Pope Soil & Water

POPE SWCD MEETS WITH LOCAL LEGISLATORS

Holly Kovarik and Kelly Erickson from Pope Soil and Water Conservation District, attended a legislative briefing and meetings at the State Capitol March 5-6 in St. Paul.

They joined a group of other officials from the state’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) who met in St. Paul to gather support for conservation districts’ programs and issues.

“It is important for us to get the conservation message out to our elected officials in St. Paul,” said Holly Kovarik, of Glenwood. The 2019 Legislative Session is critical to the future of conservation districts in the state, noted Kelly Erickson. “This year, included in the many issues legislators and the Governor are addressing is state funding for SWCDs as well as funding for the programs and projects they deliver. 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. Local 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.

During the visit to St. Paul, Kovarik and Erickson met with local legislators: Representative Paul Anderson, Representative Jeff Backer, and Senator Torrey Westrom.

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

Kovarik, Representative Anderson, and Erickson

Erickson, Representative Backer, and Kovarik

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.

Sauk River Watershed One Watershed One Plan Informational Meetings

Greetings,

Sauk River Watershed 1 Watershed 1 Plan has a public hearing that will be held on Tuesday November 13^th at Elmerz in Sauk Centre or Wednesday November 14^th at the Stearns County Service Center. These meetings will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. these two evenings.

This information will be used to provide input to develop the 10-year management plan for the watershed. For more information visit http://srwdmn.org.

We would like to invite you to take the online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SaukRiver.

SaukRiver Watershed Announcement_v2infomeeting– Informational Meeting Flyer see attached link

Pope SWCD MONITORING PLAN FOR BUFFER COMPLIANCE TRACKING

§103F.48 RIPARIAN PROTECTION AND WATER QUALITY PRACTICES

1. COMPLIANCE TRACKING OF ALL PARCELS SUBJECT TO THE BUFFER LAW

All parcels in the county are to be reviewed within a 3‐year timeframe. The SWCD will review all parcels once every 3 years. This will coincide with the new aerial imagery received by the Farm Service Agency. Google Earth may also be utilized or the Counties Pictometry Imagery.

2. RANDOM SPOT CHECKS

Random spot checks will be done in addition to the tracking of all parcels within a 3‐year span. These checks may be conducted via aerial photo review or on‐site review depending on availability of updated aerial photos and the practice that is being checked/access to farms. A combination of both aerial and on‐site review may also be used.

a. The SWCD will conduct 25‐50 parcels on a random spot check each year outside of the scheduled area.

Note: ** There are 4,445 applicable parcels in Pope County.

b. Additionally, the SWCD should review parcels of emphasis more frequently.

 Previously non‐compliant

 No‐till/Conservation tillage or cover crop alternative practice plans

 Variable width buffers (i.e. Land O’ Lakes buffer tool, Decision Support Tool)

 Other Alternative Practice Plans

 Cost‐share funded projects (years 1,5,9 of contract)

 Parcels of further emphasis (potential violators)

3. PROCESS TO HANDLE COMPLAINTS

Pope SWCD will investigate public complaints related to buffer law compliance but documenting the compliant including, location, landowner, potential violation, etc. Pope SWCD will then further investigate the compliant by aerial review, landowner calls, and field site checks.
If a violation of buffer law non‐compliance is found Pope SWCD will inform the enforcing agency (Pope Land and Resource Management, North Fork Crow River Watershed District or Sauk River Watershed District) and the Board of Water and Soil Resources. A non‐compliance form will be filled out along with a map of the parcel and will be provided to the enforcing entity for follow up with the landowner.
Appeals will be handled by the regulatory entity with Pope SWCD staff providing technical information regarding the buffer law and the project site as requested.

For more information contact Pope SWCD at 320-634-5327.

Rosholt Research Farm Celebrates 50 Years in 2018

Rosholt Research Farm celebrates its 50 year anniversary of existence in May this year. Rosholt Research Farm located near Westport in Pope Country was purchased by Pope, Kandiyohi and Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) on May 27, 1968. The motivation to purchase property was to conduct soil and water research.
The 40 acre research farm, now solely owned by Pope SWCD, has the necessary uniform soil type, soil depth, topography and adequate water for irrigation research.
Research at the farm has involved many partners over the years including: USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS), University of MN Pope County Extension, US Forest Service, WesMin RC&D, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, University of Minnesota, Prairies Lakes Co-op, and Pope and Stearns County SWCDs.
Nitrogen and water quality research is presently being conducted at Rosholt. The goal is to evaluate the management of nitrogen fertilizers and cover crops in irrigated crop production systems and their impacts on groundwater resources. The objective is to quantify the impact of living mulch (kura clover), cover crop (cereal rye), or no cover crop on nitrate leaching and nitrogen management for irrigated row crops. The project is intended to provide local information to help improve fertilizer management in irrigated row crop production systems.
Data collection for the current research began in 2016 and is designed to be collected through 2020. However, Clean Water funding from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is only secure through 2018. Pope and Stearns County SWCD’s are currently collecting input on updating Rosholt Research Farm’s long term vision plan. This plan will assist in securing funding to continue the current research project and future research at Rosholt Research Farm.
For more information on the Rosholt Research Farm please visit Pope SWCD’s website at https://popeswcd.org/program/rosholt-research-farm/.