(gentle music) (upbeat music) - [Bret] How big of a role to skating/hockey play in this community?

- (laughs) it's pretty big.

- We're standin' out here at Marsh Lake.

And right now, as you can see the lakes in a draw-down state.

The whole emphasis of the draw-down is to stimulate the vegetation.

- It's so fun to watch them feeding these little, tiny, little mouths and how delicate they can be.

(dramatic music) (calm music) - Funding for this program was provided by: Safe Basements of Minnesota: Your basement waterproofing and foundation repair specialist since 1990.

Peace of mind is a safe basement.

Live Wide Open: The more people know about West Central Minnesota, the more reasons they have to live here.

More at LiveWideOpen.com Western Minnesota Prairie Waters: where peace, relaxation, and opportunities await.

And the members of Pioneer PBS.

(upbeat music) - [Bret] Warroad, Minnesota.

It's rumored kids learn to skate before they can walk here.

So what happens when schools are closed and sports are canceled.

(gunshot) They improvise.

(rock music) The ice is starting to melt and the skates have been put away.

But for Hockeytown USA, the era of lockdowns has created a whole new outdoor tradition.

(skating noises) (crowd cheering) This winter, a path was cleared on the Warroad River for kids to skate back and forth between two backyard hockey rinks.

But what it turned into was something much bigger.

(gentle music) - It was our neighborhood, the Riverbend neighborhood.

It was kind of our brainchild.

My neighbor's daughter actually came up with the idea.

All she wanted to do was connect our rings.

We live three quarters of a mile apart by water.

We live about a hundred yards apart on a peninsula, but by water, it's three quarters of a mile.

And we had, each of us have a backyard river rink.

And with the kids home from school, she asked if we could connect the rinks and I think we started that night.

- [Bret] After constructing the first part of the path, the idea to expand came naturally.

- The first night we connected the two paths and the kids actually, or the two rinks, the kids actually used it that night, I believe.

It was maybe a day later that we decided we should at least make it down to Doc's.

There's a big rink on the river down here by the car bridge.

- [Bret] Janet Marvin and her family owned Doc's, a bed and breakfast located in a 104-year-old building on the banks of the Warroad River.

- Well, I grew up in a hockey family.

When we purchased a house, the first thing we said was we're putting a hockey rink on the river.

That's what we did when we were kids.

That's what my dad did.

That's what my brother did.

Everybody skated on the river.

Before we had the beautiful arenas, everybody skated outside.

So this was a no-brainer.

My dad was Cal Marvin, is Cal Marvin.

My niece is Gigi Marvin.

My brothers played at North Dakota.

My cousins played at North Dakota.

Everyone plays hockey.

(chuckles) My dad was a founder.

My dad founded the Fighting Sioux.

- [Bret] Oh - [Janet] Yeah.

He was one of the original from Warroad.

- [Bret] After expanding the path to Doc's, the town realized it had created a unique opportunity for outdoor recreation.

- The community got involved right off the bat.

It was probably the second day after we had pushed into the Doc's section of it, the ice was very rough.

It had froze, thawed, freeze, thaw, so it was kind of rough.

There were still people trying to skate at it at that time.

Once that happened, we knew we had to figure out a way to smooth it, get fresh ice built and keep 'er goin'.

And so we've been goin' at 'er ever since.

- [Bret] Not only did this path give kids a chance to go out and skate with their friends again, but it energized an entire community to lace 'em up.

- What the river path has done is it's gotten people that like to skate but don't play hockey, they're not involved in the hockey program so they don't have those opportunities to skate.

It gave them that opportunity to skate.

And there's people that retired, that used to play hockey, they haven't put on the skates for years.

They're now skating daily.

There's people coming from neighboring towns, neighboring states.

There was a group of businessmen that were here from Ohio.

They were in Duluth.

They heard about the skate path, diverted their trip up here just to skate.

And it was a 20 below day when they went skating by - It's a huge deal because, as Jared said, there's people coming from all over the place.

So we're getting people staying at the hotels, and they're going to the restaurants, and going to the bars and, and doing some shopping downtown.

