 Thanks to everyone who suggested topics for the 12th semi-annual Watershed Network meeting Tuesday, Nov. 18 at the New Ulm Pizza Ranch. Two speakers have been confirmed so far: Natalie Warren, founder of Wild River Academy (photo: Quad City Times), and Mark Gernes, MPCA, with the Restorable Wetland Prioritization Tool. In addition to describing the organization and her experiences, Natalie may have some tips for hosting successful paddle events. The browser to access the wetland tool website must be Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.
Other possible topics include: the BWSR Nonpoint Priority Funding Plan, Clean Water Roadmap, and Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan. The final agenda will be posted on the Watershed Network webpage, and featured in the next newsletter scheduled for Nov. 12. Topics at
past meetings are archived on the recently re-designed Watershed Network web page.
Please send any comments or program ideas to Forrest Peterson, forrest.peterson@state.mn.us,
320-441-6972. The network enhances communication and learning among watershed
professional staff; it provides a monthly e-newsletter and hosts meetings in
the spring and fall.
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 Citizens who care about the land and water in the Minnesota River basin
plan to meet Oct. 30 in New Ulm for the second Minnesota River Congress.
The first congress June 19 drew more than 100 people to explore ideas
about creating a citizen-led entity among the scores of organizations active in
the basin. Everyone is welcome to attend the congress at Turner Hall, 102 S. State St., New Ulm.
Combining ideas from the first congress with those from a series of
regional meetings in September, the second congress will focus on the need for
a comprehensive group and how it could be structured. A networking fair with
displays by organizations is also being planned.
Discussion so far leans in favor of creating a citizen-led
entity to foster communication and collaboration among the existing
organizations, with a primary focus on the health of the land and
water. Among countervailing points, the basin is too large and diverse,
the issues are too political, and there are enough organizations already.
A
total of more than 100 people attended the September regional meetings in
Montevideo, Fairmont, Henderson (shown in photo), Bloomington, and Morton. The meetings opened with
brief overviews by Scott Sparlin and Ted Suss, followed by small group
discussion of a set of five questions focusing on the need for a basin-wide
entity, what it could do for existing organizations, and specific projects or
tasks.
Pre-register for the congress by
contacting the Coalition for a Clean Minnesota River, PO Box 488, New Ulm, MN
56073. The cost is $15 per person. Admission is free for young adults under 19
or with a college ID. Admission at the door is $20. Networking fair space
rental is $30. You can register for admission and/or the networking fair by
mail at the above address, or or go online for individual
registration and networking
fair registration. For more information contact Sparlin at 507-276-2280,
yasure@lycos.com.
Minnesota River Valley Congress
schedule Oct. 30, 2014, Turner Hall, 102 S. State St., New Ulm:
- 4-6 p.m. –
Networking Fair-displays by organizations.
- 6 p.m. –
Buffet dinner.
- 6:30 p.m. –
Overview-purpose of congress.
- 7 p.m. –
Small and large group discussion.
- 9 p.m. – Adjourn.
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Crow River paddlers find quiet adventure
Most motorists zooming along I-94 east of Albertville-St. Michael are oblivious to the Crow River flowing under the bridge en route to the Mississippi. On the afternoon of Aug. 28, 15 paddlers in seven canoes slipped quietly beneath the noisy freeway on an excursion organized by the Crow River Organization of Water. Launching from an access point in St. Michael, they paddled about 10
miles to just past Hwy. 101, where they made an early exit, short of the original goal reaching the Mississippi.
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Bush grant for community engagement in Seven Mile Creek
A recent Community Innovation Grant from the Bush Foundation provides the Seven Mile Creek community the chance to demonstrate what community-led rehabilitation of water resources in an agricultural landscape looks like. The grant is funding a project called "Gather at the Water: Uniting a Disconnected Community Around the Creek that Defines Us." Great River Greening will shepherd the community through two tracks, engaging park users and farmers. Each will focus on conservation goal-setting and planning, informed by the wealth of data already collected about this watershed and amplified by local voices, ideas, values, and solutions. The project was one among only 34 awarded, out of 587 applicants. Partners include the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resource Center (MAWRC), and the people who live in, work in, use, and appreciate Seven Mile Creek and its surrounding watershed.
