A Water Resources Plan for Voyageurs National Park

Principal Investigators:
James A. Perry, Department of Forest Resources, 612-624-9796

Project Personnel:
Kerry L. Holmberg, Research Fellow, Department of Forest Resources

Project Duration:
March 2000 – ongoing

Funding:
Voyageurs National Park, NPS
Water Resources Division, NPS

Summary:
The objective of this project is to develop a Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP) for Voyageurs National Park that will present the current conditions of water resources in the park that provide a guide for future management. The plan will:

describe the water and closely related resources in and around the park;
present a summary of the state of scientific understanding of those water resources;
describe the National Park Service management objectives for water resources and identify tentative priorities;
identify, describe, and present a management analysis of significant water resources issues facing the park and assign a tentative priority to each issue;
present an analysis of the legal direction and requirements pertaining to the management of water resources in the park, including the relationship of this plan to other local and regional planning efforts;
develop and present alternative management actions to address the issues in a way that is consistent with legal mandates and will help achieve the management objectives;
produce Project Statements, where appropriate, to seek staff and funding to accomplish the proposed actions, which can be inserted into the park's WRMP.

In 2000 a survey “Water Resource Management Issues for Voyageurs National Park” was sent to 126 Voyageurs National Park stakeholders. There was a 75% response rate to the survey. The following October, a Water Resources Scoping workshop was held with selected stakeholders from federal, state and local management agencies, educational institutions, Non-governmental organizations, and First Nations. The results of the survey were presented and workshop participants were asked to prioritize the most significant issues for Voyageurs National Park. The top issues were discussed in detail as to why and how they should be addressed. These top issues will be the basis for project statements included in the WRMP.

In 2001 analyses of existing water quality and fisheries data were performed to look at acid deposition in interior lakes and the affects of water level fluctuation in the large lakes. These results were written up and will be included in the final WRMP. Project statements were developed.

In 2002 the WRMP draft was written. This includes: introduction (background, management goals, purpose of the plan, legislative and regulatory relationships, land status, uses and planning relationships, water resources issues), resource description (a summary of the existing water chemistry of the park), water resources management program, project statements addressing the top prioritized issues and appendices. The final details and review of the WRMP will be completed in January 2003 and the final product will be printed by February 28, 2003.