A newsletter for Rathbun Land and Water Alliance Board members

June 2007 Board Briefs

Alliance Matters and Partner News 5,195 acres that will reduce the annual delivery of sediment by
8,350 tons and phosphorus by 37,140 pounds to Rathbun Lake
Contact Marty Braster at 641-647-2416
or by email at mbraster@rrwa.net and its tributaries. The total project cost is estimated at $2.9 mil-
lion of which $1.3 million was requested in the application. The
map below identifies the proposed 2007 targeted sub-watersheds
2006 audit update: The Alliance’s audit firm TD&T Financial as well as sub-watersheds in which project activities are under-
Group, P.C has completed the organization’s 2006 financial audit. way.
Alliance members’ staff worked closely with representatives of the
firm during the audit. The audit document will be presented to the
Value of water quality monitoring: Water quality
Alliance’s board of directors during the board’s June meeting.
monitoring in Rathbun Lake and the lake’s tributaries that is con-
ducted by the Alliance and partner organizations continues to
2007 water quality/watershed protection application:
make an important contribution to efforts to protect the lake and
Alliance members submitted a 2007 project application for consid-
other water bodies in the lake’s watershed. Monitoring results
eration by IDALS Division of Soil Conservation and Iowa Depart-
have recently led to the identification of ten water bodies in the
ment of Natural Resources. The application requests financial sup-
Rathbun Lake watershed on Iowa’s Draft 2006 List of Impaired
port to apply best management practices (BMPs) for priority land
Waters.
in an additional four targeted sub-watersheds in the Rathbun Lake
watershed.
The list includes the Chariton and South Fork arms of Rathbun
Lake due to turbidity. Water bodies included on Iowa’s Im-
The targeted sub-watersheds are Upper and Lower Dick Creek
paired Waters List receive priority consideration for technical
(Wayne County), Chariton River #4 (Lucas and Clarke Counties),
and financial support to carry out water quality protection activi-
and Chariton River #8 (Lucas County).
ties such as the application of BMPs. For more information about
Iowa’s List of Impaired Waters please visit http://
The requested funds will assist landowners to apply BMPs for
www.iowadnr.com/water/watershed/impaired.html

The Rathbun Lake Special Project is a partnership of the following individuals, agencies, and organizations: Participating landowners in the Rathbun Lake
Watershed; Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Division of Soil Conservation; Iowa Department of Natural Resources; Iowa State
University; Iowa Watershed Improvement Review Board; Southern Iowa Development and Conservation Authority; US Army Corps of Engineers; US
Environmental Protection Agency; USDA Farm Service Agency; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Appanoose, Clarke, Decatur, Lucas,
Monroe, and Wayne Soil and Water Conservation Districts; Appanoose, Clarke, Decatur, Lucas, Monroe, and Wayne Counties; Iowa Farm Bureau at the state and county levels; and Rathbun Regional
Water Association.
 Alliance Board -

As you are probably are aware by now, a lot has changed since the last meet-
ing. Since we last met, I have accepted a transfer within the
Division of Soil Conservation to a new WQ project in Williamsburg.
Friday May 18th was my last day in the Lucas Co. Field Office.

I wanted to express to you all how much I have enjoyed working with you on the
Rathbun Lake Project over the last three years. I have truly
enjoyed my time on this project and I appreciate having had the
opportunity to get to know and work with you all. Thank you for the support
and guidance you have provided me during my time on the Rathbun Lake project.
It sure made my job easier to have such a good group of people to work with.
Together we have accomplished a lot.

Believe me, I gave this move a lot of thought and it was not an easy decision.
However, in the end, it is getting me much closer to my
fiancé-to-be and was something I had to do. Even though I will miss this pro-
ject and all of the great people associated with it, I am
looking forward to starting a new chapter in my career and life.

DSC is planning to fill the vacancy I leave behind as soon as possible. Until
then, Velvet will be taking over most of my responsibilities and projects
until the replacement is hired which I have been
told, will take at least 2 months.

Again, it has been a pleasure. Thank you for

making my time with you all very enjoyable and
rewarding. We'll see you down the road.

