BALMM Currents
Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota
August 14, 2001
WELLS CREEK PROJECT, AGRICULTURE TOPICS TOP BALMM AGENDA:
This Wednesday's BALMM meeting near Frontenac (at Frontenac
Sportsman's Club, 9-noon) will lead off with two presentations focused on the
Wells Creek Watershed Project. Beth Knudsen, DNR, will lead off with a
presentation on the watershed project itself, of which she serves as
coordinator. Larry Gates, also of the DNR, will follow with a report on the
"Multiple Benefits of Agriculture" study, which was conducted at
several sites in Minnesota, including the Wells Creek Watershed. The study
takes a comprehensive look at how agriculture can provide benefits to the farm
family, the community and the environment.
The Federal Farm Bill also is up for discussion, including the
development of a 3-state pilot project for treating hay as a program commodity
eligible for federal support payments. Analysis of land-use trends in a 31,000
square mile area of Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin that includes the karst
region plus adjoining headwaters plains, indicates that acreage of hay and
pasture declined by about 20% from 1982 to 1997, with area planted to soybeans
increasing by 60% and corn declining by 13%, and forestland increasing by about
7%. Organizations in all three states have shown interest in conducting a pilot
farm bill project within this area, and BALMM (with NRCS assistance) is leading
the development of a fact sheet that briefly describes our concerns and a
proposed solution (treat hay as a farm program crop in the pilot area).
Also under discussion is the Senate Agriculture Committee on the farm program
scheduled for Stewartville at 1 pm, August 20.
ISTS COUNTY SURVEY WILL HELP SHAPE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN:
A BALMM sub-committee is developing a proposal to accelerate
the provision of adequate sewage treatment both for individual residences and
unsewered communities in the basin. The Southeast Minnesota Water Resources
Board and Cannon River Watershed Partnership together with University Extension
are leading the effort. In late July a survey was sent to all counties in the
basin, inquiring about public awareness of fecal coliform bacteria problems in
the water, knowledge about sources of bacteria, how counties would prefer to
focus additional resources within their counties to fix problems, which
implementation strategies would be most effective, etc. The subcommittee meets
again today to review the survey data and use it to refine the draft proposal,
which needs to be completed soon to meet deadlines for 319 grant applications
this fall.
NAVIGATION POOL PLANS ON PUBLIC NOTICE:
Cooperative efforts of state and federal agencies have
produced draft plans of desired conditions on each of the Mississippi River
pools in the St. Paul District of the Corps of Engineers. The Lower Mississippi
River Basin Plan Scoping Document makes reference to the need to connect
watershed and basin efforts to the attainment of goals for the Mississippi
River that are detailed in these plans. The BALMM coordinator presented some
ideas on how this could be done at last week's meeting of the Environmental
Management Program Coordinating Committee in La Crosse. Since these plans will become guidelines for
future programs and projects for river management, it is vital that they
reflect public values, priorities, and knowledge. A total of seven meetings are
planned between the Twin Cities and Prairie du Chien. The lower five have been
scheduled as follows:
September 6, Pools 9-11, Prairie du Chien, WI, Huckleberry's
September 12, Pools 9-10, Lansing, IA, Community Center
September 13, Pools 7-9, Onlalaska, WI, US Fish Wildlife Service Visitors'
Center
September 18, Pools 5A-6, Winona, MN, Winona Middle School
September 20, Pools 4-5A, Wabasha, MN, Wabasha-Kellogg High School
All meetings are to run from 5:00 to 8:00 in open house format, with
presentations starting at 5:30 and 7:00.
Meetings in Red Wing and the Twin Cities are to be scheduled in October for
Pools 1-3.
Pool plans and maps will be posted in the latter part of August on the St. Paul
District Corps of Engineers website: www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
Pool Plans have been developed by representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Minnesota DNR, the Wisconsin
DNR, and the Iowa DNR.
Questions may be addressed to Randy Urich, Chair of the Fish and Wildlife
Workgroup of the River Resources Forum (507-895-6341), or to Robin Grawe,
Mississippi Valley Director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission
(507-454-2066).
PURIFYING PLANTS - Minnesota magazine. Add the ability to absorb atmospheric
carbon and nitrogen (two substances linked to global climate changes) to the
list of reasons to preserve biodiversity. A study led by University of
Minnesota forest resources professor Peter Reich has found that a prairie
ecosystem with a wide array of plants can better use carbon dioxide and
nitrogen than one with relatively few plant species. Yet human activity
(through croplands, lawns and gardens, and commercial tree stands, for example)
is shaping ecosystems to contain fewer species of plants at a time when levels
of atmospheric carbon dioxide and nitrogen are on the rise. The study,
conducted at the U of M's Cedar Creek Natural History Area north of the Twin
Cities, involved setting up 296 open-air plots with one, four, nine or 16
prairie plant species. Some plots were grown with extra carbon dioxide and some
with both more carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Those with more diversity of
species were consistently better at absorbing the elements as measured by
increases in biomass, which is about half carbon. In areas with added carbon
dioxide, 16-plant plots added biomass at three times the rate of single-species
plots when compared with control plots. With combined carbon dioxide and
nitrogen, the advantage was about double. Reich theorizes that diverse mixes of
plants are likely to contain species with a range of ways to use the nutrients
and are more likely to contain species that help each other's synthesis. The
work was published in the April 12 issue of Nature (www.nature.com/nature).
'WORKING AT A WATERSHED LEVEL' COURSE COMING TO MINNESOTA: Minnesota will be
hosting a Working at a Watershed Level Training Course in St. Cloud on
September 12-14, 2001. This three-day course is designed for managers as well
as technical specialists, and covers all facets of watershed work including
public involvement strategies, outreach program development, stream ecology,
system dynamics, assessment and analysis, planning methods, and management
techniques. Speakers will represent both state and national agencies and
organizations. Among the organizations represented outside Minnesota is the
Center for Watershed Protection and the University of Wisconsin.
