balmm currents  

Basin Alliance for the Lower Mississippi in Minnesota

November 24, 2004

 

NEXT BALMM MEETING:  Wednesday, December 15, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm at the FRONTENAC SPORTSMEN’S CLUB. (Directions: Turn west off of Highway 61/63 onto County Highway 2, go across the railroad tracks and take a left on Territorial Road. See map in attachment)

 

 

A LOCAL LOOK AT THE LAKE PEPIN WATERSHED TMDL: A project to determine how to meet water quality standards in Lake Pepin and the Mississippi River upstream is getting underway on a large scale to match the size of the Lake Pepin Watershed, which encompasses half the land area of Minnesota plus a piece of Wisconsin.  A broad-based Stakeholder Advisory Committee has begun to tackle this major project with a couple of initial get-togethers. At the same time, some of the participants see a need to offer stakeholders in the immediate vicinity of Lake Pepin a forum to explore such local issues of shoreland development and recreational boating, and to advocate for improved water quality and for measures to slow down the rate at which the lake is filling in with sediment. Recent sediment core studies suggest the rate of sedimentation has increased ten-fold since European settlement, shortening the expected life of the lake from 4,000 years to about 340 years, with the upper lake threatened with extinction within a century. Norman Senjem will describe the broad outlines of the Lake Pepin Watershed TMDL, and Robin Grawe of Mississippi River Citizen Commission will discuss efforts to organize a “Lake Pepin Extension” of MRCC to deal with Lake Pepin-related issues. Local government staff, elected officials and residents who are interested in such an effort are encouraged to attend the BALMM meeting, conveniently located at the Frontenac Sportsmen’s Club across Highway 61 from Lake Pepin.    

 

CANNON RIVER TURBIDITY: The Lower reach of the Cannon River is impaired by turbidity. How bad is it? When? Where does the sediment causing turbidity come from? Justin Watkins of the Cannon River Watershed Partnership will help to answer these questions in his presentation of water quality monitoring conducted for the TMDL.

 

LEVERAGING THE FARM BILL-- OPPORTUNITIES FOR BALMM? Multi-agency discussions have been underway for months with the goal of developing a strategy for “Leveraging the Farm Bill in Support of Minnesota’s Clean Water Vision.”  A key participant in these discussions is Barbara Weisman of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Barbara will report on the status of these discussions, and how BALMM might be able to respond to emerging possibilities such as targeting programs in priority areas, obtaining grants for special projects, and increasing enrolment in “open funding” programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program and the new Conservation Security Program.  Barbara will go over 7 specific action strategies identified by the multi-agency group, and how they relate to the Clean Water Vision.

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT OF MINNESOTA’S FORESTS: Have you wondered why some forests have more wildlife, big trees, or timber than others?  We've got answers to help you make the most of your woodland.  Session topics cover forest history and ecology, hardwood restoration, forest management for wildlife, sawmill tours, insect and disease threats, and more.  Every session is led by professional foresters, ecologists, wildlife managers, and others with years of experience.  In 2004-05, most sessions are offered in the Rochester area as well as throughout Northeast Minnesota.  Complete session details are available at www.cnr.umn.edu/cfc/wa or by calling Denise Volk toll free at (888) 241-0724.

 

Southeast Minnesota, Rochester Area
To register contact Denise Volk (email) or call 888-241-0724.
For session information call Kurt Hinz at 507-285-7433 or Eli Sagor at 612-624-6948.

The Nuts and Bolts of Timber Sales.
December 2, 2004, Thursday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Heintz Center, Rochester, MN.
Satisfies Woodland Advisor elective WAE13.

Land Protection Options
January 11, 2005, Tuesday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Heintz Center, Rochester, MN.
Satisfies Woodland Advisor elective credit WAC13.

Financial Aspects of Woodland Ownership
January 25, 2005, Tuesday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Holzinger Lodge, Winona, MN.
Satisfies Woodland Advisor core credit WAC10.

Urban Tree Planting and Care
Feb. 8, 2005, Tuesday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Heintz Center, Rochester, MN.
Satisfies Woodland Advisor elective credit WAC13.

