings with MN DOT, BWSR, MN DNR and landowners have produced no results to date. The district continues to be proactive to make this a legal ditch system.

Recent Meetings:

The Sand HIll River Watershed District has organzied meetings to discuss the option of making this area into a legal ditch system. To view the proposed drainage system, click here.

• An informational meeting was held March 28, 2024. Minutes from that meeting can be found here. The recorded meeting can be viewed here.
• An informational meeting was held August 17, 2017. Minutes from that meeting can be found here.
• An informational meeting was held on September 21, 2017. Minutes from that meeting can be found here.
• An informational meeting was held on October 26, 2017. Minutes from that meeting can be found here.