| Spring Brook Trout Stream |
| Introduction Why Protect Spring Brook? History Watershed Brook Trout Habitat Conservation GIS Maps Threats |
 Map of Spring Brook
Watershed
watershed is outlined in thick black line (CRWP)
Note: Spring Brook Watershed information provided by the Spring Brook Committee Report Watershed Introduction: The conservation of streams and rivers usually focuses on the protection of a "watershed". A watershed is defined as all of the land area that drains into a given body of water. Topography is the key element that determines the boundaries of a watershed. The boundaries are typically defined by the highest elevations surrounding the stream. A drop of water falling outside of the boundary will drain to another watershed (cwp.org). Watershed analysis provides adequate estimates of stream health. For example, it was found that once 10% of a watershed becomes covered by hard surfaces, species start to disappear (cwp.org). Understanding the watershed of Spring Brook is extremely important for organizing protection efforts that specifically address the various threats facing the stream. No two watersheds are alike, therefore each watershed has specific conservation needs. The following pages about the Spring Brook watershed provide the background necessary to understand why proper management of watersheds is vital for a healthy stream and healthy trout population. Hydrology: The watershed of Spring Brook covers an area of approximately 7 sq. miles in and around Dundas, MN. The Spring Brook drainage area is sandwiched between the larger watersheds of Wolf Creek and Heath Creek. Unlike these two nearby streams, Spring Brook does not originate from a lake. Heath creeks has some natural springs in its watershed, but does not resemble a true spring-fed stream. Both Spring Brook and Heath creek flow from west to east. The upper 2/3 of the the Spring Brook watershed is drained by Rice County ditch 22, dug in 1948. The ditch rejoins the natural stream channel just north of County Road 1. The ditched portions of the stream in the upper part of the watershed occasionally reach water temperatures that are unsuitable for brook trout. As a result, the prime brook trout habitat is concentrated in the lower 1/3 of the stream.  The cool water
temperatures of Spring Brook are produced from numerous natural springs
within the watershed. These springs are found mostly to the west
of Decker Avenue where the two branches of the stream merge
together.
The higher concentration of springs near Decker Avenue leads to cooler
water temperatures in this section of the stream, making it more
suitable as brook
trout habitat. Wetlands still exist in the flat upper reaches of the stream, but were much more prevalent before ditch 22 was constructed. Most of these former wetlands were fed by natural springs. Today, much of the discharge from these springs is directed into drainage tile lines. Seasonal flooding along the creek often creates temporary wetlands in the flat upper reaches of the watershed. photo: Rice County Ditch 22 (Jeff Jasperson) |