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News and Views
Nebraska Watersheds News and Views Fall 2006 Issue 10 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 questions, share ideas, or provide feedback. Steve Tonn-University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Educator in Douglas/Sarpy Counties/Omaha Lakes Extension Coordinator In This Issue
Sustaining Local Watershed Councils Why do some watershed councils/improvement groups seem to flourish and sustain themselves and others wither away? Why do some council/group members work well together and others don’t? I have observed that two things are very important: having a strong volunteer leader or chairperson and uniting under a common vision for the watershed. An enthusiastic and strong leader will promote and develop good communication among members and with technical resource agencies and specialists. They will help to foster mutual respect between members and agencies. They will work to build a strong team with members and agencies working together to accomplish the watershed management plan goals. The local group leader plays a very important role in helping sustain local groups or councils. Without a strong leadership voice from the watershed council chairperson, it is easy to lose interest and direction. The second observation relates to the members individually and as a group being united and committed to a common vision or direction for the watershed. Are the members representing their own personal interests or the interests of the watershed as a whole? Do they unite under the watershed vision statement? Is the vision statement used as the measuring tool for actions and strategies? It is important to involve all interested stakeholders or interests in the watershed management planning process and on the watershed group or council. Watershed council members have the responsibility of representing their own or a specific interest group’s views but also being willing to respect others views and to work for the best interest of the entire watershed. Individual members and councils or groups that can have this mutual respect for differing views and work together can accomplish many beneficial projects. The reference handbook Renewing Local Watersheds: Community Leaders’ Guide to Building Watershed Communities published by Iowa State University Extension lists mutual respect, team building, broad participation and building alliances as organizational practices which support development and sustainability in watershed groups. These practices build on the strong foundation established by a common vision established by the watershed council or group. Ups and downs in organizations are inevitable. Watershed councils or improvement groups that have strong leaders, good communications, a team spirit and a desire to carryout the vision for the watershed can survive the down times and continue to work for the betterment of their watershed. What If……? One important potential cooperating-group within most rural settings is the landowner-base that comprises a watershed. Do you know what watershed(s) you are part of and the number of acres involved? If water is leaving your property, what is it taking with it? These are important questions that need to be answered as we continue our pursuit of cleaner surface and ground waters. It has been said that we cannot manage land without managing water. Luna Leopold, son of noted conservationist Aldo Leopold, once stated that…..“The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land”. Our land use has a direct effect upon the water that flows through our watersheds. Some landowners (primarily farmers) have taken steps to incorporate conservation practices to reduce loss of soil and nutrients which, in turn, helps to improve water quality. Many others have not yet recognized the importance of working with neighboring landowners in helping to make certain that cleaner water leaves their watershed. Conservation Buffers are practices that can be established by every landowner within a watershed resulting in a profound improvement to water quality. There are several types of conservation buffers that, simply defined, are areas or strips of land maintained in permanent vegetation to help control pollutants from entering watershed streams or water bodies and reduce the effects of other environmental problems as well. The list of conservation buffers include the following: alley cropping, contour grass strips, cross-wing trap strips, designated wellhead protection areas, field borders, filter strips, grassed waterways, herbaceous wind barriers, living snow fence, riparian forest buffers, salt-tolerant vegetation, shallow water areas, stream bank plantings, vegetative barriers, and windbreaks/shelterbelts. Ten of these buffer practices currently qualify for USDA’s Continuous CRP program, which provides a signup bonus, cost-share for establishment and annual rental payments (that includes a maintenance fee)…all, for up to fifteen years. We have dramatically changed the landscape over the past one hundred fifty years. The filtering prairie grasses that once provided a natural buffer have been plowed under, forest areas have been cleared, certain soils have been overgrazed, wet areas have been tiled and streams have been straightened. It should be no surprise that the number of gullies, waterways and streams has increased. Streams have become wider and deeper and the water within them carries away tons of our rich soil by way of field and stream bank erosion. The good news is that many of these environmental blemishes can be healed with conservation buffers. Conservation buffers can provide other benefits beside cleaner water. Field areas can be squared up eliminating point rows and hard-to-farm areas, downstream flooding can be reduced, wooded buffers (including shrubs and/or trees) can provide future sources of income, noise and odors can be reduced, surface water temperatures can be lowered improving fish habitat, wildlife will increase with