The course will feature information for people new to the watershed concept as
well as veterans. Sessions such as Hydrology 101 or the Basics of Water
Chemistry provide a refresher on these subjects while the Watershed Approach:
Planning and Management or Working With Stakeholders provide more of an in
depth look at the issues. As well, three concurrent sessions will focus on
three audiences; watershed managers and elected officials, technical
specialists and non-formal educators.
An optional pre-conference workshop will be held on Tuesday, September 11 on
applied stream system assessment. This will include an overview of assessment
techniques, followed by hands-on, in the stream training in examining biotic
indicators, water chemistry, and stream flow measurements.
(There is limited enrollment for the pre-conference
workshop.)
This Working at a Watershed Level Course, focusing on issues pertinent to
Minnesota, provides a basic but very broad foundation for considering both
scientific and social issues in watershed work across a wide range of public
and private organizations. Registration is open nation-wide, so this is a great
opportunity to share ideas with watershed coordinators across the country.
Similar training courses have been held in California, Indiana, Kentucky and
other states. The registration fee is $100. For more information, visit the
website at http://www.pca.state.mn.us/news/training/index.html#other,
or contact Larry Gunderson at (651) 297-3825, larry.gunderson@pca.state.mn.us,
or Lee Anne Jacobs at (859) 244-8000, lajacobs@csg.org.
Note: There have been problems accessing the web site in the
previous version of this announcement. The web site listed above is new and
should work. If you have problems, please email Larry Gunderson
(larry.gunderson@pca.state.mn.us) to get an email of the agenda and
registration materials.
319/CWP JOINT APPLICATION FORMS READY:
Another round of Section 319 and Clean Water Partnership
funding is around the corner. For the second year, the application process for
these federal and state nonpoint source pollution reduction-funding programs is
being combined, with an application deadline of October 16. Details, including
2001 application forms, may be found on the MPCA web site: www.pca.state.mn.us/water under Financial Assistance.
WORKING LANDSCAPES CONFERENCE ANNOUNCED:
This conference will explore practices and policies that
promote land-based economic activity to sustain families, communities, and
ecosystems while also providing multiple benefits to society. The working
landscape is one in which agriculture, forestry and other natural resource
based activities are conducted in harmony with the environment, taking into
account the value of the ecological and economic integrity of watersheds for
current and future stakeholders. The over-arching conference goal is to engage
participants in dialogue to identify means for achieving long-term economically
and environmentally sustainable action strategies and policies for all
stakeholders to take home, leading to individual and collective land and
watershed stewardship in their own regions. The conference will take place
November 8-9, 2001, at Lake Lawn Resort, Delavan, Wisconsin. For more
information, go to http://www.workinglandscapes.org
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT:
The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA) is seeking an individual
knowledgeable about water quality planning and management to lead a new interstate
coordination project for the Upper Mississippi River (UMR). The project will involve analysis of state
305(b) assessments, 303(d) listings, water quality standards, and TMDLs for the
UMR and will be undertaken in cooperation with an interagency Task Force
composed of representatives of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regions 5
and 7 and the water quality management agencies in the five UMR states
(Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin). A copy of the work plan
is available upon request.
Position Description:
The Project Coordinator will be responsible for identifying and evaluating
differences in the five states' 305(b) assessments, 303(d) listings, water
quality standards, and TMDL activities on the mainstem UMR. In addition, the
Project Coordinator will work with the interagency Task Force to develop an
interstate agreement related to coordination of these activities. Other
responsibilities include planning meetings of the Task Force and developing a
UMR water quality information clearinghouse on the UMRBA website. Out-of-state travel will be required.
Position Qualifications:
* Graduate degree or substantial coursework in planning, public policy, public
health, environmental sciences, or related fields
* Prefer work experience with water quality management issues, laws, and
regulations
* Excellent computer skills, with proficiency in PC-based databases and ArcView
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills
* Ability to coordinate multiple tasks and meet scheduled deadlines
* Ability to work independently on project assignments and take on additional
responsibilities over time
Additional Information:
The Upper Mississippi River Basin Association is a non-profit organization
formed in 1981 by the Governors of the five Upper Mississippi River states --
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The Association provides a
forum for discussion and collective action on regional water resource issues.
Federal advisory members include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department
of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation,
Environmental Protection Agency, and Federal Emergency Management Agency. The
Association's activities span a broad range of issues, including habitat
rehabilitation, resource monitoring, commercial navigation, floodplain
management, and water quality.
Hours: 40 hours per week
Term: October 2001 through September 2003 (potential to continue beyond 9/30/03
contingent on funding)
Compensation: $37,000 per year
Deadline for Resumes: August 31, 2001
Submit Resume and Brief Writing Sample to:
Holly Stoerker, Executive Director
Upper Mississippi River Basin Association
408 St. Peter Street, Suite 415
St. Paul, MN 55102
hstoerker@umrba.org (If using e-mail,
please submit resume and writing sample as attachments to your message.)
BEARS REPEATING:
"The land consists of soil, water, plants, and animals,
but
health is more than a sufficiency of these components. It is a state of
vigorous
self-renewal in each of them, and in all collectively." - Aldo Leopold,
"Conservation: In Whole or in Part?" 1944
Send comments and items for future editions to:
BALMM currents editor:
Norman Senjem, MPCA
Phone: 507/280-3592
Fax: 507/280-5513
norman.senjem@pca.state.mn.us