The Watonwan Watershed Technician will provide highly focused targeting of conservation programs and practices. The technician will enhance current staff capabilities in the Watonwan watershed by collecting landowner contact information from previous studies and GIS methods, produce mass mailings about funding opportunities, and meet one-on-one with landowners to discuss their conservation concerns. The technician will implement 45 projects/practices over a three year period.
In conjunction with the Watonwan Major Watershed Project engagement process, create a contact strategy for community/landowner opportunities, obstacles, and opinions on land management and water quality that will result in the identification of restoration and protection strategies for the Watonwan River watershed.
Develop a network of informed citizens, business people, community leaders and others capable of acting collectively to get work done in a sustained, strategic and meaningful way through a sense of shared ownership in the water resource management process.
The Watonwan Watershed Resource Specialist has been funding with Clean Water funds since 2012. Since that time, the Watonwan Watershed Resource Specialist has been a crucial connector between landowners and natural resource professionals in the Watonwan Watershed. As the technical ability and responsibilities of the WWRS expands, the need and urgency to secure extended funding becomes a priority. This project will fund half of the Watonwan Watershed Research Specialist position through year 2020.
Soccer is important to Somali culture and the most popular sport in Somalia. The proposed activity is our 11th annual Thanksgiving tournament. In order to make the popular tournament a more holistic community event, we will incorporate Somali singers and poets into the soccer tournament program.
Locating the sources of sediment, phosphorus, and bacteria is integral to reducing the effect they have on a water body. The completion of the West Fork Des Moines River (WFDMR) Targeting and Prioritizing Endeavor will result in a set of data that is the most cost-effective for the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for all identified priority resources. The results will be expressed as the maximum reduction of a water quality contaminant (e.g. sediment, phosphorus, bacteria) at a priority resource (e.g. an impaired stream) for a given level of investment.
This monitoring work expands on previously established routine water quality and flow sampling to include extensive fish and aquatic invertebrate surveys. Subsequent steps include assessment of the monitoring data to determine impairments, identification of stressors that are causing impairments, development of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies using identification of pollutant sources using computer modeling and other techniques, civic engagement, and public education as approaches in progress towards water quality goals.
Over the past five years, awareness of our organization has spread across the state. As a result, our attendance numbers have grown by 66%. We regularly hit max capacity, and the demand for outreach programs has gone up. Ex-S.T.R.E.A.M. expansion addresses three specific elements: 1) New space: Renting an additional 2,800 sq. ft of exhibit space to address spatial constraints.
