A nine-year collaborative conservation effort by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Nicollet County Soil and Water Conservation District and local property owners is now complete.

Using $490,000 in grant funds via Minnesota’s Outdoor Heritage Fund, the DNR and the SWCD collaborated to replace a failing low-head dam with rock arch rapids on Seven Mile Creek between St. Peter and Nicollet. The project was fully supported by the property owners, Steve and Betsy Bolint.

Stream restoration projects are typically designed to improve fish passage, water quality, and habitat in the immediate area and beyond.

"Low-head dams like the one on Seven Mile Creek were frequently built in the 1950s to prevent common carp from reaching upstream wetlands and lakes," DNR Clean Water Legacy Specialist Jon Lore said. "However, we've since found this type of dam blocks native species, allowing carp to thrive upstream. These dams also pose safety risks, require maintenance, and are increasingly prone to washouts due to more frequent and intense flooding."

Rock arch rapids consist of a series of large boulders arranged to mimic natural rapids, effectively replacing traditional dams with more natural stream conditions, while also managing the gradient and energy of the stream.

DNR watershed specialists proposed adding the dam to the statewide dam removal list in 2016. Grant funding for the project was secured by the DNR in 2021 and administered by the Nicollet County SWCD. The project was substantially completed in fall 2024, with final work in summer 2025.

“We had exceptional cooperation with the landowner, and everything we did with the DNR was great,” Nicollet County SWCD Manager Kevin Ostermann said. “Everyone worked together to get the job completed.”

“It’s better for the creek and better for the wildlife,” property co-owner Steve Bolint said. “It’s beautiful. We’re very pleased.”

Partial funding for this project was provided by the Outdoor Heritage Fund, created after Minnesota voters approved the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment in November 2008. The fund may only be spent to restore, protect and enhance wetlands, prairies, forest and habitat for game fish and wildlife.

More information on DNR stream restoration work is available on the DNR River Ecology Unit webpage (mndnr.gov/eco/streamhab).