City honored for conservation efforts

This year's Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District Outstanding Conservationist award was not presented to a person, rather the award went to an entire department. The public works department for the city of Cloquet was recognized by the Carlton SWCD on Nov. 12 for going "above and beyond" in implementing numerous conservation projects.

Those projects included working with the SWCD to manage more than 10 acres of buckthorn and other invasive species on city property with the help of the Conservation Corps, volunteers, and local boy scouts. Public Works also participated in a "Lawns to Legumes" program converting two acres of turf grass into a native pollinator meadow at Braun Park. City crews also provided materials and installed a pollinator pocket and rain garden at the Cloquet Public Library and Cloquet Area Alternative Education Program.

"We're just doing our job and trying to be good stewards," said assistant public works director Ross Biebl. "But to be recognized for the work we've been doing is really nice."

Most of the buckthorn remediation work was done on the hillside between Community Memorial Hospital and the St. Louis River, and along the North River Trail on the opposite side of Highway 33. Crews also cut down buckthorn in Pine Valley Recreation Area in 2023, mostly along the road, Biebl said. City workers and volunteers worked to cut down and treat the stumps of the invasive trees to prevent them from growing back.

An invasive species originally brought from Europe as hedging material, buckthorn can form dense thickets in forests, yards, parks and roadsides. They crowd out native plants and displace the native shrubs and small trees in the mid-layer of the forest where many species of birds nest, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Additionally, Biebl said, SWCD brought a huge kiln and turned much of the cut buckthorn into biochar, a charcoal which can be used for soil

rejuvenation.

"Partnering with the city of Cloquet public works and Ross is a joy," said Alyssa Bloss, SWCD district manager. "We support each other in so many efforts, especially when it comes to invasive species and pollinator habitat. I look forward to what the future brings for the city's conservation world."

The partnership with Carlton SWCD has been good for the city, Biebl said.

"They're the experts," he said. "They can also apply for additional grant funds so a lot of times there's no cost to the city, just a little bit of staff time."

The city of Cloquet is now in the running for a statewide conservationist award, which will be announced at the SWCD convention on Dec. 4.

Also honored

Big Sandy Area Lakes Watershed Management Project members were also honored by the SWCD with the Conservation Partner Award for multiple workshops and mailings focusing on community outreach and engagement while conducting monthly business meetings. It was also an integral partner in the Cromwell stormwater project: three large rain gardens and two bio-swales at the Cromwell Pavilion that treat stormwater runoff, preventing pollution and excess sediment from reaching the Tamarak River. BSALWMP Members Rocky Youngberg, Norbert Wallack, and Jim Deming also donate their time and equipment each month of the field season assisting with water quality monitoring on area lakes.