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2025 Highlights
The St. Louis River is more than just a river — it’s the heartbeat of our community, a safe haven for wildlife, and a place where we come together to connect and explore. During our 2025 Fall Membership Drive, running November 7 to December 30, 2025, we invite you to support the work of the St. Louis River Alliance and our mission to protect, restore, and connect our community to this vital water source.
When you become a member or renew today, we’ll enter you into a drawing to win a Pelican kayak + paddle package ($700+ value). Refer a friend, and you’ll be entered again.
Below are a few of our 2025 highlights and accomplishments, and some great reasons to support our work.
Stewardship + Recreational Events
The more people who experience and love the St. Louis River, the better it will be cared for. In 2025, SLRA hosted 19 free recreational events to help connect hundreds of community members of all ages back to the water.
Some of these events included:
The St. Louis River Alliance (SLRA) has been focusing on listening and community engagement as a central part of our work. By hearing stories from people who know and love the river, we connect to history, understand the present, and imagine the river’s future.
Working with agency partners like the Wisconsin DNR, SLRA encourages community input on restoration, conservation, and recreation efforts in areas such as Allouez Bay and Wisconsin Point. Whether you fish, paddle, hike, birdwatch, or simply enjoy the view, your voice helps shape the river’s future.
Through events like our Riverfront Memories gathering with the Headwaters Partnership, and tools such as River Stories and FAQ forms, SLRA gathers community reflections to guide planning and stewardship. Into the future, we’ll continue hosting activities and engaging with residents to build a shared vision that honors the past, supports healthy stewardship, and reflects the values of our community.
Share your questions and stories:
Community Engagement
St. Louis River Estuary National Water Trail Management
In 2025, the St. Louis River Alliance continued to actively manage and promote the St. Louis River Estuary National Water Trail through events, programming, resource creation, and partnership building. This work was made possible by increased capacity in 2024, including the addition of Mikayla Erickson as our National Water Trail Coordinator, and Neighborhood Leaders Karen Sunderman and Annika Frazer, who help engage the community and raise the trail’s visibility.
With support from the NWT Advisory Council, the third edition of the National Water Trail map was printed and distributed in July 2025. The map is free and available at more than a dozen local businesses throughout the Twin Ports.
The St. Louis River Alliance remains committed to building community connections, celebrating the trail, and educating the public about the many ways to explore and enjoy the St. Louis River Estuary. Stay tuned for a new landing page on our website, featuring itineraries, gear lists, safety resources, and everything you need to plan your next paddle!
Manoomin (Wild Rice) Restoration
This September, the St. Louis River Alliance (SLRA), in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, celebrated its 10th consecutive year of manoomin (wild rice) restoration. Volunteers helped plant approximately 1,200 pounds in Kingsbury Bay and 3,000 pounds in Allouez Bay, working to reestablish native wild rice beds that once covered hundreds of acres.
Volunteers launched their canoes and paddled out to pre-designated restoration zones to cast manoomin seeds into the water with care and hope. These seeds will help revive native wild rice beds that once flourished here, with some areas historically supporting between 600 and 1,000 acres of wild rice.
A heartfelt thank you to Miranda Pacheco for blessing the rice at our Allouez Bay planting and to Arianna Northbird of the Fond du Lac Band Environmental Program for sharing the cultural importance of manoomin during our Kingsbury Bay planting. A special shout out and thank you to Eric Ament of Anahata Herbals for harvesting the 4,000+ pounds of seed planted across both locations. These restoration efforts are made possible with support from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the dedication of our volunteers.
The St. Louis River Alliance’s initial roots were planted as the Citizen Advisory Committee formed to assist Minnesota and Wisconsin state agencies in the St. Louis River Area of Concern (SLRAOC) process. Since 1996, SLRA has worked to foster better communication between agencies, tribal entities, and community members.
This legacy lives on as we continue to provide monthly progress updates (sign-up here), free River Connection community events, and by helping facilitate the annual Area of Concern Celebration of Progress event. During 2025 in partnership with SLRAOC Coordinators, we hosted four River Connection events for the riverside communities, chosen by the public. Those events ranged from paddling, biking, and even fishing!
Area of Concern Project Updates
Piping Plover Monitoring + Habitat Maintenance
This year we celebrated our 14th year of Piping Plover monitoring during migration season, from April to July. This was made possible through the Jennifer Erickson Conservation Memorial Fund, created in 2024.
Though we didn’t have a nesting pair, much habitat work was done at the Wisconsin Point Bird Sanctuary for future succession. Mikayla Erickson welcomed dedicated volunteers, SLRA members, and staff to help remove and bag invasive plant materials, reducing the seed bank for next year’s shorebird season. During these events, Mikayla also led the groups on a tour highlighting site improvements from throughout the years, including the 2023 dune grass planting and increase to the nesting areas cobble pans.
Learn more and donate to the Jennifer Erickson Conservation Memorial Fund here.
Learn more about the 2025 Great Lakes Piping Plover population numbers here.