- How big of a role does skating/hockey play in this community?

- (laughs) It's pretty big.

It's pretty big.

It hurt everybody when the rinks will shut down, and then Jared, and Craig, and Travis, and those guys got together and figured out a way to get everybody outside.

And it's the most beautiful thing for our community this year, it was amazing.

And not just our community, people came from all over.

You know, when we're here, I always visit with people: "Where you from?

Why you up here?"

"You up here for hockey?"

And they're like, "no.

I came to skate the trail.

I brought my family up."

They get up at 6 AM, drive from Minneapolis, skate the trail for four hours.

It's become a destination.

Actually, there was a guy from South Dakota that came today.

- Really?

- He skated this morning, about 9:30 I rented him a pair of skates.

He's a pastor out of Sioux Falls, his name is John.

And he had a week off and he saw it on the news and so he thought he'd come up.

And he's never slept on the ice so he rented the fish house at Arnison's: for lodging, not for fishing.

- (laughs) - Came over here today, skated the trail.

Was so grateful that he drove, he drove seven hours to do the trail.

So yeah, yeah, we hear a lot of stories like that, a lot of people.

- How often do you hear stories of people renting a sleeper fish house, just to sleep in?

- That's the first time ever.

(laughs) (upbeat folk music) - [Bret] The trail grew from its pond hockey roots to include other forms of recreation.

- One of our neighbors has a cross country ski groomer for behind their fourwheeler, their snowmobile.

So right after we got the path in we decided we needed a cross country ski path as well.

So we did a cross country ski path that runs parallel to the escape path.

There's snowmobilers going on it.

We've seen a lot of hikers, snowshoers, there's been a few people out jogging alongside the path where we have it packed down.

So it's really brought the community out onto the river.

- [Bret] It was free to skate on, but a lot of work and money went into creating and maintaining the path.

- Right off the bat, when we started doing it, we only were using our ATVs and our Rangers with blades.

Well, with the plow bay, it does leave a little bit of a skim of snow.

So you don't get that nice, smooth ice rink finish.

We borrowed somebody's broom on a front of a lawnmower, to see what that would work, and it worked fantastic.

Polaris Industries reached out to us and they had a broom for a Brutus, which is a side-by-side ranger, diesel-powered with a PTO shaft.

Polaris Industries was gracious enough to loan us that for the whole winter so we can keep this path going.

Once we're got out on what this path means to the community and how many people were coming here, Ironhide Equipment out of Bemidji, Grand Forks, they loaned us a Toolcat with an 84-inch broom as well.

So now that we're able to broom the path, it's smooth, just like a hockey rink.

We can broom it, we can add fresh ice to 'er and flood it, and it's ready for business the next day.

- [Bret] With a snowmobile trail and a skating trail so close to each other, something was needed to mark the middle, to keep the two separate.

- So the spruce trees along the path, the local Cenex Farmer's Union donated these to us.

They had a lot left over after COVID, after the Christmas season.

And, the Warroad River's traditionally been all about snowmobiles.

I wanted a way to delineate the path from the snowmobile traffic.

These use Christmas trees, Onsold ones were the perfect addition to it.

- It is community led through the World Community Partners.

They do fundraisers along the path.

On the weekends, they have a table set up, they're doing hot dogs and brats.

All those funds are going to the maintenance that it is on the skating path to stuff that we can do down the road, just to enhance what we already have.

There are people that are alumni of Warroad, that don't live here any longer, and they have donated, other people that think it's a cool thing but can't get here.

You know, the donations are coming from all over the place.

And it's an awesome thing that that world has.

- [Bret] Plans are already in the works for making the experience bigger and better next year.

From lights, warming houses, beer gardens, and maybe an NHL game?

- I would like to see that.

I mean, we have an airport that can support their jet, so we could do it right here on the river.

It'd have to be the Capitals versus the Islanders, so we have the two Warroad boys back.

(upbeat music) - Another feature was reconnecting the Pomme de Terre river to its original channel.

And then the third feature was to be able to fish way through the Marsh Lake.

It was an interest to some of the staff that we put this camera up on this eagle nest.

