Brown's Creek (St. Croix River)
Encyclopedia
Brown's Creek is a 9.7 miles (15.6 km) stream
which originates about 5.5 miles northwest of the city of Stillwater
and flows south for about half its length then east to its confluence with the St. Croix River just north of Stillwater in Washington County, Minnesota
, United States
. It is one of few creeks in the Minneapolis – Saint Paul "Twin Cities" metropolitan area that supports a fishable trout population.
also restored natural riparian vegetation as the creek traverses the Oak Glen Golf Course.
because of low indices of biological integrity (IBI) for fish and macroinvertebrates. Factors (all likely related to runoff) which harm fish and invertebrates include total suspended solids (TSS), high temperature, low dissolved oxygen (DO) and two pollutants: copper and nitrate-nitrite (NOx). NOx levels were higher than nitrite concentrations known to produce brown blood disease, lower productivity in trout, and other non-lethal impairments to trout growth and reproduction.
The creek has been stocked with non-native Brown trout
(Salmo trutta) by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
, Division of Fisheries since 1955. Stillwater students have been monitoring water quality in Brown's Creek since 1998. Recently there is a controversy where brown trout proponents are concerned that native beaver (Castor canadensis) dams are warming water temperatures and acting as an impediment to trout passage. However, the plan to set lethal traps to kill the beavers is controversial as the presence of beaver dams has been shown in scientific studies to increase the number of brown trout, their size, or both, in the Sierra Nevada and also in a study of small streams in brown trout's native Sweden
, that found that the fish were larger in beaver ponds compared with those in riffle
sections, and that beaver ponds provide habitat for larger trout in small streams during periods of drought. Deep water in beaver ponds provides critical winter refuge from ice in small streams like Brown's Creek. Also, as beaver dams raise the groundwater table, a larger hyporheic zone is created which may be important to trout spawning.
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
which originates about 5.5 miles northwest of the city of Stillwater
Stillwater, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,143 people, 5,797 households, and 4,115 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,340.0 people per square mile . There were 5,926 housing units at an average density of 915.7 per square mile...
and flows south for about half its length then east to its confluence with the St. Croix River just north of Stillwater in Washington County, Minnesota
Washington County, Minnesota
Washington County is a county established in 1849 in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 238,136. Its county seat is Stillwater.-History:...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is one of few creeks in the Minneapolis – Saint Paul "Twin Cities" metropolitan area that supports a fishable trout population.
History
The creek's name is from the founder of the first settlement in the Stillwater area, Joseph Renshaw Brown, where Brown's Creek (then Pine Creek) flows into the St. Croix River. In 1840 Brown, a former soldier, Indian trader, promoter, and Justice of the Peace set up a small warehouse at the head of Lake St. Croix to supply his upriver fur trading operations. This warehouse, in what is now the north part of Stillwater, became the county seat of St. Croix County, Wisconsin Territory. Brown began building a courthouse and jail and importing settlers for his new village, which he named Dacotah. Several of Brown’s relatives, including his half-sister Lydia Ann and her husband, Paul Carli, moved into a house built of tamarack logs. The Tamarack House, well known as “Mrs. Carli’s,” became a favorite stopping place for travelers on the St. Croix River. However, few other settlers arrived in Dacotah until a mill was built to the south in what became Stillwater.Watershed and Course
The watershed includes School Section Lakes, Goggins Lake, Long Lake and Benz Lake. Brown's Creek flows through the Brown's Creek Park and Nature Preserve northwest of Stillwater, then proceeds east to it confluence with the St. Croix River. At one time in its history, Brown’s Creek was diverted into McKusick Lake, which supplied water to Stillwater residents. By 1955 fisheries managers recognized that warm lake water was putting a strain on the trout population in Brown’s Creek. In an effort to reduce water temperatures for the benefit of trout, a dike was constructed to separate the stream from the lake and return the flow back to Brown’s Creek. The dike still exists today. In 1999, Browns Creek underwent a re-route in the fall of 1999 that shortened this section of the stream from 5,130 feet to 2,000 feet in order to lower water temperatures by avoiding water warming in previous meander through a wetland just north of Lake McKusick, increasing stream velocity and decreasing organic matter in the stream. This project by the city of Stillwater and the Minnesota Department of Natural ResourcesMinnesota Department of Natural Resources
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recreational trails, and recreation areas as well as managing minerals,...
also restored natural riparian vegetation as the creek traverses the Oak Glen Golf Course.
Ecology
Brown's Creek has been listed as impaired since 2002 by the Minnesota Pollution Control AgencyMinnesota Pollution Control Agency
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is a Minnesota state agency that monitors environmental quality, offers technical and financial assistance, and enforces environmental regulations for the State of Minnesota. The MPCA finds and cleans up spills and leaks that can affect public health and the...
because of low indices of biological integrity (IBI) for fish and macroinvertebrates. Factors (all likely related to runoff) which harm fish and invertebrates include total suspended solids (TSS), high temperature, low dissolved oxygen (DO) and two pollutants: copper and nitrate-nitrite (NOx). NOx levels were higher than nitrite concentrations known to produce brown blood disease, lower productivity in trout, and other non-lethal impairments to trout growth and reproduction.
The creek has been stocked with non-native Brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
(Salmo trutta) by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recreational trails, and recreation areas as well as managing minerals,...
, Division of Fisheries since 1955. Stillwater students have been monitoring water quality in Brown's Creek since 1998. Recently there is a controversy where brown trout proponents are concerned that native beaver (Castor canadensis) dams are warming water temperatures and acting as an impediment to trout passage. However, the plan to set lethal traps to kill the beavers is controversial as the presence of beaver dams has been shown in scientific studies to increase the number of brown trout, their size, or both, in the Sierra Nevada and also in a study of small streams in brown trout's native Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, that found that the fish were larger in beaver ponds compared with those in riffle
Riffle
A Riffle is a short, relatively shallow and coarse-bedded length of stream over which the stream flows at higher velocity and higher turbulence than it normally does in comparison to a pool....
sections, and that beaver ponds provide habitat for larger trout in small streams during periods of drought. Deep water in beaver ponds provides critical winter refuge from ice in small streams like Brown's Creek. Also, as beaver dams raise the groundwater table, a larger hyporheic zone is created which may be important to trout spawning.