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News and ViewsNebraska Watersheds News and Views Fall 2004 Issue 2 Hello, and welcome to the quarterly electronic Nebraska Watersheds News and Views newsletter. I hope this issue and the ones to follow will provide useful information that will increase both your knowledge and interest of water resource issues. The purpose of the electronic newsletter is to provide information on watershed topics and issues, share ideas, programs and publicize events to watershed council members, watershed project coordinators, Extension educators and specialists, agency personnel, watershed management professionals and natural resources professionals. The newsletter is intended for educational purposes only. Newsletter information may be reprinted or reproduced. If you intend to use this material, please acknowledge the authors and the source of information. Interested persons are invited to contribute articles, news items, photographs or other materials for publication. Please, feel free to ask me questions, share ideas, or provide feedback. Steve Tonn-University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension Educator-Douglas/Sarpy Counties/Omaha Lakes Extension Coordinator In This Issue
Citizen Led Watershed Management Water is a precious resource that belongs to everyone. It is used for drinking, recreation, irrigation, power generation, wildlife habitat, transportation, quality of life enhancement and many other uses. It has many owners but not a designated caretaker. As a common resource, it is easy for no one to take responsibility for it. We all live in a watershed. A watershed is all the land that drains to a particular creek, stream, river, lake or body of water. Watersheds come in all sizes and shapes. They can contain farmland, forests, wilderness, small towns or large cities, commercial or industrial areas. A watershed community is a group of people who are bound together by the land that drains water into their common streams, rivers, lakes or other bodies of water. Community watershed management means that the people of the watershed invest their time, talents, energies, and personal resources in acquiring the knowledge they need to take an active role in managing their watershed. Watershed residents partner with elected officials, stakeholders, and natural resources experts to gather information and make decisions about local policies and land use practices that protect and add value to their land and waters. The community based approach is a concept whereby local people lead the watershed planning process based on local identified needs. Watershed citizens help to define resource issues and implement a planning process that will help to achieve the desired resource conditions. Citizens evaluate the plan and the impacts of the management plan on the watershed. Citizen led watershed management efforts are underway in Nebraska and
throughout the nation. Citizens have stepped forward and taken responsibility
for the water resources in their watershed. They understand the land and water
relationship and are managing them in ways that benefit the whole community. To
learn more about these citizen led watershed management efforts, contact the
Douglas/Sarpy Counties Extension Office. The Role of the Watershed Council The local watershed council, made up of citizens representing the various watershed stakeholders, plays a very important role in the watershed management planning process. They serve as the decision makers in drafting the watershed management plan. The Council works closely with technical resource specialists to develop a practical, useful and technically sound plan. Watershed Council Members:
Riparian Buffers for Watershed Management Watershed management to protect surface water quality includes using best management practices on farm fields and along stream corridors. Riparian or streamside buffers are one of the best conservation practices for protecting stream corridors and surface water quality. A riparian buffer can include trees, shrubs and grasses planted so that runoff from farm fields flows through them and “filters” the water. As part of a conservation system -that includes other conservation practices like no-till farming - riparian buffers can offer a “last line of defense” to keep eroded soil, nutrients and pesticides out of surface water. Riparian buffers can reduce streambank erosion and provide wildlife habitat. Buffers can also provide income through direct payments from federal, state and local cost-share programs, or through the production of commercial products in a buffer planted to shrubs and trees. For protecting stream water quality a watershed management approach suggests riparian buffers should be planted throughout a watershed. Targeting specific watersheds and promoting riparian buffers to farmers and landowners across the watershed is the goal of several Cooperative Extension education projects in Nebraska. The Shell Creek Watershed in northeast Nebraska has been the target of a “peer-to-peer” outreach program promoting adoption of conservation buffers. The program, called FarmLink, involves local farmers who are trained to be FarmLink Advisors who contact other