Welcome to the Big Year of Rivers

Three Rivers Park District has set initiatives for environmental focus areas within the Park District. Recently, we have highlighted the Big Year of Birds in 2022 and the Big Year of Bugs in 2024. This year, Three Rivers will be focusing on the Big Year of Rivers. 

You may wonder why this would be a focus for Three Rivers Park District, although the name provides a big hint. The Park District changed its name from Hennepin County Parks to Three Rivers Park District in 2004 after the three river systems that flow within our district: the Minnesota River, the Crow River and the Mississippi River.

An important milestone in the history of our rivers was also reached in 1926. After one hundred years, we can look back at all that has been done and all that needs to be done for the health of the important waterways in our region. The land features that visitors enjoy have been shaped by these watersheds and many of the activities in the parks take place on or near the water. 

The Big Year of Rivers will have amazing programing throughout the parks all year long and there are a few big events to keep an eye out for. Our speaker series, free lecture-style programs for adults, will return from January through April, happening on Sundays at 2 p.m. at Mississippi Gateway. There will also be three large events with a wide variety of activities of all ages happening in the summer and early fall, with each one celebrating each of the three rivers within Three Rivers Park District. Be sure to mark your calendars and keep reading to learn more about the importance of waterways throughout Minnesota.

Why 2026? The Centennial Story of the Mississippi River

So, what happened in 1926? The states of Minnesota and Wisconsin requested a biological survey of the Upper Mississippi River system. The study looked at the amount of oxygen in the water, the population and type of plankton and bottom fauna and the population and species of fish in the river. The results showed that between Minneapolis and Hastings there was a profound level of pollution and only three living fish in that part of the river. The Mississippi River was declared a public health nuisance, unsafe for human and livestock contact, by the Minnesota State Board of Health.

Prior to 1926, the biggest concern people had about industrial waste in the rivers was the islands of sawdust that affected navigation. The 1926 study was a call to action. The Minneapolis–St. Paul Sanitary District was formed in 1933 and the Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant began operations in 1938. Stopping the flow of raw sewage into the rivers was helping, but more needed to be done. In 1972, the Clean Water Act became law and efforts went beyond sewage treatment of metropolitan wastewater to changes in practices throughout the watersheds. 

The Connection Between Humans and Local Rivers

The connection between humans and rivers goes back to when the rivers first formed. As the glacial ice melted, the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers started to form. As vegetation and animals returned, Paleo-Indians began to hunt and live along the water. Later periods saw mound-building cultures hunting and gathering along the rivers and using them as trade routes. The Dakota people followed with farms and villages along the rivers in southern Minnesota. The rivers brought in European traders searching for furs and others who would build homes and businesses along the rivers, using the power of the rivers to mill grain and lumber.

The rivers in the region became boundaries for the nations of England, France and even Spain before the area was part of the United States. As the United States established local territorial governments, the region where Three Rivers Park District is located today was in the Northwest Territory, then Illinois Territory, then Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and finally the Minnesota Territory in 1849. The borders of these territories were rivers. As the territory was divided into counties, rivers served as natural boundaries for many counties, including how the Crow, Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers make up the boundaries of Hennepin County, as well as the Park District.

What Three Rivers is Doing to Protect Local Watersheds

Three Rivers has completed several watershed and in-lake projects to improve water quality. By partnering with other organizations, we have stabilized and restored stream banks on the Elm Creek, Rush Creek, Crow River and Mississippi Rivers. A high-quality tamarack bog was protected in Kingswood Park by reducing overland erosion and roadside pollution. Our in-lake alum treatments have led to drastic reductions in phosphorus and algae. These efforts have resulted in six lakes, including Fish Lake, being removed from Minnesota’s impaired waters list.

Three Rivers relies on partners, including cities, lake associations, local watershed commissions, Hennepin County and the State of Minnesota. Through these partnerships, we are able to leverage additional funds for projects and provide water resource technical expertise to our overlapping agencies.

How You Can Help Protect Rivers and Watersheds

Chloride pollution is of increasing concern in the metro area. Reducing the amount of salt you apply during winter months will benefit the watersheds you work and live in. You can also cut your grass high to conserve water and keep excess phosphorus out of our lakes and rivers by keeping grass clippings out of the street. Remember, our storm drains are directly connected to our streams and lakes.

Besides being good stewards of land and water, you can also get involved in volunteering within your watershed. From local lake associations to groups like Friends of the Mississippi River, you can join in on clean-up days, wildlife population counts or fund raising as some of the ways to help the rivers.  

Connect With Your Local Watershed

One of the most important places to start is to recognize how the bodies of water around us connect to the rivers. The knowledge that what we allow into the water where we live, work and play will travel downstream to the rivers is important to being good stewards of the environment. Taking time to explore local waterways, getting to know the watershed district or just getting to know water better is a great place to start.

Join Us in the Big Year of Rivers

We hope that you will find a variety of ways to learn about, celebrate and care for the rivers we are all connected to, whether that be through attending Big Year of Rivers programs, listening to the river themed episodes of The Wandering Naturalist Podcast, engaging with the river content on our social media platforms, getting out to explore and appreciate the rivers and streams nearby or finding ways to help care for the region’s important waterways.

Learn more about the Big Year of Rivers and check back frequently to find a water-centered program happening near you!

Meet the Authors

Ashley LeVoir

About Ashley

Ashley grew up swimming, climbing trees and fighting dragons at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan. With a clear love of teaching and the outdoors, she majored in biology at Concordia College and continued on to Melbourne, Australia where she earned her Master's degree in environmental education. 

She has since spent the last 17 years working as an interpretive naturalist at various nature centers around the Twin Cities and in greater Minnesota before landing at Mississippi Gateway Regional Park. 

When not playing (working) outside with people of all ages, she enjoys spending time with friends and family, getting out on/in the water, learning about geology and being a Tolkien-loving-Doctor Who-obsessed-D&D-playing nerd.

Jonathan Hess

About Jonathan

Jonathan is the Water Resource Supervisor at Three Rivers Park District. He has worked for the Park District since 2017. 

Jonathan is interested in aquatic ecology, fishing and spending time with family.

Michael Murray

About Michael

Michael is a Cultural Heritage Interpreter for Three Rivers Park District. 

Mike started working in public history in 1993 at Historic Fort Snelling. He has worked for the Minnesota Historical Society, Historic Murphy’s Landing, Dakota City and Three Rivers Park District.