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Culverts are hidden watershed wonders

Several weeks ago, the Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) sponsored a tour of the Nemadji Watershed to highlight the parts of a watershed and how they work together. Stops included forests, streams, farms, and culverts.

What do culverts have to do with a watershed? Quite a lot, actually.

Culverts are something that most of us seldom think about or even notice in our surroundings. Culverts are barely given a glance by people unless they are plugged by debris or blocked by ice. When that happens, everyone notices that there is a culvert with a problem and it affects everyone try...