Elm Creek Watershed
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Elm Creek Watershed Green Lands, Blue Waters Annual Conference November 20-21, 2013 Linda Meschke, Rural Advantage
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Elm Creek Watershed. Green Lands, Blue Waters Annual Conference November 20-21, 2013 Linda Meschke, Rural Advantage. Elm Creek Watershed. Elm Creek. HUC 10 173,000 acres Land Use Agricultural Corn Soybeans Swine Towns Bergen Trimont Northrup Jackson. Why Elm Creek?. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Elm Creek Watershed
Elm Creek WatershedGreen Lands, Blue Waters Annual Conference
November 20-21, 2013Linda Meschke, Rural Advantage
Elm Creek Watershed
Elm Creek
HUC 10 173,000 acres Land Use
Agricultural Corn Soybeans Swine
Towns Bergen Trimont Northrup Jackson
Why Elm Creek?
Watershed is Impaired Does not meet MN Water
Quality Standards Impairments:
Affected Designated Use: Aquatic Life
Pollutant or Stressor Fishes – Bio-assessment Turbidity
Downstream Impairments:
Lower MN River Dissolved Oxygen
Blue Earth River Fecal Coliform Turbidity
Statewide Mercury
Why Elm Creek? [continued]
Progressive farmers who are leaders in their industry. [Farmer Led]
History of doing & participation in conservation programs.
University of Minnesota leadership & involvement. Local leadership from agencies and producers.and Confidence that a successful program can be done
here that can be replicated elsewhere.
What is Working to Drive Change?Key Principles:
Farmer Led [Listen & Apply Their Ideas]
Keep the raindrop where it falls. Cheapest and most effective way to treat water. Further the raindrop moves, the more costly and the
less effective treatment is. Manage your land in a way that
enhances the biological aspects of the soil to increase productivity and reduce nutrient leaching.
Increase soil organic matter.
Target Priorities:How Can Continuous Living Cover Be Applied?
Nutrient Management Commercial Fertilizer Manure
Cover Crops Drainage Water
Management Soil Erosion Soil Health Buffers
TOTT is simply a series of upland, riparian and in-stream practices that work together to cumulatively leverage pollution reductions from agricultural systems. 1. Upland
Cover Crops Soil Health Building Residue Management Extended Crop Rotation Nutrient Management Controlled Drainage
2. Near Outlet Bioreactors Saturated Buffers Water Storage Two Stage Ditches Constructed Wetland
3. Downstream Microbial & Macroinvertebrate Habitat Hyporheic flow w/Constructed Riffles Biochar & Slag Iron in Constructed Glides
Tile Outlet Treatment Trains
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Demonstrating Farmer Led Conservation in Elm Creek Watershed - Rural Advantage
What is Next?
Tile Outlet Treatment Trains
Drainage Management
MN Ag Water Quality Certainty Program Conservation
Planning CLC Mindset
