LEWISTON, Minn. – The environmentally conscious Land Stewardship Project is organizing a petition drive to Governor Tim Walz for an aggressive investigation into a trout disaster on Rush Creek. To start the petition, citizens have been invited to a meeting at Farmers Park, midway between Lewiston and Stockton, at 6 p.m., Thursday. Sometimes between July 23 and July25, an estimated 2,500 trout died in Rush Creek south of Lewiston. Three state agencies have been investigating the fish kill. Although the agencies say excessive pesticide applications or manure dumps could have factored into the fish kill, they have fallen short of casting specific blame. Among groups incensed at the fish kill, besides Land Stewardship, is Trout Unlimited. County commissioners Steve Jacob and Marcia Ward, whose districts include rural areas, have been silent on the subject. Generally they side reflexively with farmers.
Earlier: Possible fish kill link to tanker-tractor crash
Earlier: Hunt for clues continues in fish kill
LSP profile
The Land Stewardship Project is a private, nonprofit organization founded in Lewistin uin 1982 to foster an ethic of stewardship for farmland, to promote sustainable agriculture, and to develop healthy communities. Although now headquartered in St. Paul, the Project maintains a field office in Lewiston. Its major visibility in Winona County has been:
> The county’s ban on frac sand mining, which successfully claimed local restraints on the extraction industry.
> Opposition to factory-scale factory-scaloe farming, including a plan by the Daley dairy farm near Lewiston to triple its herd to 6,000 cows.
> Education programs for famers on sustainable practices.