High Island Creek-Rush River watershed grants coordinator sought
The watershed grants coordinator position for High Island Creek and Rush River is now open for
applicants. This is a limited term, grant-funded position located in Gaylord in Sibley County. Applications are due Oct. 17. Link to website posting.
Mississippi, North Fork Crow WRAPS reports on public review and comment
Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy reports for the North Fork Crow River and Mississippi River-St. Cloud are on public notice Oct. 13 to Nov. 12, 2014. The Total Maximum Daily Load report for the latter is also on public notice during that time. The reports are available on the MPCA watershed pages: North Fork Crow, Mississippi River-St. Cloud.
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The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA)
is nearing completion of the Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan revision
process. Two factsheets about the Nitrogen Fertilizer Management Plan have been
developed and are now posted on the MDA website: www.mda.state.mn.us/nfmp.
The first factsheet provides a general overview of the plan and the second
factsheet includes information about the proposed rule on nitrogen fertilizer.
Please read these factsheets and share with others that are interested in this
topic. Additional factsheets will be developed regarding the monitoring and
assessment, prevention and mitigation activities in the plan.
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The small town of Winnebago is taking on a big project that will
benefit the Blue Earth River along with the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers
downstream.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) recently approved
a Clean Water Partnership award for the project: $1 million in loan funds and
$10,000 in grant funds. Winnebago, located in Faribault County along the
southern Minnesota border, will use the award toward a $5 million green
infrastructure project to reduce the volume of water and pollutants going to
the Blue Earth River. This river is one of the highest contributors of
pollutants to the Minnesota River.
Winnebago, population 1,437, plans to reconstruct its streets in
a 25-block area, which makes up about 20 percent of the town, according to city
administrator Chris Ziegler. The project will include disconnecting illegal
connections to the municipal wastewater system, building a special pond to hold
stormwater and let pollutants settle out, and planting rain gardens and
boulevard swales to capture and filter stormwater.
The Winnebago project follows a Faribault County Soil and Water
Conservation District effort to educate communities about the need to reduce
urban runoff, a major contributor of sediment, nutrients, toxic chemicals,
bacteria, litter and other pollutants to lakes and rivers. The district also
received a Clean Water Partnership grant of $300,000 for reducing pollutants
going to the Blue Earth River.
Altogether, the MPCA approved 10 projects totaling $1.26 million
in grants and $2.4 million in loans from the Clean Water Partnership program.
Funding is provided by the Minnesota Legislature and the Clean Water Land and
Legacy Amendment.
Other recipients in the Minnesota and Mississippi River basins
include:
- Hawk
Creek Watershed Project, $242,587 grant for "Renville County
Minnesota River-Mankato Watershed Protection"
- Buffalo
Creek Watershed District, $10,000 grant and $294,540 loan for the
"Buffalo Creek - Marsh Water Project"
- Sauk
River Watershed District, $268,000 grant and $150,000 loan for
"Middle Sauk River Targeted Reduction and Outreach"
- Renville
County, $10,000 grant and $950,000 loan for the "Middle Minnesota
Watershed SSTS Loan Project"
The next funding round is scheduled to open this winter. Check
the MPCA
website for updates.
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A “Cover Crops in a Corn/Soybean Rotation Field Day” field day Nov. 13 will begin at 10 a.m. at the American Legion in Okabena, with an on-farm tour in the afternoon at the Jerry and Nancy Ackermann farm near Lakefield.
Local farmers Jerry Ackermann, Jerry Perkins, and Dave Christoffer, will discuss their experiences with various cover crop seeding methods, timings, and mixes. Liz Stahl, Extension Educator in Crops, will present results from demonstration trials conducted in corn across three on-farm sites in southwest Minnesota this growing season. Jill Sackett, Extension Educator in Ag Production Systems and Co-Coordinator for MN North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE), will discuss the latest cover crop research being conducted by the University of MN.