(upbeat music) - Which crayfish is native to Minnesota and which is the invader?

The answer is coming up right after this: (folk music) - [Bret] Marce Lake.

It was created by a dam that turned a marshy section of the Minnesota river into a Lake.

Built by the WPA in the late 1930s, the dam was intended to control flooding.

The project included rerouting Pomme de Terre river into the Lake.

Because of silt runoff into the shallow lake, the dam didn't help with flood control.

Instead it degraded water quality and habitat, and prevented native fish from migrating upstream.

(folk music) - Well, there's been discussions about trying to do something to improve the habitat out here for a long time.

Numerous stakeholders, public game managers, fish managers, you name it have been involved in this process over a lengthy period, 20 plus years, to finally come up to the project that was put in place.

And that project concluded three main features.

One was a drawdown structure, which is now being used.

Another feature was reconnecting the Pomme de Terre river to its original channel.

And then the third feature was to be able to fish way through the Marsh Lake dam itself, this drawdown or the original sill structure.

So all those features have been completed at this point.

- The Marce Lake ecosystem restoration project started in the spring of 2017, under the direction of the Minnesota DNR and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

65% of the $12.9 million price tag was covered by federal funds and 35% by Minnesota legacy dollars.

The project is nearly complete.

And last September, Chris Domire showed us each of Marsh Lake's new and restored features.

(gentle music) - We're standin' out here at Marsh Lake.

And right now, as you can see the lake's in a draw-down state, he whole emphasis of the draw-down is to stimulate the vegetation.

And you can see that happening out here as you look.

All the green plants you see in this entire area are actually new.

There's multiple species out there.

A lot of species that we're really excited about, that are really good species, especially Bulrush species, they're soft stem Bulrush, and there's hard stem Bulrush, there's river Bulrush.

There's also a fair amount of Cattail out there, but you can see, just by looking, there's a fair amount of diversity in that plant base.

It doesn't look like just one thing or one color and that's what we like to see.

And you can also see there's lots of highs and lows in it, which are going to create some great habitat, when the water is put back out there.

For a Waterfall and fish, that diversity of habitat will allow lots of different organisms, whether it be fish, or Waterfall, or Ferbers to use this habitat.

One of the biggest issues we had at Marsh Lake was just lack of good habitat.

The wind would blow, the sediment would stir up, the whole food chain was disrupted by that heavy sediment content.

We didn't have good microscopic algae growing, which would feed those old plankton, the real little bugs you see in the water.

It was basically a lot of dirt in the water and blue-gain algae blooms.

So the goal is to get it flipped from that dirty turbit state to a clearer state that has a lot of zooplankton, insects, the kind of things that are the base of a good healthy fish food chain, and you get it to where it favors the native species, and the high diversity of species.

It then disfavors the invasive species such as common carp, which have done well in Marsh Lake for many, many years.

Common carp can filter through the sediment.

They root around and they filter out things that live in the sediment, especially blood worms, which are real common out here.

As we get more native species, they will start eating carp eggs, they'll eat little carp, they'll out-compete the carp basically in the right ecosystem.

And that's the ultimate goal out here.

(folk music) - [Bret] Chris then showed us the restoration project's main feature: of fishway through the dam that allows native fish to swim upstream.

Because of the draw-down, we can see how it was built.

- As you look at this fishway, you're gonna see a lot of rock, a lot of big boulders, and it's been placed actually very specifically based on elevation stuff, to make sure that all species of native fishes can migrate through this when flows are going through it.

And not just all species of native fishes, but also all sizes.

And as you look at these rocks, you're gonna notice in some places, especially towards the sides, there's some bigger spaces between the big boulders.

And then as you come into the middle, you're gonna see the spaces between the boulders going to be a little bit smaller.

And then as you look through the base rock, you're gonna notice a lot of areas that are lower, and those are a little pool areas that fish can get into and rest in as they're swimming through this.

In the gaps between the big boulders, will allow something as big as a hundred-pound Lake sturgeon to go through on the sides during higher flows, when they would wanna be migrating.

But it will also allow something as small as the smallest little darters, which are only a couple inches long to sneak through this system of boulders at very low flows.

