The Wild Rice River begins its course at Mud Lake in Minnesota’s Clearwater County, and flows largely to the west through Norman and Mahnomen counties. The river is joined by its two largest tributaries, the South Fork of the Wild Rice and the White Earth River before converging with the Red River of the North.
The watershed is part of the Red River Basin in northwestern Minnesota. The watershed occurs in the Glacial Lake Agassiz Plain, North Central Hardwoods, and Northern Lakes and Forests Level III ecoregions. Formed by the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Ottertail Rivers, the Red River flows north across the plains of glacial Lake Agassiz forming much of the border of Minnesota and North Dakota, continuing on to Manitoba and flowing into Lake Winnipeg. Eastern Wild Rice is, in terms of area, the third largest watershed of the Red River basin in Minnesota, and arguably one of the most ecologically diverse. The watershed includes portions of 9 of the 12 separate agroecoregions identified in the Red River region.
Above-normal amounts of precipitation in the late fall of the year or from May to October lead to high levels of soil moisture, periodically producing the snow-melt and summer floods that are known to affect the region. Predominate land uses are row crops (53%), forest (23%), wetlands (9%), grass/pasture/hay (8%), and residential/commercial development (4%).
Agricultural land use in the basin is significant, accounting for over 60% of the overall watershed acres. Development pressure is moderate to considerable in some areas, with occasional farms, timberland, and lakeshore being parceled out for recreation, lake, or country homes.
The main resource concerns in the watershed are wind and water erosion, nutrient management, wetland management, surface water quality, flood damage reduction, and wildlife habitat. Many of the resource concerns relate directly to flooding and increased sediment and pollutant loadings to surface waters.
What's being done
What's being done
Watersheds: Tracking the actions taken
See actions taken in Minnesota’s watersheds to meet water-quality goals and milestones: WRAPS, TMDLs, best practices, wastewater, and money spent.
Water quality assessment data for government partners
Tribal, federal, state and local partners: View and download results of monitoring and assessment decisions for Minnesota waters based on designated uses and watersheds.
Monitoring and assessment
Wild Rice River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report (wq-ws3-09020108b)- Summary - Wild Rice River Watershed Monitoring and Assessment Report (wq-ws3-09020108c)
- Wild Rice River Watershed Stressor Identification Report (wq-ws5-09020108a)
Strategy development for restoration and protection
- Wild Rice River Watershed TMDL report (wq-iw5-23e) (Final draft TMDL sent to EPA on 6/1/2022)
- Wild Rice River Watershed WRAPS report (wq-ws4-89a) (MPCA approval 5/16/2022)
- Summary of the Wild Rice River Watershed WRAPS report (wq-ws4-89b)
Lower Wild Rice River turbidity TMDL
- Lower Wild Rice River turbidity TMDL project: Fact sheet (wq-iw5-03a)
- Lower Wild Rice River turbidity TMDL report (wq-iw5-03e) (EPA approval 7/17/2009)
- Lower Wild Rice River turbidity TMDL: EPA approval letter (wq-iw5-03g)
- Lower Wild Rice River Turbidity TMDL: Implementation plan (wq-iw5-03c) (MPCA approval 9/12/2009)
More information
Contact
- Watershed project manager Danielle Kvasager, 218-846-8117
The MN Department of Agriculture maintains the Minnesota Water Research Digital Library, an inventory of water research relevant to the state with a particular focus on publications since 2000.