farmers throughout the watershed to inform them of the benefits of buffers, the cost share and technical assistance available, and to promote adoption of riparian buffers and other conservation buffers. In 2003 forty-two farmers were contacted in the Shell Creek Watershed. Over 50% of these indicated they would install a conservation buffer. To-date, contracts have been approved for more than 60 acres of farmland in the Shell Creek Watershed to be planted to new conservation buffers. To help promote the adoption of riparian buffers Cooperative Extension has produced a new “how-to” video entitled Streamside Conservation: Installing and Maintaining Your Riparian Buffer” This 45-minute video is directed to farmers and landowners who want to install riparian grass or forest buffers on their own. The video is divided into several sections and is full of practical tips on selecting plants, preparing the site, planting trees and grasses and post-planting care to insure survival. Extension specialists and others describe planning and design, plant selection for trees, shrubs and grasses, planting techniques, and long-term maintenance. Riparian buffers provide water quality and wildlife habitat benefits and can provide income through harvest of specialty crops planted in the buffer, as described in the video. Nebraska farmers discuss their experiences with buffers in “coffee shop” scenes throughout the video. A companion NebGuide publication is being prepared. Copies of the VHS video, or a DVD version, can be ordered for $15.00 each
from Betty Castan, University of Nebraska-CIT, (402)472-3035 or email
Betty Castan. An advertising flier/order
form is also available. To obtain order forms contact Betty Castan. Water Quality Risk Assessment Program Available It is essential that the quality of our groundwater along with that of our surface water resources be protected. Activities and practices around the homesite and on surrounding land can be evaluated with the Farm*A*Syst program to determine the risk to water quality. The Farm*A*Syst program is a voluntary and confidential self-assessment. You can use the materials on your own. Six of the Farm*A*Syst units help you assess the pollution potential of structures and activities that are found on most acreages, farms, and ranches today. Five Farm*A*Syst units are appropriate for farms with livestock. Three Farm*A*Syst units focus on field practices that may contribute to the risk of water contamination. Other units assess the site and stormwater. You select the units appropriate for your site. At your convenience, you complete step by step worksheets to evaluate practices that could pose a risk to water quality. Then you decide what to do to reduce risks identified by reading accompanying fact sheets. You keep your assessment results for your personal records. To get free copies of Farm*A*Syst units, visit the Nebraska Farm*A*Syst web page at http://www.ianr.unl.edu./ianr/bse/ext/fas/ or contact Sharon Skipton at 402 472-3662. Citizens Can Influence Public Policy
Decisions Every citizen should realize their opinions are important to public decision makers. When people actively participate in the policymaking process, basic social institutions are more likely to respond to citizens' needs. People educated in critical thinking about public issues, policy making processes and opportunities for effective participation interact more directly in the public decision-making process. Public policies that benefit citizens result from dialogue between citizens and policymakers as they develop a view of how the policy will impact people. As the public policy issue evolves, identify the problem. Express concern and then become involved. An example of a public policy problem would be a community with no means of transportation for the elderly. Clarify the issue to define the scope of the problem. For example, citizens could talk with community leaders and the elderly to further define the transportation issue. Recognize existing alternatives for the problem and brainstorm new alternatives. For the transportation issue, citizens could apply for government grants or organize volunteers to donate transportation. Explore the consequences of each alternative. For example, a government grant may help with the purchase of a van, but additional funding sources must be sought before federal funds are exhausted. Although citizens do not make the decisions, they indirectly influence the policy makers who make decisions. Follow through a decision to learn more about the policymaking process. Provide input to the policymaker as implementation procedures are developed. Policy decisions are evaluated informally as people experience and react to each new solution. For example, if citizens are satisfied with the resolution to the elderly transportation issue, they may move to other activities. People unhappy with the decision or implementation procedures may try to identify a new approach to the problem or issue. Others may begin a campaign to elect new policymakers. Watershed Activities Views Events Successes World Water Monitoring Day 2004
