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The Red Cedar River Basin drains 1,893 square miles in west-central Wisconsin. The area includes parts of Barron, Chippewa, Dunn, Polk, Rusk, Sawyer, St. Croix and Washburn counties. All rivers and streams that drain into the Red Cedar River are part of the basin. Major tributaries include the Brill, Yellow, and Hay rivers. The northern parts of the basin are predominately forested. Agriculture is the dominant land use in the rest of the basin.
Water quality problems related to phosphorus have been documented in the basin. High phosphorus levels cause algal blooms and excessive plant growth in area lakes and contribute to low oxygen levels in streams. Sources of phosphorus include agriculture, construction site erosion, streambank erosion, human and animal waste, fertilizer and organic matter.
Links between the basin's resource base and the economic health and quality of area residents' life are pervasive. Citizens, government entities and institutions depend on the area's leading industries (agriculture, tourism, and outdoor recreation) which are all fundamentally dependent on the health of the basin's rivers, lakes and streams.