Pope Soil & Water

TREE PICK UP TIME HAS ARRIVED

The trees and shrubs you ordered from Pope Soil and Water Conservation District will be ready to be pick up between 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Friday, April 24^th.  We will know if we have additional trees and shrubs right away. 

Pick up will be at Kip and Holly Kovarik’s home located at 22386 County Road 28, Glenwood. We ask that you arrange to pick up your trees & shrubs at this time. 

If you cannot make it on tree pick up day you will need to call to arrange a pickup time.  We will not be able to accommodate pickup on Saturday morning.  We strongly encourage you to pick up on Friday, April 24^th or call-in advance to arrange an alternative.  A map is shown on the back of this letter of the pickup location.  Please follow signs about where to park.  Trees are stored in the red barn on the northern end of the property.

If you have an outstanding balance please pay for your trees & shrubs now, PREFERABLY by check and by mail.  If you must pay on pick up day, please pay by check.  If you have any questions or comments, you can call our office at (320) 634-5327.

Sincerely,

Holly Kovarik

District Manager

(Directions to the pickup location take Highway 29^th north going toward Alexandria.  Take a left on County Road 28 going toward Lowry.  The pickup location is the first place on the right-hand side of the road with a longer driveway.  We will have a sign at the end of the driveway on the pickup day.)

The Pope SWCD Personnel Committee will meet on February 25, 2026, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at the USDA Service Center building in Glenwood.

As you head out for winter fishing, please remember to pack out everything you bring onto the ice. Trash left behind doesn’t just disappear in the spring— it sinks into our lakes and harms the water, wildlife, and the places we all love.

Pope SWCD is proud to be part of the Keep It Clean Campaign, working to protect our lakes year‑round.

Let’s all do our part this winter. Keep it clean out there!

The Chippewa River Watershed Association invites you to the Chippewa River Watershed Gathering on Tuesday, August 19th, 2025, at the Starbuck Community Center beginning at 5:30 p.m. We will provide information about the status of the Comprehensive Watershed Managment Plan development and ongoing implementation efforts. There will be updates on water quality monitoring and trends. This is an opportunity for you to connect with local staff that are implementing projects.

The event will include a free burger and brat meal with sides prepared by Lakes Area Catering and cash bar at your own expense. We ask that you RSVP by August 9th by using the QR code below, website link, or by calling 320-634-5327. If you do not RSVP, we cannot guarantee a meal.

We are excited to share with landowners and partners in the watershed the recently adopted watershed management plan and our next steps on continued implementation efforts. This will be a good update on our progress and activities since our plan Kick Off Meeting which was held in April of 2022.

Registration website link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjEmHwPNeo5sAD9RXOtJN6eMPmHlG45bkgaWYD7xGVWn1LEw/viewform?usp=header

For landowners that purchased trees from Pope SWCD–Trees will be available for pickup on April 25th 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at 22386 County Road 28, Glenwood, Minnesota. If you cannot make this time work, you must make arrangements for pickup at an alternate time with Chris Borash by calling 320-634-5327.

The Pope SWCD Board members and staff plan to participate in the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation District’s Day at the Capitol on March 6, 2025. The group will meet with their legislators to discuss their projects and programs.

The Pope SWCD Board and Staff plan to meet on April 1, 2025, at 7:00 a.m. at the USDA Service Center in Glenwood Minnesota. The purpose of the meeting is the preparation of a Strategic Management Plan for the organization. The meeting will include board and staff.

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that the Chippewa River Watershed Association Joint Powers Board is holding a Public Hearing at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, April 19, 2024, at the Pope County Courthouse Community Room, 130 E. Minnesota Avenue, Glenwood, MN regarding the Chippewa River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan adoption.

Information will be presented and discussed regarding the draft comprehensive watershed management plan for the Chippewa River Watershed, which covers portions of Otter Tail, Grant, Douglas, Stevens, Pope, Stearns, Swift, Kandiyohi, and Chippewa Counties. This Plan was previously out for 60-day review from December 18th – February 27^th, 2024. This Plan was developed cooperatively by the County Boards and SWCD Boards in Otter Tail, Grant, Douglas, Stevens, Pope, Stearns, Swift, Kandiyohi, and Chippewa Counties.

Any interested person(s) may appear at the above time and place and are invited to attend the hearing and submit comments, written or verbal, that will become part of the official public hearing record. 

Please submit written comments by 9:15 a.m. on Friday, April 19^th, 2024 using the contact information below.  Comments will be considered when making final revisions to the plan.

            By Mail:           Pope Soil and Water Conservation District

                                    Attn: Holly Kovarik, District Manager

                                    1680 Franklin Street North

                                    Glenwood, MN 56334

            By E-Mail:        holly.kovarik@mn.nacdnet.net

                                    Subject: “Chippewa River Watershed Plan Public Comments” 

Copies of the current draft Plan, maps of the planning area, a summary of the response to comments, and related documents are available on the Chippewa River Watershed website:  https://chippewariverwatershed.org/plans/comprehensive-watershed-management-plan/

A hard copy of the draft plan is available upon request at the following locations during regular business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.  Please call ahead to make an appointment to view the hard copies at the following location: Pope Soil and Water Conservation District 1680 Franklin Street North, Glenwood, MN 56334.

