Application Use Guides

This application is the foundational platform to explore and assess watershed health. It provides watershed health scores across a range of spatial boundaries, access to hundreds of additional data layers, and links to watershed reports and data summaries. The Map Tool Reference Guide shows the tools within the watershed map, how to view health scores, and provides links to other resources. 

WHAF Process Guide

The Process Guide applies the map tools to an exploration of the Crow Wing River Watershed, outlining the tool purpose, process, and lessons learned. This guide is a template for exploring watershed health.

Applying the WHAF

This video recorded training walks through the basic concepts behind the assessment of watershed health, as well as hands-on examples of using the various tools in the WHAF Watershed Map application. (YouTube; 57 minutes) 

This application provides lake health scores within a user selected spatial boundary. Different aspects of lake health can be easily compared, while also exploring conditions both in and near a selected lake that may influence lake health and management decisions.

Use guides

The WHAF for Lakes Use Guide describes the tools in the application as well as the data inputs used for scoring lake health.

The WHAF for Lakes training video covers lake health concepts, scoring approach and a hands-on demonstration of the application. (YouTube; 25 min)

This use example explores information about lake health for Bay Lake in the Mississippi River - Brainerd major watershed using the WHAF for Lakes application.

This application provides charts and tables of land cover types for different watershed or county boundaries. It also summarizes cropping history from 1920s to present, as well as permitted water use.

Use guides

This WHAF Land Cover Use Guide describes the steps to explore the land cover and water use data summaries available in the application.

The WHAF Land Cover Application Use Example focuses on the North Fork Crow River watershed in central Minnesota. By reviewing historic land cover as well as more recent trends, this example connects ways that land cover and land use impact water resources.