Currently, there are approximately 5,050 feedlots with fewer than 300 animal units that need to come into compliance with State feedlot rules. Clean Water Feedlot Water Quality Management Grant funds are being used to provide financial assistance to landowners with feedlot operations less than 300 animal units in size and located in a riparian area or impaired watershed.
After 6 years of intensive baseline monitoring at 5 edge-of-field sites, 1 intermittent and 3 in-stream sites in 3 sub-watersheds representing the geomorphic regions of the Root River, the second phase of the project is well prepared for the implementation of BMPs. Continued monitoring will be used to measure the effectiveness of the BMPs for the next 6 years. In preparation for BMP implementation, extensive planning was completed using LiDAR terrain analysis and the Tomer Framework to prioritize practices.
To offer new arts and cultural heritage programming at the Fillmore County Fair. Funds will be used to install a historical exhibit, host a bluegrass performance, and being a project that documents fairgoers experiences through interviews and photos. The project is meant to bridge the past and the future by helping local community members appreciate local history and share their own story for generations to come.
Although agriculture dominates the landscape in the Root River watershed, urban stormwater is a component of the nonpoint sources that create the sediment load that is the main focus for reduction strategies in the draft turbidity TMDL report. This project will provide an opportunity to work with non-profits and other groups in local communities to implement stormwater practices that improve infiltration, storage and treatment of stormwater before it discharges into streams and rivers.
The number of people from other cultures and languages is increasing in Minnesota. It is important that they learn the behaviors that will help Minnesota preserve and enhance its natural resources. Yet, communicating and effectively interacting with people across cultures to change behaviors on natural resources, conservation, pollution prevention and stewardship is challenging. Most environmental information is designed for reaching native English readers. Translating and printing information often does not reach the intended audiences, who are often part of an oral culture.
