Targeting Implementation in the Blue Earth & Le Sueur Watersheds

To be able to manage resources in the Blue Earth and Le Sueur Watersheds into the future and have a positive effect on water quality, resource managers need high quality accurate data to support decision making of best management practice (BMP) implementation. Digital elevation data is a valuable resource for modeling water flow, however in its current state it cannot represent water conveyance through features such as roadways. These flow barriers limit the accurate use of data for recently developed targeting tools identifying BMP suitability and effectiveness down to the field scale. To analyze watersheds at this small of scale, there is a need to develop data products that truly represent the hydrology of the landscape. Localized efforts to create hydrologic modification of LiDAR derived Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) have been conducted across small portions of the watersheds, leaving a patchwork of data products available. However, these products are not always consistent or available watershed wide. This project will develop a consistent set of GIS data across the 2,325 square miles in the watersheds by incorporating (NOT duplicating) the patchwork of data that have already been developed. These standardized data products will serve as a means to increase the implementation of on the ground projects and practices within the watersheds by utilizing Prioritize, Target and Measure Application (PTMApp) and Ag Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) toolset to target specific BMPs that will have measurable and cost-effective water quality benefits. End products will also serve as foundational data for moving forward with One Watershed One Plan (1W1P) and can be integrated and reused in future targeted watershed planning efforts.