When the original dam was still functioning, it was a barrier to most native species of fish most years, except during the big floods, but carp would always get over it.

They could always jump it and swim across it.

So carp, this was a tremendous carp nursery hatching area.

(calming music) - [Bret] Our final stop is at the Pomme de Terre's junction with the Minnesota river, where the tributary was restored to its historic channel.

- And as you look at this, you can see how fish can easily migrate outta the Minnesota River and swim up this channel.

And this river has a lot of gravel and cobble in it, so it's really good spawning habitat for a lot of species of fish, including walleye.

And this allows fish to make their natural migrations when they need to and easily make them and go up into this channel.

And this is a really decent walleye fishery overall.

A lot of people fish this river.

Good walleye fishing before the project, good walleye fishing after it.

So we got more habit, and we got better habitat in this situation.

Come late next summer, 2021, the plan is to re-flood the basin.

So all the new vegetation you see growing will actually have water in it by next fall.

In the long-term, if you think of this next fall, and you start looking at the amount of habitat that's gonna be out here to hunt, it's gonna be amazing.

And the waterfall you should go up, because of the habitat.

And we're also expecting a lot of fish use of this new habitat in the next several years.

And hopefully this habitat will be stable enough that we won't look at another drawdown for at least five, but you know, even maybe 10 years.

Ultimately, we hope to see more fish in the entire system, and better fishing overall.

(folk music) - Which crayfish is native to Minnesota, and which is the invader?

The invader is: rusty crayfish.

How do tell the invasive rusty from the native calico crayfish?

Rusty crayfish have red spots on the sides of its carapace.

Calico do not.

Rusty crayfish claws form an oval when closed.

Calico claws have a distinctive notch in their pinchers.

Rusty crayfish grew up to five inches long.

Calicos grow to only three and a half inches.

Why are rusty crayfish a problem?

They destroy aquatic plant beds and displace native crayfish.

Invasive crayfish breed with native and replace the population with hybrids.

Rusty crayfish consume fish eggs and compete with fish for prey.

Where are they found?

Rusty crayfish are often found in shallow, two to three feet deep water on a variety of bottoms.

(upbeat music) - We can stop these invaders from infesting more lakes and streams by cleaning up everything we pull out of the water.

It's a simple drill: clean in, clean out.

Before leaving a water access, clean your boat and water equipment.

Remove and dispose of all plants and aquatic species in the trash.

Remove drain plugs from your boat, drain bilge, live well, and bait containers, and keep them out when transporting your watercraft.

Dispose of unwanted bait in the trash.

If you've been in infested waters, also spray your boat with high pressure water.

Rinse with very hot water, dry for at least five days.

Stop the spread of AIS.

Funding for this segment was provided by the aquatic Invasive Species Task Forces of Wright, Meeker, Yellow Medicine, Lac Qui Parle, and Big Stone counties.

(calming music) - Several years ago, there was an Eagle's nest that was not too far away from one of our DNR offices.

And it was an interest to some of the staff that we put this camera up on this Eagle nest.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) In 2012, we pulled it off, and we were able to purchase a camera, and we worked with XL Energy.

And XL, I believe has very few bucket trucks that actually go that high.

So it was the last week in December in 2011 and we got the camera up and got everything set up.

And when they went up in the bucket truck, the nest was completely covered with snow, and you know, everything's good.

And on the 10th of January was when we finally got the feed up and running and got it live, and were able to look at the camera.

There were three eggs in the nest.

On January 10th.

So, we were shocked, the world was shocked in Minnesota, because especially the biology world, because people were saying, "that has to be the earliest ever recorded."

We had the same mated pair there for at least five years.

But then as that female started to age, she was not able to defend that nest so much anymore.

And so another pair of eagles came in and there was so much competition, and so many territorial battles between her and other males and other females that were coming in that she finally just gave up and she left and laid her eggs in another nest nearby.

And a new pair came in and took over.

And that's the female that we have now.

So she's been there now for three years.

She'll stay there for as long as she can defend that territory as well.

And there were several suitors that were showing up this fall, this last fall.

