Photo courtesy of Murray County
What is happening?
Our lakes and rivers are getting warmer, and we are experiencing more frequent and intense rain events. The rate of change in air and water temperatures and number of intense precipitation events is accelerating.
What does this mean?
These climate trends are accelerating the growth of algae, loss of fish and wildlife, and increasing flood risk in and around lakes and rivers made vulnerable where protective natural vegetation has been replaced with suburban landscapes.
What you can do
While we can’t stop our lakes and rivers from warming or the intensity of rain events, property owners and local governments can take steps to protect lakes, rivers and shoreland property against these trends.
The Minnesota DNR – Your climate and natural resource partner
Public waters and their shorelands and floodplains are statewide resources that are especially vulnerable to climate trends. They are also valuable assets for local community health, safety and prosperity. Housing the State Climatology Office and many natural resource research and management programs, the DNR has significant technical resources on climate and natural resources to share with local governments to support land use decisions that sustain these resources and local community prosperity.