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Nebraska Watersheds News and Views         Winter 2007 Issue 11

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/Extension Watersheds Councils Coordinator

In This Issue

• Reflections on Watershed Leadership
• Nebraska Dept. of Ag Pesticide Label Lists for Specific Use Requirements
• Stakeholder Involvement in Watershed Management in Eastern Nebraska Workshop
• Leverage Points for Effective Watershed Partnerships
• Watershed Activities Views Events Successes

Reflections on Watershed Leadership From the Ohio Watershed Leaders Conference August 31, 2006, Camp Akita
By Joe Bonnell and Anne Baird, OSU Extension, Watersheds

What causes some individuals to become leaders in watershed protection, while the vast majority choose less demanding roles? What are the qualities that make for an effective leader in watershed protection? How do you find and encourage effective leaders?

We posed these questions to a panel of highly respected watershed leaders from the Friends of Alum Creek and Tributaries (Margaret Ann Samuels), the Delaware Soil and Water Conservation District (Ed Miller), and Ohio EPA (Hugh Trimble). The following is a summary of wisdom shared by our panelists and participants at the Ohio Watershed Leaders conference held at Camp Akita on August 31, 2006. We conclude the article with some suggested questions for self-reflection or recruiting watershed coordinators and board members with leadership potential.

Balancing roles: leader vs. coordinator

Panelists and audience members noted that effective watershed leaders must be ahead of the pack at times, while at other times they are most effective working behind the scenes, coordinating and facilitating. Leading involves being out front, initiating change, and being the expert. Leading comes with risk, so effective watershed leaders need to have a tolerance for risk. Being on the forefront means that sometimes a leader will be held responsible when things don’t work out. Coordinating involves facilitating change, nurturing others’ dreams and ideas, adding value to group efforts and supporting others. Coordinating means sometimes a leader must step aside and allow others to take credit when good things happen. Coordinating also implies relinquishing control, which, for some, is one of the most challenging aspects of leadership.

In the end it’s about people

Panelists and participants frequently came back to the idea that, in the end, what matters is the people. Getting to know who the key individuals in a community are and their interests is an important first step for any leader. Next, a leader must find out these key individuals dreams and passions and help them make a connection with the watershed initiative. Effective leaders spend much of their time listening to stakeholders and residents so that when they speak, they can speak directly to the interests and concerns they have heard. One common denominator of all successful watershed leaders is their ability to create and utilize networks of individuals and organizations to address shared interests and concerns.

Be good to yourself

Good leaders are often thought of as being selfless and sacrificing. But one of the themes that arose from our discussion was that effective leaders take care of themselves and set aside time to develop their knowledge and skills. Dr. Steven Covey, in his groundbreaking book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" calls this attention to self-growth "sharpening the saw". Several people mentioned on-the-job training as the primary way they developed leadership skills. You can enhance that process by intentionally seeking out mentors with skills that you admire and want to develop.

Taking risks

Effective watershed leaders know their limitations but have the courage to go beyond those limitations when necessary. On one hand, effective leadership sometimes means setting limits and being able to say ‘no’. On the other hand, effective leaders must also be willing to step outside their comfort zones and risk failure or embarrassment. For example, Ed Miller, Watershed Coordinator with the Delaware Soil and Water Conservation District, realized early on in his job that he couldn’t wait for key stakeholders in his watershed to approach him about water quality issues. Going against his familiar way of doing business, Ed started calling up potential collaborators to introduce himself and learn about their issues and concerns. Taking risks sometimes means taking action when outcomes are uncertain. Participants expressed the importance of being able to grapple with these risks and uncertainties and still move forward. The grappling involves being able to initiate corrections, build in safety nets, and forgive yourself and others for things that don’t go as planned.

Time management

The demands of watershed leaders can be overwhelming. Panelists and participants offered several suggestions for leaders dealing with too many demands on their time. A detailed work plan works for some, but everyone agreed that an effective work plan must allow for time to deal with unexpected crises and opportunities. Effective leaders are able to focus on long-term goals, but remain responsive to changing conditions. Participants described the importance of being able to “sift out the noise” and to set and keep priorities. But participants also recommended scheduling time for daydreaming and contemplation. After all, effective leadership often begins with creative and innovative thinking, which doesn’t often happen when one’s nose is pressed firmly to the grindstone.