Take Care,

Aaron Pickens

Special Report
Contact Mike Knox at 641.872.1350 or by
email at Michael.J.Knox@ia.nacdnet.net

Rathbun Lake forage and grazing project

The Rathbun Lake forage and grazing project has started a new emphasis for the forage research project. Dr. Jim Russell and his colleagues
from the Animal Science Department at Iowa State University and the researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine have received a
grant from the NRCS to study three types of organisms which are E-coli bacteria, the Corona virus, and the Terro-virus.

The scope of the project involves taking two water samples every two weeks from the beginning and at the end of a stream’s reach on a pre-
determined site in the Rathbun watershed. The samples will then be analyzed by the team from Veterinary Medicine to determine which
organisms are present.

The Animal Science team began sampling on May 31. They collected four samples from 13 sample sites on landowner’s farms in Wayne and
Lucas Counties. The sampling will continue every two weeks throughout the summer and until December, or if the sites can no longer be
accessed due to cold temperatures. The first sampling was a success. Some of the sites were difficult to navigate due to high water but the
staff was able to get 300 ml of water from the upstream and downstream points on each farm.

The project staff learned what procedures worked and what procedures did not when conducting the sampling and they will be able to fine-
tune the sampling process to make the process more efficient. The grazing component for this project with ISU has begun.
Continued on opposite page
 Watershed Outreach
Contact Kathleen Chester by phone at 641.774.5940 or by email chester@sirisonline.com

Iowa State Fair: The Iowa Farm Bureau has invited the Rathbun Land and Water Alliance to display an exhibit in Farm Bureau
Park at the Iowa State Fair on Monday, August 13th. This is a wonderful opportunity for the Alliance to showcase their water
quality protection efforts in the Rathbun Lake Watershed. This is the second year Farm Bureau has
invited the Alliance to participate in their environmental day. The Park has expanded their hours from 8
am to 8 pm to allow more fair-goers to visit exhibits.

Board members who may wish to assist in the booth throughout the day will be contacted for scheduling
at a future date. Shirts will be ordered for those who express interest in working. To draw attraction to
the exhibit, a drawing is again planned as part of the Alliance booth.

Rathbun Lake shower house posters: Posters highlighting the Rathbun Lake Special Project were developed, printed, and
installed in five shower houses around Rathbun Lake.

Rathbun Land and Water Alliance Annual Meeting: The 2007

Rathbun Land and Water Alliance Annual Meeting has been scheduled for
September 13th. Ken Root of the WHO Radio 1040 Big Show has been se-
Save the date! cured as the featured speaker for the evening.

Carpenter’s Hall in Chariton seemed to provide a centralized location in the

watershed, so it has been reserved again for this year’s event.

The nomination process for the 2007 Rathbun Lake Protectors is underway.
Each Soil and Water Conservation District will submit to the Alliance their
nominations for those landowners that they believe should be recognized for
their outstanding stewardship.

Protect Rathbun Lake road signs

The process to install the water quality protection signs throughout the watershed continues to move forward. Nearly all sign
locations have been flagged and approved by the cooperating landowners. After Iowa One Call has been called, an installation crew
will begin erecting the signs this summer.

Continued from page 2

Dr. Russell said that all of the landowners are very enthusiastic about the project and are taking extreme care to record all information about
their cattle. The landowners are recording the date the cattle are turned to pasture for grazing, the date the cattle are pulled from the
pasture and moved, and the number of cows, bulls, yearlings and calves. The staff are studying the grazing patterns of the cattle, species
composition of forages, stocking rates, and the amount of time spent near shade or in the stream.

All the producer cooperators agreed to have erosion pins driven on their reach of the stream to measure the amount of erosion occurring on
and in the stream banks. This part of the project is done by the Natural Resources and Ecology Management (NREM) Department at Iowa
State University. The anticipated result of the erosion study will prove that cattle grazing are important to protect our fragile soils and im-
prove the economy of Southern Iowa. The conclusions of the study will help generate more programs that may be created to cater to more
livestock production in southern Iowa.