During the afternoon session, Michael Lehman, Research Microbiologist with the USDA/ARS, will discuss the potential benefits of using a cover crop from a soil microorganism perspective. Attendees will be able to view soil biological activity through use of the Prairie Ecology Bus. Field day participants will also have the opportunity to conduct indicator tests of soil quality under different cropping systems, led by Stephanie McLain and Loren Clarke, District Conservationists with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).
There is no charge to attend the field day, courtesy of program sponsors, which include: U of MN Extension, NCR-SARE, NRCS, AgStar, Extended Ag Services, FCA Co-op, Heron Lake Watershed District, Jackson County Corn and Soybean Growers Association, Jackson County SWCD, La Crosse Seed, Nobles County Corn and Soybean Growers Association, Nobles County SWCD, and the Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District.
Pre-registration is not required. Contact Liz Stahl at 507-372-3900/stah0012@umn.edu. In case of inclement weather, please check with the Farm Information Line (1-800-232-9077) for weather related updates. For further details about the program, check out the program flyer at: http://z.umn.edu/covercropfd2014. Source: Lizabeth Stahl, University of Minnesota Extension, 507-372-3900, stah0012@umn.edu.
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A webcast is being offered noon-2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29 entitled "Climate Resilience: "What to Expect, How to Prepare, and What You Can Learn from
Others." The webcast will share findings from the most recent
National Climate Assessment report concerning climate change and water
resources. It will also discuss a new workbook from EPA called Being Prepared for
Climate Change: A Workbook for Developing Risk-Based Adaptation Plans
developed to help communities prepare for climate change impacts. The webcast
will also highlight how the workbook has been used in a pilot project with the
San Juan Bay Estuary program. Take home messages from the Webcast include:
climate impacts on U.S. water resources, risk-based adaptation planning and
decision-making tools and lessons learned from the pilot project. Register for the Webinar to
learn more about climate resilience. Register at: www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts.
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Buffer strip violators must pay
Four Kandiyohi County property owners will have to pay the price for restoring buffer strips along drainage ditches on their land. The four, all located south and southwest of Willmar, will share in the $4,624 expense to the county to re-seed the damaged strips. There are 26 parcels in the county that were seeded to grass under the state rule. Inspections earlier this year identified areas that needed to be repaired. County drainage inspector Loren Engelby told the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday that recent inspections revealed that eight parcels were out of compliance. In most cases the vegetation was damaged because of excessive tillage, overspray of herbicide or planting crops inside the buffer zone. Statutory guidelines allow ditch authorities to make the repairs, which were initially funded from Kandiyohi County’s ditch fund, and then send a bill to the violating property owners. This is the first time the county has taken this kind of action. - West Central Tribune, Willmar, 10/08/14
Bee Friendlier’ effort enlists public to help protect insects
Video
New York Times, 10/12/14
Report: A healthy Chesapeake Bay worth $50 billion to Virginia
Newport News (VA) Daily Press, 10/6/14
MPCA seeks comments on restoration/protection, water quality reports for Mississippi River-St. Cloud Watershed
News release, 10/13/14
MPCA seeks comments on restoration/protection report for North Fork Crow River Watershed
News release, 10/13/14
MPCA requests comments on water quality improvement report for Rice Creek watershed
News release, 9/22/14
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Oct. 28-30: BWSR Academy, Breezy Point Conference Center.
Oct.
30: Minnesota River Congress, Turner Hall, New Ulm.
Nov. 18: Watershed Network fall meeting, 9:30 a.m., New
Ulm Pizza Ranch.
Dec.
7-9: Soil and Water Conservation Districts' convention, Double Tree Hotel, Bloonmington.
Jan. 28-29: Minnesota Ag Expo, Verizon Wireless Center,
Mankato.
March 6, 2015: Nitrogen conference, Kelly Inn, St. Cloud.
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 Watershed
Network News welcomes news from partners about funding opportunities, project
updates and events. Email your news to forrest.peterson@state.mn.us.
Please note that the MPCA has switched to a new service, called GovDelivery. To
ensure delivery of these messages, please add mpca@public.govdelivery.com
to your address book or safe sender list. Please forward this to any other
interested parties. Past issues are located on the Watershed Network publications webpage.
Forrest Peterson
Information Officer
MPCA-Willmar office
320-441-6972
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