Wetland Restoration in Southeastern Minnesota

Aaron and Amanda Armstrong, producers in Steele County Minnesota, have been working with the NRCS, BWSR, and SWCD since 2012 to restore their 880 acers of marginal farmland back into its original wetlands. Noel Frank, former District Conservationist and Jim Smith, Soil Conservation Technician, Natural Resources Conservation Service, along with Tom Wenzel, Water Resources Senior Engineer, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, walk us through the seven stage process of how these marginal farming acres were restored into wetlands. More than 40 miles of drain tiles were taken out and 45 wetland scrapes were created. Following the construction, 70 species of grass, sedges, and wild flowers were planted on the site. The wetlands were designed to require low maintenance while enhancing the water quality from the 1,300 acre watershed. These wetlands are now home to countless species of waterfowl and other wildlife. Videography by Dan Balluff. For more information please visit the Minnesota NRCS website at: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/conservation-by-state/minnesota And for more videos about other NRCS conservation-related projects, please visit the Minnesota NRCS YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/@minnesotanrcs https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ https://twitter.com/NRCS_MN Time stamps: 00:00:00 Aaron and Amanda Armstrong, Producers 00:01:36 Noel Frank, former District Conservationist, NRCS 00:02:25 Jim Smith, Soil Conservation Technician, NRCS 00:03:07 Tom Wenzel, Water Resources Senior Engineer, BWSR #waterquality #wetlands #wetland #wetlandrestoration