 Focus on Citizen Advisory Committee recommendations
The next meeting of the Le Sueur River Watershed Network, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.,Tuesday, June 4, at the Indian Island Winery, 18018-631st Ave. near Janesville.
The evening will begin with a potluck supper -- participants are asked to bring a dish to share. After the meal, recommendations developed by a focus group of watershed citizens to address water quality concerns will be discussed in small groups, followed by a large group discussion. All watershed citizens with an interest in working together to make the Le Sueur River Watershed a better place to live, work, farm and play are invited to attend. The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Patrick Moore at 320-841-1487, Kim Musser at 507-389-5307, or visit www.lesueurriver.org.
Since April of 2012, citizens have been meeting to discuss ways to improve the water quality of the Le Sueur River Watershed, which covers approximately 711,838 acres in Blue Earth, Waseca, Steele, Le Sueur, Faribault and Freeborn counties. The Le Sueur River Watershed is known to be one of the largest contributors of sediment to the Minnesota River.
'Map Party' at Pemberton
The meetings began with a "Map Party" in Pemberton in April 2012 (photo above, right), followed by a potluck at the Red Jacket park in May. In August more than 80 people attended a meal and field day at the Doug Hager Farm that was co-sponsored by the Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council and several other groups. In October a field trip was held at Reeds Lake and afterwards citizens met at the Indian Island Winery to further discuss the issues. A follow up large group meeting was held in December 2012 where volunteers were recruited to serve on a focus group charged with the task of coming up with a set of simply-worded recommendations for action for the watershed public to consider.
"We now have a draft set of recommendations, a booklet summarizing what studies show us about the watershed and a new web site," says Kimberly Musser, of the Minnesota State University’s Water Resources Center. "We hope that all those who took part in previous meetings and anyone else who is interested will come on June 4th to give feedback to the draft recommendations, " Musser says.
Citizens formed watershed network
The event is being sponsored by the Le Sueur River Watershed Network, which works with all local landowners and recreational users of local rivers and lakes to promote voluntary efforts designed to improve the water quality of the Le Sueur, Cobb and Maple Rivers and area lakes. The ultimate goal of the network is to involve citizens in determining priorities and action steps that will lead to the restoration of water quality and biological integrity in the watershed.
Studies show that citizens have a powerful influence and that citizen leadership is necessary for water quality improvement projects to succeed. Landowners, farmers, students, teachers, artists, writers, historians, citizens, researchers, bird watchers, amateur geologists, or people who love to fish, paddle a canoe, bike, hike or simply enjoy the outdoors are invited to come and learn more about the watershed and meet with others who share their interests and concerns. County, state and federal government employees, county commissioners, and SWCD supervisors are also encouraged to attend.
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