The Northern Bedrock Conservation Corps planted 1,500 trees in the Flute Reed River watershed over the Memorial Day weekend. The trees will prevent erosion and provide shade, keeping the river cool for the steelhead trout it is known for. (Above) Sage DeGaia, Sylvie Bowen-Bailey, Sanna Berdahl, Matt Torvinen, and Alice Yonke. (Left) Sanna Berdahl inspects a tree root before planting it. (Lower left) Sylvie Bowen- Bailey trimming a tree’s roots.
Sixteen Northern Bedrock Conservation Corps (NBCC) volunteers and one landowner planted 1,500 conifers – 1,300 white spruce, 100 white cedar, and 100 white pine – on eight different private properties in the Flute Reed River watershed in Hovland on May 25 and 25, 2013.
This was Northern Bedrock Conservation Corps’ first project in Cook County. According to its website, the Corps was formed “with the goal of providing valuable experiences that equip youth and young adults with effective life skills.
“…Led by professional staff trained both in working with youth and in doing conservation work, NBCC crews will perform meaningful work in the region for a variety of entities, including local, state, tribal and federal governments, schools, and private businesses and non-profit organizations.”
The project helped further the goals of the Flute Reed Partnership, a nonprofit organization made up mostly of Flute Reed watershed property owners and others who own property in other parts of Cook County.
Some of the Conservation Corps volunteers were families that camped out on property belonging to a Flute Reed Partnership board member. According to Flute Reed Partnership founder Rick Schubert, “[The] tree planters reported having a good time working together out in the woods, spending time in nature.”
Many of the white pines and cedars were fenced in to protect them from deer. Permeable mats were placed around some of the seedlings in grassy areas to prevent the trees from getting choked out by grass. Event photographer Rolf Hagberg of Duluth was pleased with the fencing and weed mats placed around the trees. “This will really help keep the cedar and white pine alive,” he told the Cook County News-Herald. “Planting the spruce is good, but the cedar and white pine are the real special ones.”
The trees came from a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources nursery and were funded along with supplies by a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
“Trees will grow up to hold the soil and shade the river water,” Schubert said, “keeping it cool for the steelhead trout.” The Flute Reed is considered one of the best steelhead rivers on the North Shore, and Schubert said people are reporting good fishing this year.
A brochure on the Flute Reed Partnership states that during periods of drought, the river, which is about 9.2 miles long, does not reach Lake Superior. “Some small fish and other aquatic organisms manage to survive dry periods in pools. …The fish in the Flute Reed are generally adapted for cool water streams. As vegetation in the watershed is removed, especially near the river, water temperatures tend to increase, which can make it harder for these fish to survive.”
Flute Reed Partnership was formed in 2006, and its volunteers have been working with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) since 2007 to monitor the health of the river. The MPCA has listed the 10,485-acre Flute Reed watershed as one of ten priority Lake Superior watersheds.
Ninety-six percent of the land along the river is privately owned. “What each of us does with the land in the watershed may be small,” says the Partnership’s brochure, “but small changes – a driveway here, a rooftop there, five pounds of fertilizer, a leaky septic tank – add up quickly.”
The Flute Reed Partnership has been working to improve the watershed by planting trees along the river to prevent erosion. Other Partnership projects have included roadside ditch diversions and revegetation of exposed banks.
The Flute Reed Partnership page on the LakeSuperiorSt reams . org website states, “The Flute Reed Watershed Partnership is a grassroots watershed group in Hovland, MN. …Our goal is to educate ourselves and our community about the river’s ecosystem and to positively influence its environment. … Our mission is to foster stewardship within the community to maintain, restore and enhance the watershed health of the Flute Reed River.”
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