Soil & Water Conservation District Guidebook 2008 - Minnesota ...

With 1,048 lakes and many miles of
streams and rivers that have been rapidly developed there are
many water quality and shoreland erosion issues that need to
be addressed. In 2006 The EOT SWCD approached the WOT
SWCD, the Otter Tail County Commissioners, and area lake
associations to establish a joint effort to provide technical
assistance to shoreland landowners with water quality
and erosion issues. Through this partnership a shoreland
specialist was hired in 2007 who is located in the EOT
SWCD offi ce and provides technical assistance countywide.
The shoreland specialist has visited more than 60 sites, given
12 presentations to various organizations, and installed 7
lakescaping demonstration projects, with many more in the
works for 2008. These lakescaping demonstration projects
are being partially funded through a County Water Plan costshare
assistance program. Through developing a working
relationship with the various resource agencies we hope that
this position will be able to assist landowners in the various
stages of applying conservation practices to their properties.
Participating producers report weekly
rainfall and irrigation amounts for their specifi c fi elds.
These fi elds are also visited weekly by the SWCD irrigation
technician to check in-fi eld soil moisture conditions. With
this information the SWCD produces a weekly soil moisture
graph for each fi eld that is provided to the producer. These
graphs project the crop water used and help producers decide
if and when to irrigate. This helps them to maintain healthy
crops while conserving water, energy, and preventing the
leaching of nutrients and pesticides due to over-irrigation. In
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East Otter Tail Soil & Water Conservation District
2007 this program was used by over 30 producers to help
them directly manage well over 10,000 irrigated acres
on 118 different fi elds. The EOT SWCD has also set up
an “ET” (Evapo-Transpiration) Hotline. This recorded
message provides information on daily crop water use
for the various crops commonly grown in the area. This
hotline is accessible to the general public.
Top 5 Natural Resource Concerns
Development Pressure - Protecting agricultural
land, lakes, streams, wetlands and forested
areas that are being developed for housing and
recreational purposes.
Ground Water Quality – Maintaining the quality
and quantity of ground water for residential,
industrial and agricultural uses.
Surface Water Quality – Protect, preserve, and
improve surface water quality through the use
of various conservation practices like fi lter
strips, conservation tillage, feedlot and manure
management.
Wind Erosion
Forest Land Improvement and reestablishment
Future Projects
Lakescaping Demonstration Projects – Through the
Otter Tail County Water Plan we have set aside cost-share
funding to establish Lakescaping Demo Projects on different
lakes throughout the county. These demonstration
projects will be used for future training or fi eld tours for the
SWCD’s and lake association groups. One project will be
located in Amor Park on Otter Tail Lake. We plan to have
educational signs or displays in Amor Park that explain the
benefi t of having native vegetation on the shoreline.
Minnesota Master Naturalist Program – This program
is an educational program through the University
of Minnesota Extension Service that trains adult volunteer’s
about Minnesota’s natural resources, teaching
them how to educate others, and provides opportunities
to do conservation projects. An EOT SWCD staff member
has been certifi ed as an instructor and will be offering
classes in conjunction with the Douglas SWCD.
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