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NEWSLETTER / SEPTEMBER 2025
 From neighborhood rain gardens and youth-led stewardship to inventive habitat research and new riverfront plans, the MWMO’s latest board actions highlight a diverse and exciting slate of community and environmental initiatives.
The MWMO Board of Commissioners awarded $146,000 in Stewardship Fund grants to support community-driven projects ranging from youth rain-garden takeovers to stormwater-savvy art spaces and even ceramic structures for aquatic restoration.
In addition, the board approved funding for three new studies to tackle everything from designing future riverfront access points, to shaping redevelopment plans in Columbia Heights, to refining guidelines to expand safe, cost-effective stormwater infiltration across the watershed.
Together, these projects strengthen our connection with the river, helping keep it cleaner, healthier, and more resilient so it can continue to support the communities, parks, and wildlife that depend on it.
 Raking and bagging is fine, but it’s not the only way to handle your fall leaves and some alternatives can actually help your yard.
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Mulch them. Run the leaves over with a mower and voilà: instant fertilizer for your lawn. Just don’t wait until you’re wading through ankle-deep leaves, mulch when less than half your grass is covered.
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Pile them. Leaf litter is basically winter housing for pollinators. If you’ve got a quiet corner or a raingarden, pile them up and leave them until spring.
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Compost them. Leaves are carbon-rich gold for backyard compost. Mix them with food scraps and you’ll have free, organic compost to feed your garden later. The Minnesota Composting Council even has a great how-to video series.
Here’s the big picture: leaves in your yard are great, but leaves in the street mean clogged stormdrains and extra nutrients polluting the Mississippi River. So however you manage leaves on the lawn, remember to clear those drains and gutters.
Want more tips? Check out our fall yard care guide and maybe adopt a stormdrain while you’re at it.
 The Mississippi River isn’t just a river, it’s a superhighway for birds. Right now, millions of them are heading south for the winter, funneling through our watershed on their way to warmer places.
Here’s one simple way you can help: turn off your outdoor lights at night. Many migratory birds navigate by the stars. Artificial light doesn’t just confuse them, it pulls them off course, drains their energy, and puts them at risk. Disoriented birds are far more likely to collide with buildings and those that survive are left vulnerable to other urban threats like cats and toxins.
The good news? The fix is literally as easy as flipping a switch. Lights Out campaigns are already underway in more than 30 cities across North America, and every darkened porch light helps give birds a clearer, safer path on their long journey south.
Want to see the action in real time? Check out BirdCast’s live migration maps to watch the waves of birds flying overhead tonight.
MPCA Smart Salting Training
 The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Smart Salting Trainings offer ways winter maintenance pros can save money and time and reduce salt while maintaining safety!
MPCA Smart Salting for Parking Lots & Sidewalks Certification Training
📅 Tuesday, October 14 | 8:00 AM–1:30 PM
📍 MWMO Stormwater Park and Learning Center
This MPCA Smart Salting Certification Training is an opportunity to learn more efficient winter maintenance best practices (BMPs) while taking a comprehensive look at the many aspects for managing snow & ice on parking lots and sidewalks. This in-person session will also cover the new chloride requirements in the recently released MS4 permit, as well as resources available to help you reduce your salt use.
Designed for winter maintenance staff, supervisors, private contractors, and anyone who influences snow and ice management, the training spans everything from application rates and equipment calibration to storage, plowing, and de-icing. Participants can take the certification test at the end (valid for five years), and lunch will be provided.
MPCA Smart Salting for Property Management Certification Training
📅 Wednesday, November 12 | 9:00 AM–1:30 PM
📍 Online
This training is designed for property managers, business owners, contractors, environmental professionals, MS4 staff, and others who oversee or influence winter maintenance. Participants will learn how to reduce salt-related costs and damage, improve efficiency, manage liability, and comply with new MS4 chloride requirements — all while protecting Minnesota’s waters.
The interactive, real-time online format includes live instruction, chat, polls, and discussion using the WebEx platform. Attendees must actively participate and pass the online test to receive certification (valid for three years) and be listed on the MPCA Smart Salting webpage. Certificates are issued to Minnesota participants only.
Registration is required, and while multiple people may watch from the same device, each must register individually.
The Mississippi Watershed Management Organization invites eligible applicants to apply for Action, Planning and Community Grants by Friday, December 12, 2025 for projects in the MWMO.
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Action Grants are a type of Stewardship Fund Grant designedfor projects that are significant in scope and cost. Proposed projects should demonstrate that thorough planning for the proposed project has already taken place. Grants of up to $50,000 are available for implementation of proposed plans.
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Planning Grants are a type of Stewardship Fund Grant designedto assist organizations to plan and prepare documentation for a project that will be implemented in the near future. Planning Grants help fund the planning process for detailed projects that help improve water quality through construction, education, outreach, or other creative ways. Grants of up to $20,000 are available for creating plans.
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Community Grants are designedto help initiate new projects through direct community engagement and encouraging water and habitat stewardship. Grants of up to $5,000 are available for short-term or small-scale water quality projects.
The MWMO is particularly interested in supporting engagement or physical projects that will reach underserved populations (communities not previously involved in MWMO projects or communities representing marginalized and diverse cultural backgrounds) and projects located in environmentally sensitive areas as defined by the MWMO Watershed Management Plan or the MWMO Board of Commissioners. Projects with existing plans created through a previous MWMO Planning Grant are strongly encouraged to apply.
Matching funds may be required. Visit our website for full details and eligibility requirements.
Stewardship Fund Grants — Friday, December 12, 2025, by 4:30 p.m.
Photo of the Month
 MWMO staff hit the river! We paddled from our Stormwater Park and Learning Center shoreline up past Upper Harbor Terminal and the heron rookery, then back down to Boom Island. It was a day of riverside views, team bonding, and a closer look at MWMO projects along the way.
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