![\"flatboat_going_down_the_mississippi820x605\"](\"https:\/\/herofortheplanet.org\/mnfreshwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2018\/04\/flatboat_going_down_the_mississippi820x605.jpg\" "\\"flatboat_going_down_the_mississippi820x605\\"")
\n\t\t\t\t![\"cityscape_on_river_with_boats_ar_waud1600x772\"](\"https:\/\/herofortheplanet.org\/mnfreshwater\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/17\/2018\/04\/cityscape_on_river_with_boats_ar_waud1600x772-1024x494.jpg\" "\\"cityscape_on_river_with_boats_ar_waud1600x772\\"")
\n\t\tIn the late 1600\u2019s, French explorers led an expedition into Minnesota, and were soon followed by fur traders for French and British companies. They had discovered that the waterways of Minnesota created an ideal habitat for beaver and other animals that produced high-quality furs. In the centuries afterwards, this fur trade only grew as more and more forts and other trading posts were built by settlers. Minnesota\u2019s freshwaters offered convenient transport of these furs, military goods, and more. Though the early settlers were primarily Americans from the East Coast,\u00a0 by the 1860\u2019s large numbers of immigrants (especially from Germany and Scandinavia) had arrived to take part in this rapidly increasing water-based economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t
Lorem Ipsum<\/p>\n
Think about your observations and personal experiences.<\/p>\n
K<\/b>: What do you already\u00a0KNOW<\/b>\u00a0from your observations, experiences, and background knowledge?<\/p>\n
N<\/b>: What do you\u00a0NEED<\/b> to know to be able to effectively help your local river or lake?<\/p>\n
D<\/b>: What ideas do you have for what you could\u00a0DO\u00a0<\/b>to help your local river or lake?<\/p>\n
Challenge! See how many questions about the Minnesota fresh waters you can come up. Scientists try to start questions with who, what, when, where, how, or what if.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t<\/a><\/h5>\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBack to Our History\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n
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