A plan released last week by the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway proposes wide-ranging policies and projects to guide management of the river by the National Park Service. It is open for public feedback until Feb. 21.

The plan touches on numerous issues facing the St. Croix and Namekagon, including both long-standing and emerging challenges. In addition to zebra mussels and boat wakes, it references the growing popularity of short-term rentals, intensified usage on certain stretches at certain times, and the need to upgrade many facilities.

It also calls for a new camping reservation system that would cover the river above the St. Croix Falls dam. This marks a major shift in management, as the Park Service says it is seeking to balance some users’ desire for spontaneity in picking a campsite, and others who want the assurance they will find somewhere to pitch their tent.

Three-year project

The comprehensive river management plan has been in development since 2023. The agency released a draft for comment in 2024. This final draft will be completed after this last round of review.

While the National Park Service has developed other types of management plans since the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway was created in the 1970s, the comprehensive river management plan is the most specific to the unique situation along the St. Croix and its largest tributary.

“Federal agencies administering wild and scenic rivers are required to prepare a comprehensive river management plan for the protection of river values, the development of lands and facilities, user capacities, and other management practices necessary or desirable to achieve the purposes of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,” the agency wrote.

The St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, and the new comprehensive plan, concern the St. Croix River above Stillwater to the Gordon Dam, and all the way up the Namekagon River to Lake Namekagon. They comprise the longest scenic riverways east of the Mississippi, and the St. Croix is called “one of the last undeveloped, large floodplain rivers in the upper Mississippi system.”

More people, more concentrated

Planners began with an assessment of current conditions on the rivers. Intense usage of certain stretches, landings, and other facilities were identified as one of the key challenges.

“During high use times, popular areas of the Riverway may experience conflicts among tubers, anglers, hunters, paddlers, and small motorboat users,” the draft plan reads. “Conflict may also occur between visitors recreating with personal equipment and visitors recreating through a commercial services vendor.”

The National Park Service goes on to say that these conditions can also degrade the National Park’s resources.

“In some locations, large numbers of visitors can result in littering, crowding, threats to visitor safety, resource damage, and bank erosion,” they say.

Facing these issues, the Park Service says it also simply does not have enough information about visitor numbers. The only way they get reliable numbers are from commercial service providers, such as canoe and tubing rental companies. It leaves big gaps in their understanding of how many people are using the rivers each year.

That said, it is clear that the highest levels of use is concentrated in a relatively short time.

“Most river use occurs from mid-May through mid-October, with the highest volume of use occurring between June and mid-August and on weekends,” the National Park Service reports.

Private and public

One of the things that makes the St. Croix and Namekagon unique is the amount of private land in the riverway, over which the National Park Service manages easements that regulate development. The agency says there are 879 such easements, which require monitoring and other work.

In addition to the existing challenge posed by the sheer number of easements, societal changes are also adding to the difficulties.

“Emerging issues for easement management include the subdivision of property, which leaves in question the standing of the easement and the increasing popularity of short-term vacation rentals,” the plan says. “Commercial aspects are part of the scenic easement terms and conditions, but coordination with the NPS Washington Support Office may be necessary to better understand how to manage vacation rentals in the long term.”

As more properties owned and used exclusively by one party are converted to short-term rentals, rented out through platforms like Airbnb and VRBO, many communities and public lands have felt increased pressure.

But, in addition to studying and mitigating impacts from increased short-term rentals, the National Park Service is also investigating the possibility of getting into the business itself. The agency says it will explore the possibilities of leasing historic cabins that it owns along the river to commercial services operators.

Zoning strategies

A key element of the new plan is designating different stretches of river for different types of management, and differentiating between land and water uses. Areas with high visitor numbers have different goals and facilities than more remote and quieter areas. Management areas for the Lower St. Croix River were defined in 2002 in the a Cooperative Management Plan. The three land management zones are Small Town Historic, Conservation, and Rural Residential. The water management areas are Active Social Recreation, Moderate Recreation, Quiet Waters, and Natural Waters. No changes are proposed to these zones in the proposed River Management Plan.

”The [river management plan] would build upon but does not change management actions outlined in the cooperative management plan,” the National Park Service says. “[It] would establish indicators, thresholds, monitoring strategies, and visitor capacity as called for by the cooperative management plan.”

