Land & Water​

Tom Scarponcini, left, and Dean Thomas look over Scarponcini’s flock of Île-de-France sheep in September 2023. With technical advice from Thomas, a regional grazing specialist, and with assistance from NRCS, Scarponcini established a strip-grazing setup within 20 acres of a blufftop pasture: “We’re really here borrowing land from future generations.” (Photos by Ann Wessel, BWSR)

Area Sheep Producer Boosts Productivity with Rotational Grazing

Natalie Vogel-Gabor, 5, of Winona, gets help from Dave Potts of Chaska, who volunteered to help teach youths to ice fish; this gathering in January was in recognition of the 100-year anniversary of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. (Photos by John Weiss unless otherwise stated)

Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge Turns 100

Canfield Creek, a small trout stream in Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park, joins the South Branch Root River. Are neonicotinoids killing invertebrates, the canary in the coalmine for stream health? (Photos by John Weiss)

Healthy Stream, Healthy Trout

Reggie McLeod stands on an overlook along the Mississippi River in Winona. His Big River Magazine covers 400 miles of river from the Twin Cities to the Quad Cities. (All photos by John Weiss)

For Love of the Big River

Southeast Minnesota's karst topography–and its network of sinkholes, caves and streams–exacerbate well contamination issues. There are more than 10,000 sinkholes in Fillmore County alone. (Photo Julie Little)

State Officials’ January 2024 Plan Addresses Nitrate Contamination Issues

The author, Don Bell, is pictured by Amish Experience in Lanesboro—his grandfather’s leather shop was located on the ground floor in the 1950s. The building at one time housed the Odd Fellows Lodge.

Essay | I’m Changing My Ways with Water

Paul Wotzka, hydrologist and co-founder of the Minnesota Well Owners Organization, speaks about the challenges karst geology presents to water quality in Fillmore County during a Water Quality Forum at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center, Lanesboro, on November 16. (Photo by John Torgrimson)

Local Forums, EPA Raise Questions About SE Minnesota Water Quality | State Agencies Respond

The Historic Forestville bridge, built in 1899, before it was hoisted off its abutments and placed on the south side of the Root River. (Photo by John Torgrimson)

Moving Day for a 19th Century Bridge at Historic Forestville

Grand Champion honey at the Fillmore County Fair. (All photos by Renee Bergstrom)

Swan Lake — Thousands of Tundra Swans Migrate Each Autumn

A family explores Cave of the Mounds, located in Dane County Wisconsin (link in article below). Cave of the Mounds takes its name from the Blue Mounds, two large hill landmarks. The main cavern began forming over a million years ago as water dissolved the limestone bedrock below the surface. (Photo courtesy of DARK Trail)

Explore the Driftless Area Via the DARK Trail

Reid Wintersteen, accompanied by his nine-month old son Clayton, helps with river cleanup on the Root River near Lanesboro. His wife Laura picks up trash nearby. (Photo by John Weiss)

Root River Cleanup Has Become an Annual Tradition

Fiddlehead ferns, ramps and nettles are readily available in the Spring in Southeast Minnesota. (All photos by Loni Kemp unless noted)

Learning to Forage in Minnesota

Follow us

Supported by...