The Knife River Watershed

• The main Knife River and its tributaries consist of approximately 70 miles of stream with a catch-basin of about 54,000 acres. 

• A little more than half of the watershed acreage is owned by the State of Minnesota, St. Louis County and Lake County.

• The Remaining acreage is privately owned; of this about 25% (6200 acres) are enrolled in forest stewardship plans.

Map reproduced with permission from  Stone et al. (2015) 

Knife River Watershed Concerns

• In 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency and and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency classified the Knife River as impaired due to high levels of turbidity.

• The source of turbidity is erosion of clay banks within the river, caused by increased water flow during significant rain and snow-melt events. 

• The watershed has limited natural water storage features such as ponds and marshes which store and retard the flow of run-off water. The removal of beaver impoundments and clear-cut logging practices contribute to this problem.