"Soil is not an inert growing medium - it is a living and life-giving natural resource. It is teaming with billions of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes that are the foundation of an elegant symbiotic ecosystem. Healthy soil gives us clean air and water, bountiful crops and forests, productive grazing lands, diverse wildlife, and beautiful landscapes." - USDA
The Zumbro River watershed covers more than 900,000 acres and reaches parts of six counties in southeast Minnesota (Olmsted, Dodge, Steele, Rice, Goodhue, and Wabasha). Rochester, one of Minnesota's largest cities, is located in the southeast quadrant of the watershed.
The Zumbro River Watershed is known for its diversity of landscape, ranging from deep and fertile glacial tills to sandy soils on steep bluffs. Much of it is underlain by karst, with exposed bedrock and complex groundwater systems predominant in the eastern half of the region. Landforms common to this area are steep bluffs overlooking deep river valleys, sinkholes, caverns, and cold-water spring-fed streams.
Rice, Goodhue, Wabasha, Dodge, and Olmsted counties and their soil and water conservation districts along with the Bear Valley Watershed District and the City of Rochester are developing the Greater Zumbro One Watershed One Plan.
19 июн 2024