So, how can you apply these lessons on leadership? Below, we offer some questions that you can use as a leadership self-assessment tool or as a starting point for interviewing watershed coordinator candidates or Board of Director candidates that might give you insight into hidden leadership qualities:

• Balancing roles:
  1. Think of a time when you felt most like a leader? What were the qualities that made you an effective leader?
  2. What is your leadership style? Are you more likely to create a vision for others to follow or to involve others in creating a shared vision?
  3. When a group project gets off track, are you more likely to step up and do it yourself, or rally the troops and delegate tasks?
• It’s about people:
  1. If you found yourself in an elevator with a key stakeholder and you had thirty seconds to make a connection with them. What would you say?
  2. Tell us about a project you were involved in that required you to involve others. What was most challenging? What was most rewarding? What did you learn about yourself?
• Be good to yourself:
  1. Steven Covey talks about “sharpening the saw” as a key habit of effective leaders. How do you keep your “saw” sharpened?
  2. Watershed work can be very demanding and the opportunities for involvement can be overwhelming. What will you do to avoid becoming overwhelmed as a [watershed coordinator/Board member]?
• Taking risks:
  1. Watershed work often means making decisions with incomplete knowledge. Think of a time when you had to make a difficult decision with uncertain consequences. How did you handle making that decision? What did you learn about your relationship to risk?
  2. Watershed work often requires developing new relationships and working with difficult people. What do you feel are your strengths in building relationships? What are your weaknesses?
• Time management:
  1. Sooner or later, everyone is confronted with having more things to accomplish than time permits. How have you handled these situations in the past? How has your approach changed over time?
  2. Watershed work often involves working toward long-term goals but also requires addressing immediate crises and opportunities. Under these circumstances, how would you go about prioritizing responsibilities?

Source: Buckeye Basins Newsletter Fall 2006

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Pesticide Label Lists for Specific Use Requirements
Tim Creger, Nebraska Dept. of Ag Pesticide Program Manager

These documents are intended to be used as an aide in identifying specific types of restrictions found on pesticide labels. NDA has made every attempt to assure that the products presented here are both accurate as to the label statement indicated and as to registration status with NDA at the time of the search. However, because this search was not done directly with NDA's registered pesticide database, each language category may not represent a complete list of the products registered in Nebraska. The actual language of the products shown here may also be different from the product label that is registered in Nebraska. In addition, pesticide products are continually being added and deleted from our database, and the potential exists for these lists to be outdated soon after they are created. Because of this, and because it's the law, it is still the responsibility of the pesticide applicator to use products registered in Nebraska, and to read and follow the label of the product to be used.

Posting Sign Requirements

Water Quality Restrictions

Files in PDF format can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader.

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Stakeholder Involvement in Watershed Management in Eastern Nebraska Workshop
Dr. Charles Wortmann, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, IANR

The Heartland Regional Water Coordination Initiative in cooperation with the USDA-CSREES 406 project Pollution and Economic Decision Support Tool for Impaired Watershed Management Plans in Eastern Nebraska hosted a one-day workshop titled Stakeholder Involvement in Watershed Management in Eastern Nebraska. The purpose of this workshop was to enhance opportunities for partnerships in surface water protection using watershed and/or community based approaches, potentially involving partnerships of NRCS, NRDs, NDEQ, UNL Extension, producers, and other stakeholders in Eastern Nebraska. The objectives of the workshop were: 1) to explore successful approaches and techniques to better protect surface water quality and 2) to establish relationships and plans for future collaborative efforts.

Over 45 participants and speakers represented the Nebraska Natural Resources Conservation Service, Natural Resource Districts, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, University of Nebraska, United States Geological Survey, Nebraska Environmental Trust, University of Missouri, and Iowa State University at the one day event. Over 95% of participants agreed that the workshop was valuable to their watershed improvement efforts. Over 90% of participants suggested this workshop should be repeated in other parts of the state.

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Leverage Points for Effective Watershed Partnerships
Steve Tonn, University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension Educator

Using or obtaining leverage to accomplish a task is very common on the farm. We might use a pry bar to loosen or lift an object or put an extension on a wrench handle to get better leverage to loosen a tight bolt. A wise use of leverage can make a task easier. Leverage can also be used in a complex system (a corporation, a city or a watershed). Leverage points are places within a system (web of relationships) where small, well-focused actions can produce significant, enduring improvements.

How might we adopt that concept to a watershed? What leverage points can be identified in your watershed to build more effective partnerships around community involvement in watershed management? Does there need to be better communication between agencies? More involvement by landowners? Identification of common goals? More diversity of watershed stakeholders in the planning process? Greater awareness of watershed resource concerns by watershed stakeholders?

Finding the key leverage points and working on them to make a positive impact can result in stronger partnerships and more effective and successful watershed management plans.

WAVES

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Omaha Metro Area Erosion and Sediment Control Seminar
Steve Tonn, Douglas/Sarpy Counties Extension Educator

The fifth “Building for the Future – Erosion and Sediment Control Seminar” was held to teach the construction community about the stormwater rules and regulations and best management practices for managing stormwater runoff from construction sites. Soil losses from construction sites can be 4 to 5 and up to 10 times greater from a construction site than from agricultural land. The Papillion Creek Watershed, which includes the Omaha metro area, is being developed at the rate of 4 square miles per year. It is estimated that around 2040 the watershed will be built out. The seminar featured speakers from EPA Region 7, NDEQ, City of Omaha and the Papillion Creek Watershed discussing stormwater rules and regulations. Steve Rodie, UNL professor, taught the group about using low impact development design as a tool to manage stormwater runoff from both residential and commercial developments. 322 participants attended the 4 hour seminar.

Events

April 9 Lake Ecology meeting for Greater Omaha Lakes Watersheds Councils and Watersheds Residents

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