There would be one male there and then she would either accept it or not accept it.

And then that one would take off.

And finally the one that she accepted and the one that ended up being the most tenacious was probably the youngest.

He is just five years old.

He got the nickname by our friend's page of Harry because he kind of looked kind of dirty and scruffily with the brown spots on his head, so Dirty Harry.

Jumped right in and incubated those eggs even though you could tell he had no idea what they were when he first saw them.

And he did a great job.

Both parents take part in the raising of the chicks incubating the eggs, incubating and sitting on the chicks when it's wet or cold out, both adult Eagles do that.

(calming music) - So the eggs were laid in early February.

And this is the first year we only had two eggs as opposed to three.

And they hatched in March, on March 19th was the first one.

And the second one was three days later.

So it takes approximately 35 days for the eggs to hatch.

And so one was at 36 days and one was at 38 days.

I know there are a lot of classrooms and school kids that watch the camera and it's fascinating, but they need to be prepared for what they might see.

Because we don't turn the camera off and we don't intervene.

Typically the animal is dead once it comes to the nest.

Usually, at this stage, when the chicks are this size, it's usually fish.

Because fish is easier to get the smaller little tiny pieces off of instead of long stringy pieces of meat from some mammal or something.

We've never seen a cat.

We've never seen a dog.

Those kinds of things don't happen.

That's an old wives tale, nobody's ever found forty chiwawa collars in a nest, or cat collars.

Not that eagles won't go and try to go after pets, because they certainly will try.

But eagles, even though they seem like really giant birds, they only weigh about eight pounds at the most.

And so they can't lift anything heavier than their own weight, and they're rarely gonna try.

They're also very opportunistic.

And so it's not uncommon to see them by the side of the road in Minnesota, either, eating on deer carcasses, or they bring in a lot of squirrels, and they bring in rabbits from time to time.

It's just so fun to watch them feeding these little tiny little mouths, and how delicate they can be.

They look like such huge beaks, and they're picking up just these tiny little pieces to fit into the chicks' mouths.

And it's just fascinating.

When they first come out of the egg, they are completely downy fluff.

And very quickly afterwards, at just just several days, they start getting what's called blood feathers, and you'll see some dark-colored feathers on their bodies.

And that's not actually the color of the feather that you're seeing, you're seeing blood inside of those feathers.

Because that's what helps the keratin and the protein that helps feathers grow.

And eventually all of the down gets covered up.

It doesn't necessarily fall off because that downy, those downy feathers are still underneath feathers, even on adult eagles.

Once they get to the size of the adults, they will actually almost surpass that size.

You'll see much longer feathers on their wings and their tails than the adults even.

And that's to help them with those first few clumsy flights that they're getting ready to take.

There'll be flapping their wings and stretching 'em out.

And that's exercising them.

That's just building up their muscles.

Getting them used to what that feels like to have air under their wings, and to feel what it feels like to be up there in the air, and sort of free and flight.

As soon as the chicks fledge, they'll teach them how to fly, how to hunt, and then they kick 'em out.

Then they're, you leave this habitat, this is ours.

And so they started bringing sticks into the nest right away again in the fall.

So they're using that nesting area and protecting that territory year-round.

(upbeat music) - The eagle cam is important to the non-game program because it raises money for us for one thing.

So it's also meant to get the awareness out and have people familiar with the non-game wildlife programs so that when they see that checkoff on their tax forms, they don't go well, what is that?

Now they associate it.

Now they know, Oh, eagle cam, oh yeah.

It's those, those species of Minnesota that are not hunted or fished.

It also has raised awareness of our program, and about how important wildlife is in Minnesota, and how important it is to fund that wildlife.

(gentle music) (upbeat music).

- Funding for this program was provided by: Safe Basements of Minnesota: your basement waterproofing and foundation repair specialist, since 1990.

Peace of mind is a safe basement.

Live Wide Open: The more people know about West-central Minnesota, the more reasons they have to live here.

More at LiveWideOpen.com.

Western Minnesota Prairie Waters: where peace, relaxation and opportunities await.

And the members of Pioneer PBS.