Streamkeepers Report--March 2026

by Jim Sauter
"The child in nature is an endangered species, and the health of children and the health of the Earth are inseparable."  Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods

Greetings from the TCTU Streamkeepers. 
Spring has arrived, and this is the time where I am switching modes from fly tying to stream monitoring and fishing.  My contribution to the Laughing Trout Bug Bank this year was 50 pink squirrels.  I have attached a photo and recipe/ instructions at the bottom of this article.
Randy Lage, with the help of Chip Meyer and Craig Passow, organized and recruited some members of the Laughing Trout Fly Fishing Club to tie flies for various youth, veterans, and other organizations.  The purpose is to promote fly fishing, warm water fishing, and fly tying.  The Bug Bank is a sub-committee of Laughing Trout Fly Fishing Club and has provided outreach to various groups and organizations.  The Laughing Trout Bug Bank continues to explore other groups and organizations that may benefit from these donations. 
The Laughing Trout club meets every Wednesday evening at the Wayzata American Legion at 6:00 pm.  There are some very highly skilled fly tiers in this group, and they have even allowed me join, sit in, and learn a few things.  All are welcome.
There are other excellent fly tying opportunities in the Twin Cites metro area such as the St. Paul Fly Tiers & Fishing Club and at various fly fishing shops.  The St. Paul Fly Tiers meet on Thursday nights at 7:30 pm at the VFW in North St. Paul. 
Our TCTU Streamkeeper group is gearing up for our 2026 monitoring season. 

​We currently have 48 Streamkeeper water monitoring volunteers on nine targeted streams and other random streams in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  The key streams we will be monitoring this summer include Belle Creek, Brown's Creek, Eagle Creek, Hay Creek, Little Cannon River, Mall of America/ Ike's Creek, South Branch of the Vermillion, Trout Brook, and the South Branch of the Whitewater River. 
Our "season" for monitoring begins in April and concludes at the end of October.  We hope to have at least 10 chemical test readings on each stream over the course of the season.  In the past we have encouraged monitors to take at least three of the ten readings after a major rain event.  We define this as taking a reading within 24 hours of a major rainfall of one inch or more.  This year we are encouraging our monitors to take more readings after major rainfalls if possible since this shows a broader range of stream conditions.
Thank you to our many volunteers for their efforts in being our "eyes and ears" on these cold water fisheries.
 
STREAMKEEPER/SAVE OUR STREAM (SOS) CHEMICAL TESTING TRAINING EVENT
Reminder-  we will do on-stream water quality chemical training for new Streamkeepers, current Streamkeepers that need some refresher training, and anyone else that has interest in learning more about taking chemical water tests.  We will follow the Izaak Walton League Save Our Stream (i.e. SOS) protocol and learn about taking measurements including water temperature, clarity, nitrates, nitrites, pH, alkalinity, hardness, phosphate, and salt.  We will also discuss the updated Google Form that we will use to record the data.
 
Date:  Saturday, April 18, 2026
Time:  10:00 am
Location:  South Branch Vermillion
Parking:  South Branch Vermillion, AMA parking lot, West of Hwy 52 on 200th Ave
Please note that if the lot if full, please park on 200th Ave
Monitoring Site:
GPS 44.657278,  -93.008988
You can click this link to find the location:  AMA parking lot.  Please note that if the lot is full, park on 200th Ave.
We encourage you to register at least 24 hours in advance so that we can get a head count at:  TCTU Streamkeeper Training Event  
Let Jim Sauter know if you have any questions:  [email protected]
 
NITRATES
Recently TCTU submitted a Comment Letter to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.  In collaboration with Kent Johnson, Chris O'Brien, and Bob Luck, we sent our comments to Larry Gunderson.  Larry is the Supervisor of the Fertilizer Management Unit at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.  I will summarize our findings that we presented in our Comment Letter.
Our 2023-2025 TCTU Streamkeeper findings indicated persistently elevated nitrate concentrations in multiple monitored streams, particularly in the karst geology found in Southeast Minnesota, the location of many of Minnesota’s most productive trout streams. 
I will share some of our most recent findings.
Our findings from 2025 showed the following:
·      Our monitoring team took 118 nitrate measurements in 2025. Of those, 55 (47%) showed nitrate concentrations equaling or exceeding 5 mg/L, which is the draft chronic criterion set by the MPCA in 2022 to protect aquatic life in cold-water trout streams (Class 2A waters). The nitrate concentrations in 24 measurements (20%) equaled or exceeded 10 mg/L, which the US EPA and MN Dept. of Health have designated as the safe limit for drinking water.  See Appendix C.
·      The situation is more serious when looking at Hay Creek (Goodhue County) and the South Branch of the Whitewater River (Winona County), both located in the karst geology of Southeast Minnesota.  These are two of the most productive and popular trout fisheries in the state.
·      Hay Creek is the stream that we monitor most frequently, accounting for 27 of our measurements in 2025.  20 of the 27 measurements (74%) showed nitrate concentrations equaling or exceeding 5 mg/L, and 6 measurements (22%) equaled or exceeded 10 mg/L.
·      We took 7 measurements on the South Branch of the Whitewater River. All those measurements equaled or exceeded the draft chronic water quality criterion of 5 mg/L, and 4 measurements (57%) equaled the drinking water standard of 10 mg/L
In summary, based on our 2023-2025 monitoring results and the known hydrogeologic vulnerability of the Central Sands, Metro, and Southeast regions of Minnesota, we respectfully submitted that the current Groundwater Protection Rule does not provide sufficient protection against nitrate contamination in highly sensitive areas.
During our 2023-2025 monitoring period, 47% of our 197 nitrate measurements in the Metro Area and Southeast Minnesota equaled or exceeded the draft chronic water quality criterion of 5 mg/L for trout streams.  During the same period, 22% of our 197 nitrate measurements equaled or exceeded the 10 mg/L drinking water standard. While restrictions on fall and frozen-soil application represent important progress, our monitoring data suggest that nitrate loading to groundwater-connected streams continues at levels that impair aquatic ecosystems.
We therefore urged the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to:
1.   Conduct a formal evaluation of nitrate trends in groundwater-connected trout streams in designated vulnerable groundwater areas.  
2.   Consider additional seasonal or rate-based restrictions on nitrogen fertilizer application in karst and Central Sands regions.
3.   Expand monitoring requirements in areas where public water supplies or ecologically sensitive waters show elevated nitrate concentrations.
4.   Incorporate the proposed chronic water quality criteria for nitrate (MPCA 2022), in addition to drinking water standards, into the determination of rule adequacy.
 
Thanks again to all who helped with our Comment Letter.
 
That's all for now.  Tight lines.
 
Jim Sauter
TCTU Streamkeeper Coordinator

PHOTOS
The Pink Squirrel (i.e., Laughing Trout Version), Courtesy of Laughing Trout Fly Fishing Club and Paul Johnson

Nitrate Testing Kit Used by Streamkeepers, photo by Jim Sauter