Nature Valley Partners with America’s National Parks

Date: August 7, 2013
Contact: Tawnya Schoewe, 218-283-6670

International Falls, MN:The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), with support from Nature Valley, will be partnering with The Rainy Lake Sportfishing Club on a project along the Rat Root River. This project will include the planting of new trees and among the benefits is an improved habitat for walleyes, a native fish of Voyageurs National Park.

Nature Valley is a longtime supporter of national park preservation through its Preserve the Parks program – now in its fourth year – which benefits the NPCA.Over the course of the four-year relationship, the Preserve the Parks program will have helped raise more than $1 million to benefit restoration projects in support of America's National Parks. The Rat Root River project focuses on how the number of walleye spawning in the river appears to have declined and an increase in the average size of male and female walleyes suggest the population may not be replenishing itself as in past years. The river was assessed previously and one of the items on the list of what has gone wrong, was the change in root systems which causes riverbank erosion. The assessment recommended more hardwood, slower growing trees, be planted that would live longer and not fall into the river causing blockage of the river flow.The project is a partnership between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Koochiching Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Rainy Lake Sportfishing Club. The club provides the initiative, the county is the financial agent for the funding, and the state is the technical expertise.

While funding doesn't target areas directly in Voyageurs National Park, it aims to restore habitat for walleye spawning and walleyes which benefit the park.

The National Parks Conservation Association indicates that funds from Nature Valley are intended to protect and preserve national parks for the generations to come, and the partners in this project feel this project will benefit the next generation. Restoration along the Rat Root River will take place Saturday, August 10, 2013. To find out more go to www.naturevalley.com.

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www.nps.govAbout the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 398 national park service units and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.