Participants arrive in Hastings, MN to get instructions for the day's sampling effort. photographer: Cindy Samples; date: 7-29-08

On a hot late July day, personnel from 10 agencies converged on Hastings, Minn., to sample aquatic vegetation in Pool 3 of the Mississippi River.  The 60 participants started the day in orientaiton/refresher sessions on data collection, vegetation identification, and data recording.  Once they found their crewmates and equipment, each 3-person crew set out to sample their assigned 15 points between Hastings and Red Wing, Minnesota.  The breeze on the water kept the heat manageable while raking through six transects at each point.  All 300 sampling points were vistied and though very little vegetation was found, a day on the river can make up for a lot of empty rake tines.

Most boats had crew members from at least two different agencies, so it was a great opportunity to work with old partners and develop relationships with new ones.  The Service provided over a third of the crews and boats from 7 different offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

The effort was organized by the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee's Veg Ad Hoc group in order to document the condition of submersed aquatic vegetation.  Scot Johnson, Mississippi River Hydrologist for Minnesota DNR and co-coordinator of the day's sampling effort, commented, "This is a perfect opportunity to develop parnterships on this end of the river where we typically haven't been as active, but where the need for habitat restoration exists."  This is the fourth year the one-day sampling effort has been conducted and now Pools 3, 6, 9, 18, and 19 have baseline data that will be used for future water level management drawdowns, island restoration protects, and other potential restoration efforts.