The public is invited to review and comment on the draft Big Fork River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan during the formal review period from July 1 through August 10.
The draft plan represents a locally driven effort to guide the implementation of voluntary water conservation projects and programs throughout the Big Fork River Watershed over the next ten years. Once completed, the plan will serve as the primary roadmap for improving and protecting water resources across the watershed.
Development of the plan began in July 2025 and has involved extensive collaboration among community experts, local professionals, agency staff, and interested residents. The planning effort has been led by Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Itasca County and the Itasca Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), Koochiching County and the Koochiching SWCD and the City of Big Falls. Since the kickoff of the planning process, participants have met through monthly resource topic meetings and plan organization meetings to shape and organize the plan into the current draft now available for public comment.
Throughout the planning process, participants identified and discussed issues, concerns, and opportunities within the watershed. From those conversations, the group collaborated on actions designed to address local water resource concerns and developed measurable goals that can be tracked over time as projects are implemented to maintain or improve water quality in the Big Fork River Watershed.
The watershed planning process follows Minnesota’s One Watershed, One Plan approach, which emphasizes local priorities and watershed-scale planning. Importantly, the plan focuses on voluntary conservation efforts and does not create new regulations. Instead, it identifies practical projects and programs that can help landowners, communities, and conservation partners improve water quality and protect natural resources.
Completion of the watershed plan is anticipated around the end of 2026. Approval of the plan will open access to reliable, non-competitive funding opportunities that can help carry out conservation projects across the watershed. In many cases, these programs may cover up to 75 percent of project costs.
Potential projects supported through the plan may include:
- Repairing eroding shorelines
• Planting cover crops on agricultural lands
• Installing cattle exclusion fencing near lakes and streams
• Managing private forest lands for water quality benefits
• And other voluntary projects that provide measurable water quality improvements
Community participation remains an important part of the planning process, and public feedback will help strengthen the final document before completion. The Big Fork River watershed planning effort is intended to ensure local conservation priorities are reflected in future implementation work and funding decisions.
The draft Big Fork River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan and information on how to submit comments can be found at Itasca SWCD’s website: www.itascaswcd.org.
Map of the Big Fork River Watershed Planning Area