Holly Kovarik, District Manager

Pope Soil and Water Conservation District

POPE COUNTY NEWS RELEASE

August 8, 2022

Public Input Wanted as County

Updates Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan

Pope County residents, business owners, nonprofit members, and community leaders now have an organized opportunity to share how severe weather events impact their property and lives. There is also an opportunity to share their ideas on how to reduce the impact in the future.

The Pope County Office of Emergency Management is working with U-Spatial at the University of Minnesota Duluth to update the county’s Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (MHMP). The plan assesses the natural hazards that pose risk to the county, such as tornadoes, straight line winds, ice storms, blizzards, wildfire, flooding, and extreme temperatures and identifies ways to minimize the damage of future events. As the county works to update the plan, it wants to hear from the public.

The Pope County MHMP is a multi-jurisdictional plan that covers Pope County, including the cities of Brooten, Cyrus, Farwell, Glenwood, Long Beach, Lowry, Sedan, Starbuck, Villard, and Westport. The Pope County MHMP also incorporates the concerns and needs of townships, school districts, and area agencies or organizations participating in the plan. The plan will be updated by a planning team made up of representatives from county departments, local municipalities, school districts and other key stakeholders.

“Hazard mitigation planning is a central part of our emergency management program,” said Tim Riley, Pope County Sheriff and Emergency Management Director.  “Understanding the natural hazards that can cause serious impact to our communities and taking action to reduce or eliminate the impact of future disasters makes us more resilient.  Hazard mitigation helps us to break the cycle of damage and repair caused by things like flooding, ice storms, and severe wind events that can damage property, stress economies, and threaten life safety in our county.”

Examples of hazard mitigation include:

• improvement of roads and culverts that experience repetitive flooding
• construction of safe rooms at campgrounds, public parks, mobile home parks or schools to protect lives in the event of tornados or severe wind events
• burying powerlines that may fail due to heavy snow, ice, or windstorms
• ensuring timely emergency communication to the public through warning sirens and mass notification systems
• conducting public awareness and education campaigns to help people be prepared to take safe action before, during, or following a hazard event.

Some mitigation activities may be eligible for future FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant funding.

Public input is an essential part of the plan update. As part of the planning process, Pope County is seeking feedback from residents and businesses from across the county to incorporate into the plan:

• What are the natural hazards you feel pose the greatest risk to your community?  
• What concerns do you have, and what sorts of actions or projects do you feel would help to reduce the damages of potential future events for your personal property, your community, or the county as a whole?

Comments, concerns, or questions regarding natural disasters and potential mitigation actions to be included into the plan update process should be submitted to Pope County Emergency Management by phone or email. Comments may also be submitted on the Pope County Emergency Management Facebook page where this news release will be posted.

There will be additional opportunities for public feedback throughout the planning process. A draft of the plan will be made available for public review prior to submission of the plan to the State of Minnesota. Future news releases will be shared with the media to notify the public of these opportunities.

The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) requires counties to update their plan every 5 years to maintain eligibility for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs.

Contact

Tim Riley

Pope County Emergency Management Director

320-634-7797

Email:  tim.riley@popecountymn.gov

Kim Joos

Pope County Deputy Emergency Management Director

Phone:  320-634-7798

Email:  kim.joos@popecountymn.gov

Every Earth Day, we at the Pope Soil and Water Conservation District reflect on the wonderful natural resources we get to enjoy in Pope County. Our District is grateful for the opportunity to work with members of the community to facilitate voluntary initiatives to conserve land, water, forests and wildlife in our area. We are one of 88 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) across the state – and nearly 3,000 across the nation – that provide a neighborly presence to help preserve and protect the natural resources that we all love.

The Pope SWCD has been around for more than 73 years, and recent highlights of our work include a ravine stabilization project within the City of Glenwood, erosion and sediment control projects in the Lake Minnewaska and Lake Emily subwatersheds, tree plantings and grass seedings throughout the County.  These are just a few examples of the ongoing work of our SWCD.

SWCDs are local units of government that carry out natural resource management programs at the local level. We provide voluntary, incentive-driven approaches to landowners for better soil and cleaner water in the State of Minnesota. Private landowners – using financial and technical assistance from local SWCDs – are implementing a wide variety of conservation practices including preventing soil erosion, planting shelterbelts and buffers, and restoring wetlands.

Born in the wake of the Dust Bowl, SWCDs have been involved in delivering conservation across America for more than 75 years. Because Minnesota has a wide variety of landscapes and conservation needs, each district operates at the direction of locally elected board supervisors. This local perspective allows SWCDs to manage the resources and serve the needs of the citizens in their district.

Soil and Water Conservation District staff and supervisors build partnerships with public and private, local, state and federal entities in an effort to develop locally-driven solutions to natural resource concerns. We work with landowners every step of the way from planning to implementation.