improved areas for food and shelter, stream banks can be stabilized, your land can be beautified and your environmental / stewardship image can be enhanced. The healing process will not take place over night but it can happen within just a few years. WHAT IF…one landowner within your watershed visited with the local NRCS office and established conservation buffers on his/her land where needed? Then, WHAT IF…that landowner talked to one or two other landowners in your watershed about buffering their eligible acres? And, WHAT IF…all landowners within your watershed took it upon themselves to meet together and formulate a plan to buffer all areas between their land use and all surface water? WHAT IF…landowners within your watershed were accountable to one another for water quality? WHAT IF this whole process was started by you? Sixty Ways Farmers Can Protect Surface Water Producing food and protecting water is the nature of a farmer’s job. These two tasks don’t have to be in conflict. Many farmers have found ways to take care of their most valuable assets – their soil and water- without giving up profitability in their farming business. Consider these practices which can help you protect water resources and may contribute to your economic bottom line. Distribute residue evenly at harvest How many of these practices are you already doing? Which ones could you add? If you would like more information on any of these practices contact your local county Extension Office, NRCS Office or NRD Office. Many of these practices may qualify for cost share payments. Source: North Central Regional Extension Publication 589: 60 Ways Farmers Can Protect Surface Water Watershed Activities Views Events Successes Shell Creek Watershed Project Update The Shell Creek Watershed Improvement Group’s (SCWIG) efforts to restore a conservation ethic back into the watershed have been greatly enhanced by the grant funds they have received from the Nebraska Environmental Trust (NET) and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ). The NET and NDEQ funds have allowed the SCWIG to educate the Shell Creek land users and the public of the need for conservation practices on the land. The grant funds also permit the SCWIG to offer conservation incentives to producers to make better management decisions in their operation. The new conservation practices being applied are having a gradual impact on the look of the watershed landscape and the positive impacts on water quality will soon follow. Ag producers in the Shell Creek watershed are gaining a better understanding of the importance of soil conservation and are more willing to make some changes to their operations for the benefit of the entire community. The land treatment phase of the Shell Creek Watershed Project has really expanded over the past year and should continue to grow exponentially as the landowners talk with their neighbors about the value of conservation. To date, Shell Creek landowners have contracted to receive SCWIG incentive payments for applying the following Best Management Practices (BMPs):
The NDEQ and NET funds are used in combination with funds from Lower Platte North NRD, EQIP, CRP, WHIP and other sources to encourage increased landowner participation in all conservation programs. The conservation practices being applied are providing erosion control and improved quality of surface and groundwater on thousands of acres in the Shell Creek watershed. Swan Creek Reservoir Partnership Profile Presented at Heartland Regional
Water Initiative Forum The Swan Creek Reservoir Project was selected as the Nebraska partnership profile at the Heartland Regional Water Coordination Initiative: Building Partnerships for Collaborative Watershed Management- An Interactive Regional Forum in Kansas City. Mr. Scott Sobotka, Lower Big Blue NRD assistant manager, and Mr. Gary Baxa, Swan Creek Reservoir Watershed Council chairperson, presented the partnership profile. Project partners are the Swan Creek Watershed Council, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nebraska Dept. of Environmental Quality, Nebraska Enviromental Trust, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Saline County, Lower Big Blue NRD, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, and the U S Environmental Protection Agency. The profile highlighted the collaborative partnerships and the work being done to protect the reservoir and the entire watershed. 35 out of 43 landowners and operators are participating in the project. The Forum was held to open and sustain dialog among state and local leadership of agencies, nonprofit organizations, watershed communities and the land grant colleges in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. Fifty eight people from the four states participated in the Forum. Attending from Nebraska were Paul Hay, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Educator in Gage County; Elbert Traylor, 319 Program Coordinator, Nebraska Dept. of Environmental Quality; Jamie Oltman, Program Coordinator, The Groundwater Foundation; John Hannah, Shell Creek Watershed Council member and Lower Platte North NRD board member; Dr. Charles Wortmann, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Specialist; Don Vogel, Best Management Practices Coordinator for the Nebraska Corn Growers Association; and Steve Tonn, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension Educator in Douglas/Sarpy Counties. Carter Lake Watershed Management Planning Process Underway The community based watershed management planning process is underway in the Carter Lake Watershed. The watershed encompasses a portion of Omaha, Nebraska and Carter Lake, Iowa. Two public meetings have been held and a vision statement has been adopted for the watershed. A volunteer watershed council has been formed and will begin working with technical resources specialists to develop a watershed management plan. Events =====================================================================
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