Stream Monitoring

For many years I monitored Coon Creek in Coon Rapids and the Rum River in Anoka. Now I monitor the Cloquet River in Fredenberg and the Us Kab Wan Ka River in Grand Lake. This is the Cloquet river in the spring. In this photo the river is high and the grassy peninsula is flooded over.

This is the Us Kab Wan Ka River in the spring. The week before I took this shot the river was flowing rapidly over the road. Now I see why they don't plow that road in the winter.

Every Friday since the end of March I have gone back to these two spots to monitor the stream's appearance, temperature, and water clarity. Today was a treat because some maples are turning red, some birches are turning yellow, and the ferns are various shades of tawny brown and tan. The Cloquet river is very clear. One week in May I looked down to see a huge northern pike swimming upstream close to the grassy peninsula.

Today was an excellent day for a drive out in the country to check on "my" streams. Today both of my streams were very clear. Usually the Us Kab Wan Ka River is not as clear as the Cloquet River and I think that is because it is a much smaller stream of water. Eventually this stream flows into the Cloquet River. The Cloquet River flows into the Saint Louis River which flows into Lake Superior.