Organization History:

The Red Lake River Corridor Enhancement Workgroup (RLRCEW) has been meeting since March of 2000. The group has broadened its support to include representatives from each of the cities and counties along the Red Lake River, including East Grand Forks, Fisher, Crookston, Red Lake Falls, St. Hilaire, Thief River Falls, the Red Lake Indian Reservation, the Red Lake Watershed District, and Polk, Red Lake, and Pennington counties. The mission statement embraced by the group and its activities are to protect and restore the Red Lake River’s natural corridor to enhance water quality, fish and wildlife habitat that will provide for educational, recreational, and economic opportunities. All meeting minutes can be downloaded here.

The RLRCEW has progressed toward a more advanced organizational stage by requesting the formation of a Joint Powers Board that would include all the governmental units named above (except for the Red Lake Band). The proposed agreement has been signed by all the governmental units, except Pennington County. (They still participate in the planning.) Additionally, the Workgroup has partnered with the Pembina Trail Resource, Conservation & Development Association as a fiscal agent (a 501c3 non-profit). The Workgroup is closely advised by several federal, state, and local agencies, and several non-profit organizations. Specifically, the Workgroup routinely consults with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and The Nature Conservancy.

Group activities have focused on creating comprehensive planning documents for improving the canoe and small boat corridor along the river. As a result, the group has a well-defined strategy for successfully integrating all communities into a greenway-planning-type approach to natural resources management along the river corridor, beginning with a project specifically designed to enhance the interactions of communities and visitors with the Red Lake River.

To date, all cities and counties along the river corridor have provided some base funding support for these activites. Additionally, Red Lake Watershed District Board of Directors, the Northwest Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, and the Northwest Minnesota Foundation have provided additional grant funds.