South Creek Project Kicks Off
Minnesota Trout Unlimited and partners kicked off the design of a major habitat improvement project on South Creek.
03Apr
20Mar
Restoring Riparian Forests for North Shore Cold-Water Fisheries
Minnesota Trout Unlimited is undertaking a critical planting project to restore healthy forests within riparian corridors along the high-quality cold-water rivers of Lake Superior’s North Shore. Along these vital trout streams, stands of dead and dying trees including balsam, spruce, and ash are being replaced with selected conifers and other long-lived...
16Feb
MNTU Habitat E-news: February 2026
Spotlight: Eagle Creek Habitat Improvement Project (Savage, MN) This spring, Minnesota Trout Unlimited (MNTU) will begin construction on a 2,000-foot trout stream habitat improvement project on Eagle Creek in Savage, located between Highway 13 and 126th Street. The primary goal is to enhance habitat for native brook trout while improving overall...
16Jan
The Importance of Pools as Trout Habitat in Stream Restoration
On a rainy afternoon a few months ago, I stopped at a newly constructed project on my way home to see how it was reacting to the higher flows. Walking the stream, in-particular, a section where a restored riffle curved into a nice deep pool with toewood tucked into the...
15Dec
Moving the Needle on Fish Passage in Northeastern Minnesota
Fish passage is not always just about fish passage. A culvert replacement might start as a solution to a barrier in a watershed, but when MNTU gets involved, it becomes an opportunity to address habitat beyond the ability for a trout to get from point A to point B. When...
15Nov
Evaluating Stream Habitat Designs Across Southeast Minnesota
Over the past few decades, Minnesota has made tremendous progress in restoring and enhancing its coldwater streams. Across the state, partnerships between Minnesota Trout Unlimited, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR), local Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and others have brought new life to miles and miles of degraded...
08Sep
Why Toewood Is Showing Up Along Minnesota Trout Streams
For MNTU, the goal of using toewood is not just to “hold the bank”. It’s to restore function, including banks that resist erosion, channels that can move a little without failing, and cover habitat that supports abundant fish and invertebrates
11Aug
What Happens After Stream Restoration? From Bare Soil to Cover Crops to Thriving Native Habitat
When a stream restoration project wraps up, the work on the ground is just beginning. During construction, streambanks are graded and soil is heavily disturbed throughout the project reach. In most cases, to restore the stream’s access to its floodplain we must grade back soil. This requires that most vegetation...
07Jul
Duluth’s Amity Creek Receives New Protection!
MNTU is proud to be a part of an effort to add the highest level of protections to over 1,100 acres of land in the City of Duluth now called the Lester–Amity–Hawk Ridge Natural Area as a part of Duluth’s Natural Area Program (DNAP). The area includes a large segment...
07Jul
Habitat Director’s Report from the Field, July 2025
July is the heart of field season when it comes to carrying out stream restoration work across the state. Tackling riparian invasives, removing barriers to fish passage, scoping future projects, maintaining tree plantings, and implementing large scale instream habitat improvements - the staff, members, volunteers, and contractors of MNTU have...