Projects and Research

The St. Louis River estuary, shaped by a century of industrial activity, is recovering through pollution controls, site remediation, and ecological restoration. Following a settlement that provided approximately $6.5 million for restoration, trustees selected projects focused on Kingsbury Bay, Kingsbury Creek watershed protection, and wild rice restoration.

Cisco and bloater were vital native prey for lake trout in the Great Lakes before overfishing and competition from alewife caused their decline, and an international partnership is now restoring these species in Lake Ontario through stocking, hatchery development, and improved breeding protocols.

From the 1950s through the early 1970s, paper companies discharged nearly 700,000 pounds of PCBs into Wisconsin’s Lower Fox River; although banned in 1976, the chemicals persist in river and Green Bay sediments. Through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment process, responsible companies are funding restoration projects, including wildlife habitat preservation, environmental education, nature trails, and wild rice research.

The Sheboygan River and Harbor Superfund Site in Wisconsin was contaminated by PCBs, heavy metals, and oil residues from industrial activities. Federal and state trustees are conducting a Natural Resource Damage Assessment to determine restoration needs and compensation, while cleanup and assessment planning continue.

The Arrowhead Refinery, a former oil recycling facility in Hermantown, Minnesota, contaminated nearby groundwater, surface water, and wetlands with hazardous substances and was placed on the National Priorities List in 1983. Natural resource trustees pursued damages to restore lost wetland habitat; forested wetland restoration was completed in 1997, and the final restoration plan selected the Grassy Point Revegetation alternative to address remaining injuries.

The St. Louis River U.S. Steel Superfund Site in Duluth, Minnesota, is a former steelmaking facility where historic operations contaminated wetlands, uplands, sediment, and natural resources with PAHs and heavy metals; cleanup under the Great Lakes Legacy Act was completed in 2024. Natural Resource Trustees representing Tribal, state, and federal governments are conducting a separate assessment of potential injuries to fish, wildlife, habitats, and public and Tribal resource uses.