High-school and junior-high classes from schools up and down the North Platte valley got their feet wet in the area of watershed protection this October by joining with NRD staff to monitor the condition of area streams. As part of World Water Monitoring Day 2004, the students heard in-class presentations about watersheds: what they are, how water quality is the gauge of land use, and how everyone can work to protect the quality of the water in their watershed. Weather allowing, the students joined NRD staff to travel to nearby streams and actually collect and measure water samples. They also checked the prevalence of macro-invertebrates, the small animals (often fish food) that help indicate the health of a stream. Participating schools include Morrill, Mitchell, Scottsbluff, Minatare, Bayard, Bridgeport and Oshkosh. The collected water samples were measured for temperature, acidity (pH), clarity (turbidity) and dissolved oxygen. The data is transmitted to the World Water Monitoring Day’s World Wide Web site (www.worldwatermonitoringday.org), where data from each state will be made available in several months. World Water Monitoring Day is sponsored by the Clean Water Foundation and the International Water Association. The object: For people of all ages to collect water quality data from as many local streams and rivers as possible between Sept. 18 and October 18, then send the data to the Clean Water Foundation so it could be collected and posted on the web site. In 2003, water sampling results were reported from 5,300 sites in 24 countries. This year, greater worldwide participation was expected. Early registrations topped the 2003 total, with sites from 27 countries. “…The protection of our water is not just the responsibility of government and corporate leader, it is not something that we can look to others to keep safe and available for our use,” said Roberta Savage, President of America’s Clean Water Foundation. Wagon Train Lake Watershed Project Update Eight new cost share applications have been submitted for approval this quarter in the amount of nearly $55,000. These applications are for four systems of terraces with underground outlets, one system of terraces with grass waterways, one system of grass waterways and two septic system improvements. These applications have exhausted the Lower Platte South NRD cost share match funds available until next July. These new applications along with previous applications approved have provided a very large work load of conservation planning and practice layout for us. We were able to get one large terrace and underground outlet job completed in September. This field was planted to winter wheat last fall after corn and soybean harvest. This job is now protecting 170 acres of cropland. The 90% cost share for this project was $61,677.40. We have evaluated two new sites for Small Water Quality Ponds. We have designed one erosion control dam to be built this fall or next spring. I presented a poster about the Wagon Train Lake Watershed at the Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Meeting in Saint Paul, Minnesota in July. In August, Dennis Schroeder and I hosted the EPA Kansas City Region TMDL Tour in the Wagon Train Lake Watershed. We discussed our project with about 20 participants and showed them some of the projects we have done. In September I attended the NRCS Stream Corridor Restoration employee training in Nebraska City. I am making plans to have a No-Till meeting in Lancaster County on the morning of February 11. Zorinsky Lake Watershed Council’s Educational Project Makes Impact The Zorinsky Lake Watershed Council with the support and assistance of Douglas/Sarpy Counties Extension has conducted a successful educational project in the Zorinsky Lake Watershed, Omaha. The project focused on raising the awareness of watershed residents about runoff pollution and implementing best management practices to reduce runoff pollution. An estimated 4,335 residences received educational materials and 861 stormwater drains were marked with no dumping messages. A bill board with a preventing runoff message was displayed. A project evaluation survey indicated that 76% of the residents believe that runoff pollution is a threat to Zorinsky Lake; 74% said that activities from their home and yard impact the lake; and 96% said that they have or will implement best management practices such as no dumping in stormwater drains, disposing of household chemicals/paints properly, applying lawn fertilizer and pesticides according to label directions and proper watering of lawns. The educational project was funded by a 319 grant from the Nebraska Dept. of Environmental Quality. Upcoming Events Feb. 9 Urban Erosion & Sediment Control Seminar -Omaha (contact Steve Tonn 402- 444-4237) Feb. 11 No Till Meeting - Lancaster County (contact Jim Harder 402-423-9683 ext. 5) Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Elbert C. Dickey, Director of Cooperative Extension, University of Nebraska, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. It is the policy of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln not to discriminate on the basis of gender, age, disability, race, color, religion, marital status, veteran's status, national or ethnic origin or sexual orientation.
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