District Catches Best Program Award for Carp Management

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - December 29, 2020 - News

The District is honored to have been awarded the Program of the Year at the 2020 Minnesota Association of Watershed Districts’ (MAWD) annual conference earlier this month!

The carp certainly kept staff very busy in 2020. From tagging and tracking carp to carp seining and new removal techniques, it’s been a busy year. Check out some of the carp management and see some photos of work the District has done in 2020 in this cool StoryMap here.

Shown above are District and WSB staff (our carp consultant) Mary Newman (WSB), Maggie Karschnia (PLSLWD), Tony Havranek (WSB), Jordan Wein (WSB) and Jeff Anderson (PLSLWD) at a carp seine in 2020.

Since 2015, the District has undertaken a comprehensive effort to reduce common carp in Prior Lake and Spring Lake, creating and implementing an Integrated Pest Management Plan (IPM) to reduce internal phosphorus loading in the lakes which are impaired for excess nutrients including phosphorus.

Besides using traditional techniques of estimating carp biomass and carp seines, the District developed its own traps; herded carp underwater to trapping locations; trained citizens to locate and bait carp; instituted innovative netting techniques and used underwater and stationary cameras to locate carp and improve haul success.

“This is an iterative process, but so far carp removal efforts have resulted in substantial carp biomass removal and progress has been made on meeting the goals,” said Maggie Karschnia, Water Resources Project Manager.

To watch a video of a carp seining event, learn more about the methods used to manage carp, or to find out how residents and lake enthusiasts can help, check out the District’s carp management page here and the Carp Volunteer page here.

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Maggie Karschnia lands statewide ‘Outstanding Watershed Employee’ Award

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - December 23, 2020 - News

The District is pleased to announce that Maggie Karschnia (above left), Water Resources Project Manager, has been awarded the 2020 Outstanding Watershed District Employee by the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). The award was announced this month at Minnesota Association of Watershed District (MAWD) annual conference which was held virtually this year.

“Local staff is key to effective conservation delivery in Minnesota,” said John Jaschke, Executive Director of BSWR. “Maggie Karschnia’s dedication to preserving our water resources is commendable, and we appreciate all she does to further resource conservation.”

Currently serving as the Interim District Administrator as well as continuing her work as Water Resources Project Manager, Maggie joined the District in 2015 and took off running. She has transformed the the District’s carp management program, growing it into a curve-setting and award-winning program. This year the District’s carp management program was chosen as View Full Article →

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Staff Receive Environmental Leadership Award

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - February 10, 2020 - News

Congratulations to Jeff Anderson and Maggie Karschnia, the District’s Water Resources Technician and Water Resources Project Manager respectively (middle and right in photo), who received the 2020 Environmental Leadership Award from the Minnesota Erosion Control Association (MECA). Each year MECA recognizes people doing outstanding work within the erosion control community with awards of excellence. The award was presented by Greg Berg, the MECA Board President.

Jeff and Maggie were nominated for their contributions to managing difficult project conditions during a year of extra-ordinary wetness which required extra-ordinary solutions for erosion control, particularly on last year’s Highway 13 construction project!

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2017 Water Quality Improvement Award Winners Announced!!!

Posted by PLSLWD Staff - December 27, 2017 - News, Prior Lake, Spring Lake

The winners of the 2017 Water Quality Improvement Award were announced earlier this month at the December Board meeting.

Four local families were each awarded $500 for their efforts to protect water quality on their own properties and one family received Honorable Mention. The Water Quality Improvement Award was created by the District’s Citizen Advisory Committee to encourage residents to install projects to protect their shorelines, store stormwater and reduce pollutants from running into local waterbodies and to use native vegetation. This is the second year of the award.

According to Jodi See, co-chair of the Award, “We are inspired by the actions these individuals took to protect water quality in our local lakes. These projects require considerable time, effort and money and maintenance, so they are an ongoing commitment. Two of the awardees received assistance from the District’s cost share program. We applaud their devotion to the environment and to their communities.”

The 2017 Award Winners are:
Christian Morkeberg combined a raingarden with shoreline restoration, that reduces runoff to Spring Lake (Photo is of C. Morkeberg’s restoration project).

Cindy Sellin installed a filter strip on her shoreline that slows runoff and prevents contaminants such as sediments, organic matter, nutrients and pathogens from running into Lower Prior Lake.

Jim Lally (nominated by another homeowner) installed a raingarden that reduces stormwater runoff to Spring Lake.

Eric Zastrow (nominated by another homeowner) installed a raingarden on the East Side of Willow Beach Association property, which reduces the runoff and sediment running into Upper Prior Lake.

Honorable Mention: James and Candace Freemon installed a raingarden to catch stormwater runoff that was causing mud and erosion on a hilly and densely shaded corner of their property.

For more information and photos for these awards, please visit the WQ Improvement Award page on our website.

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