The local governments within the Minnesota portion of the Lake of the Woods Watershed are collaborating together on a watershed-based plan known as the One Watershed, One Plan. Those governments include Lake of the Woods County, Lake of the Woods Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), Warroad River Watershed District, Roseau County and Roseau SWCD. The ultimate goal of the planning effort is to implement water management activities on a watershed basis, spanning jurisdictional boundaries.
Currently, three separate water management plans exist in this area and they are all connected to a vital regional, state and international resource, Lake of the Woods. The proposed plan will allow participating local governments to align local efforts along a uniform watershed boundary and ultimately result in more efficient resource management. The ultimate goal of the planning effort is to implement water management activities within the watershed that are prioritized and targeted across jurisdictional boundaries. For example, this includes incorporating the goals of existing plans including managing surface and ground water supplies (e.g. flooding), creating fish and drainage system passages and improving water quality. These planning efforts will better align with the State’s water monitoring programs and watershed modeling.
For more information on Minnesota's Lake of the Woods One Watershed, One Plan https://www.low1w1p.org/