The Lac qui Parle – Yellow Bank (LqP-YB) Watershed in southwest Minnesota is an agriculturally rich watershed with fertile soils, gently rolling topography, and surface waters enjoyed for recreation. With approximately 10,000 residents, the LqP-YB Watershed overlaps three counties: Lac qui Parle County, Yellow Medicine County, and Lincoln County. Approximately 30.9% of the LqP-YB Watershed is in South Dakota, and many of the surface waters originate in South Dakota. The LqP-YB Watershed encompasses the Lac qui Parle Watershed (HUC 08) and four smaller watersheds, the North and South Fork Yellow Bank Watersheds, the Marsh Lake Watershed, and the Lac qui Parle Reservoir Watershed (HUC 10s).

Water flowing on the landscape does not follow traditional political boundaries. Because of this,
resource management at a watershed scale rather than at political ones has become necessary to manage water resources. The LqP-YB Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan (CWMP) planning area was created based on hydrological flow patterns, watershed districts, boundaries with South Dakota, as well as preexisting neighboring watershed boundaries (Figure A.1).

The resulting CWMP contains 970 square miles or 622,700 acres. The towns located within the
Watershed include Bellingham, Boyd, Burr, Canby, Dawson, Hendricks, Lac qui Parle Village, Louisburg, Madison, Marietta, Nassau, and Rosen.

The LqP-YB CWMP was developed between 2021-2023 through the One Watershed, One Plan (1W1P) program administered by the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR; Minnesota Statutes §103B.801). The CWMP will guide watershed partners including local counties, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the LqP-YB WD, and other local stakeholders through the implementation processes to restore, protect, and ensure the Watershed’s water management and sustainability moving forward.