Land management areas deal primarily with boat landings, campsites, visitor centers and interpretive structures, and other terrestrial topics.

“Focused Development” land management areas seek to preserve as much natural shoreline as possibly by concentrating facilities in as short of a stretch as possible. Facilities would still be designed to blend into the “Northwoods” landscape, so as to not detract from natural beauty.

In contrast, “Natural” land management areas would have few signs of human development, with long stretches of river offering immersive solitude and nature. “This management area provides many opportunities to view wildlife, and there are abundant opportunities for angling,” the plan states. “Recreational support facilities including small, primitive, and designated trails and river access points may be present and are largely screened by natural vegetation.”

Different waters, different strategies

Water management areas are, no surprise, focused on aquatic activities and issues. They particularly concern intensity of use by boaters of all types and impacts to water from visitors. There are three proposed area types in the plan for the St. Croix River above St. Croix Falls, and all the way up the Namekagon.

“Natural Waters” management areas offer the highest degree of solitude and environmental integrity. “Visitors likely encounter wildlife, and there are abundant opportunities for high-quality fishing,” the plan says. This zone is primarily on the St. Croix above St. Croix State Park and most of the Namekagon except popular tubing stretches near Trego and Hayward.

“Active Waters” management areas are the other end of the spectrum. These are found on the Indianhead Flowage between Wild River State Park and St. Croix Falls, and short stretches around Trego and Hayward.
“Visitors in this management area encounter moderate numbers of other visitors and watercraft on the water. A variety of boat types, primarily motorized watercraft, may be present.”

Finally, the “Variable Waters” management areas are somewhere in the middle of the two. They offer low visitation much of the year but summer weekends might be busy. This includes the river from Wild River State Park upstream to St. Croix State Park, as well as short stretches around Danbury, Trego, and Hayward.

Camping permits coming

One of the most significant new proposals is the implementation of a camping reservation system for the entire riverway, including the lower river. Currently, a variety of different rules govern how camping is managed on different parts of the river. The upper river has first-come, first-served sites with no permit or reservation needed. Camping on the river between St. Croix Falls and the Soo Line High Bridge is also first-come, first-served, but a free permit is required. Between the High Bridge and the Boom Site, camping is allowed on several islands.

Under the new system, the river would be split up into zones, and campers would use federal website Recreation.gov to reserve a permit to camp in a specific section. There would be a fee for permits.

““The number of available permits would not exceed the number of campsites available in each zone,” the National Park Service says. “The zonal reservation system would balance the freedom and spontaneity of choosing a site while on the river that some visitors enjoy, while also offering the predictability that others are seeking.”

The Park Service also says that there will be opportunities for public comment and involvement before a permit system would be put in place.

Odds and ends

There is much more to the draft plan. The National Park Service described numerous other projects and policies that could address a litany of issues.

Proposals include an inventory of all the springs that line the river, analysis and mitigation of noise pollution, invasive species prevention and restrictions, and more.

With increased usage and trends in boating, impacts from boat wakes are also on the list of topics to be addressed. The agency says it will adopt a “three-phased approach for powerdriven vessels” that would begin with monitoring to determine the impacts of boats, possible emergency restrictions that could include extending no-wake zones, and partnering with the Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources to identify other options.

The agency also proposes changes at several landings and day use areas, including at Stinnett, Earl, Springbrook, and Whispering Pines Landings on the Namekagon. The changes could include additional parking and separate access points for commercial and non-commercial users.

A new river access point would also be created near the Namekagon River Visitor Center in Trego, as well as a possible new building.

Somerset Landing on the lower St. Croix is also identified as an opportunity for improvements.

“The National Park Service would evaluate Somerset Landing for opportunities to improve natural conditions and/or enhance river access,” the plan reads. “Though these actions would enhance river access in this analysis area, it would not result in changes in the amounts and types of use that could be accommodated while achieving desired conditions.”

More ideas include additional campsites and facilities near Sandrock Cliffs providing drinking water at Riverside Landing on the upper river, and adding parking and a fully developed trail system at the Arcola Bluffs Day Use Area near Stillwater.

The full plan is available to read here. Public comments are being accepted now through Feb. 21.