The region hosts endangered native dry oak savannas, semiforested areas that seem to have been dependent on fire for their well-being.

The North Fork flows through Wabasha, Olmsted, and Winona counties, with a "channel length of 47 km"[5] (c. 30 miles).

[6] Native brook, wild brown and occasionally stocked rainbow trout populate the streams.

Crystal Springs Fish Hatchery is located on the lower portion of the South Fork.

Designed to allow the river to access its floodplain, the restored section is supposed to disperse high water levels over a relatively wide area and reduce shoreline erosion.