Degraded Fish And Wildlife Populations Impairment Removed
Milestone Achieved For St. Louis River Area Of Concern
 Common terns nesting in their new habitat on Interstate Island between Duluth and Superior. / Photo Credit: Minnesota DNR
The Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations Beneficial Use Impairment is now officially removed from the St. Louis River Area of Concern. This accomplishment is another step toward removing the St. Louis River from the list of most polluted sites on the Great Lakes.
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources prepared a joint recommendation to remove this impairment. A public review and comment period was held last fall, and the coordinating agencies responded to questions and feedback from community stakeholders.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that they agree the impairment removal goal has been achieved. EPA’s concurrence recognizes the improving environmental conditions here.
To learn more about the decision to remove this impairment, view the Removal Recommendation for the Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations Beneficial Use Impairment here.
About The St. Louis River Area Of Concern
After the St. Louis River was listed as an Area of Concern in 1987, the Remedial Action Plan identified Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations as one of nine environmental problems, called Beneficial Use Impairments in the Area of Concern program.
All six management actions required to remove this impairment designation have been completed. Projects included habitat restoration for Piping Plover at Wisconsin Point and Common Tern at Interstate Island. These projects were constructed to provide places for the rare birds to raise their young, rest and refuel during their migration journeys. Surveys and studies were also completed to determine the area’s improved capacity to support healthy fish and wildlife populations.
Additionally, several other efforts to restore the river and estuary have been underway for decades, including remediation of contaminated sediment, water quality improvements, and restoration of fish and wildlife habitats.
The Area of Concern program aims to fix problems stemming from historical problems — historical contamination that has no identifiable responsible party, development and habitat loss that occurred prior to modern day environmental regulations. Once these legacy impacts are addressed, current agency and stakeholder programs take over the continued stewardship of our waters and the continued recovery of fish and wildlife from modern threats.
An advisory team of technical experts provided input about removing this impairment. State resource management agencies agreed that the removal target outlined in the Remedial Action Plan was met, so they recommended that this impairment be removed, and the U.S. EPA concurred. Documentation of this decision is available here.
This is the fourth impairment removed for the Area of Concern. After the remaining five impairments meet their targets and are removed, then the St. Louis River can be removed from the list of most polluted sites on the Great Lakes.
The St. Louis River was listed by the United States and Canada under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement as one of 43 sites on the Great Lakes with significant, locally caused environmental damage. Federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding, first launched in 2010, helps communities clean up pollution in Areas of Concern and restore waterways.
Program partners anticipate removing the remaining impairments and delisting the St. Louis River as an Area of Concern by 2030.
For more information about the ongoing work to restore health of the St. Louis River, visit the partnering agencies’ websites:
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