Cedar Valley Creek

Minnesota Trout Unlimited habitat improvement project

Supported by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund

In 2023, we restored trout habitat along 4,500 feet of Cedar Valley Creek in southeast Winona County.

Habitat enhancements added to support the full life span of trout: 

• Native grasses, sedges, flowers, shrubs and trees for pollinator and non-game wildlife habitat – including birds, deer and terrestrial insects
• Riffles for trout spawning habitat and food production
• Deep pools with overhead cover habitat, including large pool logs, boulders and root wads. The slower water in pools give trout a chance to conserve energy
• Backwater channels for aquatic insects, juvenile fish and other non-game wildlife like amphibians

Before

Prior to the habitat improvement project, this stretch of Cedar Valley Creek was deeply incised, with steep, actively eroding banks.

Prior to the project, stream banks were as tall as 8 feet in some locations. Addressing this required extensive bank grading to bring the stream back into its floodplain. The historic floodplain allows the stream to spill out after heavy rain events and dissipate the high energy of fast-flowing water, which occurs every 1.5 to 2 years.

This prevents an estimated 136 tons of soil from entering the stream channel each year. That’s almost 10 dump truck loads!  

After

Community that cares

No one knows the waters we restore better than local anglers, researchers and our volunteers. That’s why we welcome post-restoration data and analysis from local researchers and community monitors. 

Researchers from Winona State University’s biology department collected data on the restored project in the fall of 2023 and used data gathered the year before to assess habitat changes.  

They counted fish in five 50-meter sections of the restored stream and found that “total abundance” of trout increased from 16.3% to 107.7% across the project site.  

Local citizen scientists from the Izaak Walton League and Trout Unlimited have been monitoring water quality since the project started. They have observed consistent increases in abundance and biodiversity of aquatic insects, indicating improved habitat and water quality conditions.

Angler access 

The downstream end of the habitat improvement project is next to the Cedar Valley Lutheran Church on County Road 9 in Winona. The church graciously allows anglers to park in its lot.

Note that the driveways located in the upper section of the project are not within the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources easement and should not be used. 

How you can help

Our power as a statewide grassroots organization comes from our membership and volunteers. Every year we offer various volunteer opportunities at project sites around the state, including invasive species removal and tree planting.  Join MNTU  to stay connected!   

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Lanesboro DNR staff stock heritage strain brook trout in Cedar Valley Creek upstream of project in August 2023 (photo: John Weiss)

Students from Winona State University sampled an adult brown trout during an electrofishing survey. Win-Cres chapter member plants trees at Cedar Valley Creek in May 2024.