Protecting Forests for Fish: using Conservation Easements to Protect

the Watersheds of Cisco lakes

Heather BairdPeter JacobsonMartin Jennings

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Extreme contrast of land uses in Minnesota greatly influence water quality and watershed management strategies.

Minnesota’s changing climate is already changing

• warmer summer nights• longer growing seasons (= longer

durations of stratification)• greatest change has occurred since

1980• declining abundances of cisco since

1975 in standard gillnet surveys

Year

Mea

n C

PE

(num

ber/n

et)

Modern AssessmentsLegacy Assessments

1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

05

1015

What are Tulibee (Cisco)?

• Coregonus artedi North American species of freshwater whitefish, in the family Salmonidae

• Will grow as large at 40 cm and up to 5 lbs. but are most commonly 30 cm in length and around 1-2 lbs.

• Diet is zooplankton and insect larvae• Need deep, cold, well oxygenated lakes for survival• Canary in coal mine; poor water quality and

increased nutrients reduces oxygen in deep cold water

Distribution of 648 lakes where cisco have been sampled in Minnesota DNR surveys since 1946

Artwork courtesy of Joseph Tomelleri

Epilimnion

Metalimnion

Hypolimnion

Organic material decay

depletes oxygen

Phosphorus

Direct connection between land use and cisco habitat

Plant artwork courtesy Donna Dustin

Anoxic

Nutrient loading increases primary productivity

Watershed sources of excessive nutrients include agricultural

and urban lands

Lake AndrusiaBeltrami CountyJuly 28, 2006

10 15 20 25

0

2

4

6

8

10

Temperature (C)

Oxy

gen

conc

entra

tion

(mg/

l)

7th Crow Wing8th Crow WingAndrusiaBemidjiCottonGullItascaLidaLittle Pine (Cass)Little Pine (Ottertail)Little TurtleLongPine MountainStarStraightWoman

Jacobson et al. (2008) Field estimation of a lethal oxythermal niche boundary for adult cisco in Minnesota lakes. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 137:1464–1474.

Cisco Lethal Niche Boundary

176 cisco refuge lakes identified by Fang and Stefan

Lake Acres Rainy 44,733 Basswood 14,070 Lac la Croix 13,678 Namakan 11,755 Pelican 8,367 Whitefish 7,715 Trout 7,425 Saganaga 6,682 Crooked 5,230 Ten Mile 5,047 Sand Point 4,848 Snowbank 4,655 Brule 4,272 Sea Gull 3,958 Knife 3,712 Kabekona 2,433 Wabana 2,221 Gunflint 2,166 Pine 2,122 Turtle 2,103 Greenwood 2,043 Loon 2,017 White Earth 1,991 Long 1,926 Trout 1,854 Cedar 1,745 Trout 1,743 Big Sand 1,635 Washburn 1,590 Roosevelt 1,511 Thomas 1,465 Big Trout 1,363 Thunder 1,347

The need to look beyond the shoreline to protect water quality

Watershed• Significantly larger land mass• Greater nutrient loading from

disturbed lands• No direct DNR regulatory authority

Protect the sponge!

Protecting 75% of the watershed

of a lake as forested

keeps good water

quality and good fish

habitat

T. Cross and P. Jacobson (2013) : Landscape factors influencing lake phosphorus concentrations across Minnesota, Lake and Reservoir Management, 29:1, 1-12

Land protected by public ownership or conservation easement (2008 GAP Ownership)

Treasures of the Deep: protecting

hypolimnetic oxygen in

Minnesota lakes

Artwork - Joseph Tomelleri

Tullibee (cisco)

Lake Whitefish

Lake Trout

• Hypolimnetic oxygen will be an increasingly valuable ecological resource in a climate warmed Minnesota

• Deep lakes with good water quality need extra protection

• Statewide significance• High priority for shoreland and

watershed protection• Invest $180 million to protect

300,000 acres ($600/acre) of forest to protect watersheds of 176 coldwater refuge lakes.

Clean Water Legacy Funding to protect forested watersheds of cisco refuge lakes

Private Forest Conservation Easements

• Established tool to provide permanent protection of forested lands

• Division of Forestry and many partners

• Working lands easements• Smaller private landowners

need to be also targeted• Extraordinary water quality

benefits

Ownership in the watershed of Pelican Lake, Crow Wing County

Ten Mile Lake Watershed, now exceeds 75% protected

Thank You!

Heather BairdForest Fisheries Landscape Coordinator218-203-4345heather.baird@state.mn.us