Our work results in cleaner water, healthier wildlife habitat, better soil, and a collaborative relationship with the community. What a great thing to celebrate this Earth Day.

To learn more about how your SWCD can help you, visit our website at www.popeswcd.org.

Local conservation leaders advocated for a new state funding initiative for Soil and Water Conservation Districts at a recent legislative briefing and meetings at the State Capitol March 9-10 in St. Paul.

Keith Nygaard, Randy Pederson, Randy Mitteness, D. Gary Reents, and Holly Kovarik, from Pope Soil and Water Conservation District, joined a group of other officials from the state’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) to gather support for conservation district funding from the state. SWCDs are seeking $22 million per year in local government SWCD Aid through the Department of Revenue. The funding would get SWCDs statewide closer to fulling critical conservation needs and increasing the pace of progress toward clean water and healthy soil goals.

“SWCDs are a primary source of conservation information, support, and program management for landowners and other local units of government,” said D. Gary Reents of Glenwood. The SWCD Aid proposal being considered by legislators this session is absolutely critical to the future of conservation districts in the state, noted Reents.  The legislation has received bipartisan support and is also included in Governor Tim Walz’s supplemental budget. “We have to work hard to make sure the state’s commitment to sharing in the funding needs of SWCDs doesn’t fall by the way-side. Soil and Water Conservation Districts play an integral role in enhancing Minnesotan’s quality of life through conservation on private lands, which yields environmental, wildlife and aesthetic benefits to the public,” Reents said.

Last week, D. Gary Reents, Randy Mitteness, Keith Nygaard, Randy Pederson, and Holly Kovarik met with local legislators Representative Paul Anderson, Senator Torrey Westrom, and Representative Jeff Backer.

The event was sponsored by the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

SWCDs fill the crucial niche of providing land and water conservation services to owners of private lands.  For more information on the Pope Soil and Water Conservation District, please call 320-634-5327 or visit www.popeswcd.org.

The Pope SWCD will hold is monthly meeting at 1680 Franklin Street North, Glenwood, Minnesota 56334 starting at 7 a.m. The meeting is being held at this location to allow proper social distancing measures. Masks are mandatory. Public participation at this meeting is available via Zoom. A Zoom link has been provided for those that will be joining the meeting remotely. The Pope SWCD is meeting in this manner due to the ongoing Pandemic.

Holly Kovarik is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Holly Kovarik is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. 

Topic: Pope SWCD Board Meeting

Time: May 18, 2021 07:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82524332118?pwd=aC9ZcDlZMXlhMFFvcUNkN3pZVE9odz09

Meeting ID: 825 2433 2118

Passcode: 881264

One tap mobile

+13017158592,,82524332118#,,,,*881264# US (Washington DC)

+13126266799,,82524332118#,,,,*881264# US (Chicago)

Dial by your location

        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

        +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 825 2433 2118

Passcode: 881264

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdYIlnTP3a

The Pope SWCD Board of Supervisors will participate in a virtual Zoom meeting for the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation District Annual Business Meeting on December 8, 2020. The meeting is to conduct business of the state association. The meeting will take place from 9 a.m. to Noon. Board members will be joining the meeting from remote locations for this virtual meeting. A quorum of members are likely to attend this virtual meeting. For questions please contact our office at 320-634-5327.

By Dalton Herrboldt, Pope SWCD Intern

Want a way to utilize all that rain water that runs off of your roof and goes out your down spout? A rain barrel is your solution. It is a perfect way to capture soft water and help to reduce runoff. In the event of a rain shower rain washes chemicals, excess fertilizer, and sediment into storm sewers. You can help reduce this through the process of catching rain water in a rain barrel.

Rain water contains no chlorine, lime, or calcium making it perfect for any flowers around the house or potted plants. Being that is has no minerals in it, rain water is perfect for washing your car and will not leave the streaks that are left behind from hard water.

Rain Barrel Facts

• Can save 1300 gallons of water throughout the growing season
• Garden and lawn irrigation accounts for about 40% of residential water use during the summer
• ½ inch of rain on 200 square feet of a roof is enough to fill a 60 gallon rain barrel
• Reduces amount of water you pay for from the municipal for watering gardens and lawns

With a 32 square foot garden it is recommended to use 20 gallons of water per week. If you saved 1300 gallons of water with a rain barrel you would be able to water a 32 square foot garden for 65 weeks.

To maximize your rain water potential you can connect multiple rain water barrels together. Once the first one fills up to the overflow level it will start filling the second one, or you can hook them together from the bottom of the barrel and they will fill up at the same time. There are several different exterior designs for barrels now to match with your house or garage to your liking.

Now is the time to consider purchasing a rain barrel as the gardening season is fast approaching. The cost is $65.00 plus tax and we do have a limited supply available.  If you have an interest in collecting rain water and would like to purchase a rain barrel contact the Pope Soil and Water Conservation District at 320-634-5327.