Four landowners will be participating with the project to put tracking collars on cattle. The collars will be installed during the second week
of June and will be removed during the last week of that month. This procedure will be repeated in August and October as well. Dr. Russell
said that this project will be of great value because it will help determine if cattle have preferred forages that are selectively grazed. It will aid
to determine if cattle will actually move greater distances to consume forage that they prefer.
 From Velvet’s View
Contact Velvet Buckingham at 641.872.1350
or by email at Vevet.Buckingham@ia.nacdnet.net

ICM: An additional 1,553 acres of cropland were soil sampled this spring, therefore completing the soil sampling component. A
total of 4,270 acres were sampled through the project. Results of these samples will be analyzed by Tyler Jacobsen, and ran through the
P Index. Results of this analysis will be presented in the final report of the EPA grant.

WIRB structures update: The engineering designs for the five WIRB structures are nearing completion and DNR approval. We
anticipate receiving the designs during the month of June, and then plan to let the structures for bid during the summer months. Staff
are working to identify additional structure sites.

Rathbun special EQIP allocation: RLSP was fortunate to receive and obligated $288,815 in Special EQIP funds from the NRCS.
Those special EQIP funds were only eligible in five targeted subwatersheds. The following is a breakout of how those dollars were
obligated: Decatur (3 contracts) - $80,986; Clarke (3 contracts) - $52,674; Lucas (3 contracts) - $60,034; and Wayne (6 contracts) -
$95,121. These projects also qualify for additional Rathbun cost-share through WIRB and WSPF/319. Staff are working to obligate
those producers additional cost-share. In addition to the $288,815 of special EQIP funding, approximately $230,400 in General EQIP
funds were obligated to producers in the targeted subwatersheds. Again, staff are working to obligate those producers additional cost-
share as well.

WIRB BMPs update: Approximately $187,000 in WIRB applications are ready to be approved by the Alliance board. These funds
are used to provide additional cost-share along with EQIP, as well as provide the full 75% cost-share to a few projects that did not
receive EQIP.
Summary of Completed BMP Practices in Targeted Sub-watersheds
From 10/1/03 – 5/29/07
Sediment
Gross Erosion Delivery Phosphorus
Units In- Acres Reduction Reduction Delivery
Practice stalled Benefited Tons/Yr. Tons/ yr. Reduction Lbs./Yr.
Terraces 385,972 ft. 3996 4336 6495 28,846
Water & Sediment Basins 93 no. 308 361 685 3137
Grade Stabilization Structures 51 no. 1078 901 1876 7570
Livestock Exclusion 8.0 ac. 8 84 32 158
Pasture & Hayland Seeding 559 ac. 559 2258 748 3347
Grassed Waterways 29.8 ac. 469 437 411 2081
CRP buffer / filter strips 92.7 ac. 93 591 192 1079
Fence (for improved livestock mgt.) 14,809 ft.
Heavy Use Protection Areas 10 no.
Pipeline 3,160 ft.
Tanks 7 no.
Brush Management 280.0 ac.
Nutrient Management 159.7 ac.
TOTALS 6520 8,968 10,439 46,218
Summary of Cost Share Expended by Source and County
County Total Cost EQIP WPF/WSPF IFIP Watershed IDNR 319 Producers WRP
Initiative
Appanoose
$368,890 $120,634 $52,806 $7,500 $50,691 $26,050 $111,209 $1,076,596
Clarke $511,075 $161,624 $86,295 $2,973 $74,358 $18,386 $173,186
Decatur $309,689 $41,114 $126,569 $5,355 $57,458 $0.00 $79,192
Lucas $580,387 $138,852 $107,455 $10,591 $80,830 $79,536 $163,423 $638,968
Monroe $88,623 $40,896 $14,433 $0.00 $7646 $0.00 $25,649
Wayne $1,016,836 $378,895 $227,495 $6,076 $73,159 $13,944 $317,266 $719,811

TOTALS $2,875,800* $882,015 $615,053 $32,495 $344,142 $137,916 $869,925 $2,435,375

*Total cost does not include WRP funding.