Value-added Production: Sawmill Tour Part I, Commercial Sawmill
February 24, 2005, Thursday, 1:30 p.m.
Location: Heintz Center, Rochester, MN.
Satisfies Woodland Advisor elective credit WAE8.



Southeastern Minnesota Forest History and Ecology
March 8, 2005, Tuesday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Whitewater State Park, Elba, MN.
Satisfies Woodland Advisor core credit WAC1.

Forest wildlife & biodiversity: game and non-game
March 17, 2005, Thursday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Heintz Center, Rochester, MN.
Satisfies Woodland Advisor core credit WAC7.

Insects, disease, and how trees grow
March 29, 2005, Tuesday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Heintz Center, Rochester, MN.
Satisfies one Woodland Advisor core credit WAC2.

Measuring and reading your forest
April 21, 2005, Thursday, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Holzinger Lodge, Winona, MN.
Satisfies one Woodland Advisor core credit WAC9.

THANKS FOR THE WATER: FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Orange County Water District (OCWD), it will take 20,000 gallons of water just to put Thanksgiving dinner on the table, and most people will not give that water use a moment's thought.

As Southern Californians sit down for another Thanksgiving dinner, they
should be thankful not only for the food and fellowship, but they should
also give thanks for the water that makes the dinner possible. To grow
the food for this year's typical Thanksgiving dinner for ten people will take
about 20,000 gallons of water.

Add to these numbers at least 40 gallons of water to cook the meal, along
with another 80 gallons for washing the dishes, and 1,230 gallons for
miscellaneous water use by the group for showering, brushing teeth and other
daily tasks not directly related to Thanksgiving dinner. And don't forget
to add at least one more cup of water for the after-dinner antacid!

"It has taken some incredible vision and talent by those in the water
industry-past and present-to continue to keep the arid parts of California
supplied with water," says William R. Mills Jr., OCWD's General Manager.
"We should return to the old term 'water works,' because it takes a lot of
work by a great number of people to provide Orange County with high quality,
reliable water."

Here's a breakdown of the numbers (based on a dinner for 10 people):

Food Gallons of water required to produce product*

20-lb. Turkey 13,200
Lettuce Salad 150
Rice 360
Potatoes 210
Cranberry Sauce** 360
Gravy 400
Corn 610
Broccoli 220
Milk 960
Bread Dressing 330
Butter/Margarine 920
Pumpkin pie 620
Cherry pie 750
Soft Drinks 100
Water to drink 1
Coffee 100
Total 19,291

*The water requirements include the water required to raise the animals or
grow the plants. Figures do not include the additional water used in food
preparation, defrosting, etc.

**Figures drawn from water industry education booklets and materials. In
some cases, figures also represent approximations based on like foods (for
example, estimate for cranberries based on similar high water use product
like rice.)

Orange County Water District is a special agency created by the California
State Legislature in 1933 to maintain and manage the groundwater basin
under northern and central Orange County. OCWD's groundwater basin supplies
75% of the water needs to more than 2 million residents in Anaheim,
Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove,
Huntington Beach, Irvine, Newport Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Orange,
Placentia, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Stanton, Tustin, Villa Park, Westminster,
and Yorba Linda.

SOURCE Orange County Water District
CO: Orange County Water District
ST
: California

FACTOID OF THE MONTH: -- The Great Thanksgiving Flush

After Thanksgiving dinner, approximately 30 million Americans will watch football. At halftime, American toilets will flush 30 million times and use 108 million gallons of water - enough water to fill an entire football stadium! Water efficient toilets would save 62 million gallons of water.

 US Newswire.

 

BEARS REPEATING: “Whether by snowshoe in winter or a hike in the spring, with canoe paddle, fly rod, or shotgun in the fall -- to those who would listen, the river valley is a magic music box. To those who would observe, the pattern of color and movement paint a picture that is a masterwork resulting from millions of years of nature's efforts, yet dynamic and ephemeral. Minnesota is rich with stream and river resources, that beyond economic utility, make up our living environment, delight our senses, and indeed, form and mold our culture. --Tom Waters, The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota

l the purple host Who took the flag to-day Can tell the definition So clear of victory, As he, defeated, dying, On whose forbidden ear The distant strains of triumph Break agonized and clear.
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