Pope Soil & Water

Providing Quality Conservation Resources since 1949

Providing Quality Conservation Resources Since 1949

Barchengers Named Pope County 2022 Outstanding Conservationists

Pope Soil and Water Conservation District has selected Jim and Karen Barchenger as this year’s Pope County Outstanding Conservationists.  Each year SWCDs across the state select landowners that are great stewards of our soil and water resources, serving as excellent examples in their communities.  

They operate a 300-acre Minnesota Department of Agriculture Water Quality Certified farm raising corn, soybeans, wheat, and cover crops.  From 1972-2005 they operated a 40 head Holstein dairy milking operation and finished the calves.  From 2005-2008 after selling the dairy cows they continued to custom raise calves to finish weights for local dairies.  They have implemented: an ag waste storage facility, field borders, shelterbelt, cover crops, reduced tillage, no-till, rock intakes, side inlet structure, woodchip bioreactor, saturated buffer, raingarden, pit closure, and soil health practices.  They are active members in the watershed district, township, church, corn growers, serving in leadership roles in most of these organizations.  The Barchengers are innovators willing to try new practices, share their knowledge with others, and are great stewards of the land. Congratulations to the Barchengers!

Pope SWCD September Meeting Updates

The Pope SWCD will meet on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. at the USDA Service Center. We will not meet at our regular scheduled time for our monthly meeting due to the conflict with the West Central Area II meeting. The board will attend that meeting instead on September 20, 2022.

The Pope SWCD will also meet on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 all day for the West Central Area II meeting in St. Anna. The majority of the board will be in attendance at this meeting.

If you have any questions please give our office a call. 320-634-5327

Public Input Wanted as County Updates Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan

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

Nitrate Water Testing Clinic At The Fair

Pope Soil and Water Conservation District (Pope SWCD) will be hosting a free water testing clinic Friday, August 5th from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Pope County Fair. Bring your water sample to the Pope SWCD booth in the Industrial Building at the fairgrounds for a free nitrate analysis. To receive best results, collect a minimum of one-half cup of room temperature water in a clean container within two hours of testing.

Nitrogen exists in the environment in both organic and inorganic forms. When in its inorganic form, ammonium (NH4) or nitrate (NO3), it is an essential element to plants. However, when considering water quality, nitrogen becomes a concern when in its nitrate form. Excessive nitrate concentrations in groundwater can be hazardous to human and environmental health. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set 10 mg/L as the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for nitrate-nitrogen in drinking water. The Minnesota Department of Health recommends that private wells receive nitrate testing at least once every two to three years. If nitrates have been previously detected or if an infant under six months will be consuming the water, testing should be conducted more frequently.

Nitrates most commonly enter groundwater through leaching or draining. Because nitrate does not attach to soil particles, it is easily moved by water. Therefore, as water filters through the soil, so do present nitrates. Some primary factors that have an effect on nitrogen leaching include: nitrogen rate, application timing, nitrogen sources, irrigation practices, age of site, and soil texture. The contamination can result from both anthropogenic (human caused) and natural sources. Although both can lead to hazardous conditions, it is often anthropogenic sources that force nitrate concentrations into dangerous levels. These sources include but are not limited to: fertilizer application, manure storage, and sewage disposal. There are available treatments used to rehabilitate contaminated water. However, prevention of nitrogen loss is the favored method in reducing nitrate concentrations in groundwater.