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

The Conservation and Wildlife Expo
in Wadena County is a new event that has been organized
by the SWCD for the last two years. Each year about 2,250
people attended the event, which includes vendors, archery
competition, clay pigeon shooting competition, dog trial
training and educational seminars on WCA Rules, Rotational
Grazing, Organic Farming, Water Quality, Soils Interpretation,
Food Plot Mixes, Pheasant Habitat, Forestry, and Conservation
Programs and You. Educational events for children such as
presentations from the MN Zoo (pictured) were also available.
This three-day event is an excellent opportunity for the SWCD
to inform a very large group of people about the conservation
projects and programs that are available.
400-500 5th and 6th grade students
and teachers attend Conservation Days at the Old Wadena
County Park each year in September. Seven stations are
set up around the park with speakers on subjects like Soils,
Water, Nature, Wildlife, Forestry, History of the Park and
“Babou” -- a Voyageur from the 18th century. This three-day
event is very much appreciated by the teachers and students.
The Spirit Lake Stormwater Pond was
developed three years ago in the City of Menahga. The Pond
is the fi rst of its kind in Wadena County and was put to the
test in 2007 during a heavy rain event while a Highway 71
construction project was in progress. About 130 gallons of
oil and tar fl owed into the pond and coated the rocks and
plants with a tight seal. The pond held the material and
nothing got into the lake. The pond had to be excavated out
and resurfaced, but it did its job and held the oil and tar.
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Wadena Soil & Water Conservation District
A feedlot water quality project was
recently completed in North Germany Township. A large
beef and dairy operation had a barnyard very close to the
Red Eye River, so a slab was installed in the barnyard and
a diversion was installed between the barnyard and the
river, which diverted the runoff to a hay fi eld.
Several WCA violations have occurred in
the past few years. Landowners have been very cooperative
and replaced or repaired any wetlands that were disturbed.
A volunteer monitoring program has
collected data on all of the county’s lakes and streams.
Thanks to the efforts of 85 volunteers from around the
county, the SWCD has water quality data on clarity,
temperature, phosphorus and other chemicals.
Top 5 Natural Resource Concerns
Erosion Control
Nutrient Management
Water Resource Protection
Forest Management
Grazing
Future Projects
The SWCD is working with the DNR on a newly
established Shoreline Habitat Block Grant project to
complete seven projects on Spirit Lake and one on
Stocking Lake. These are shoreline restoration projects
that will be installed on private property, and a different
type of control on each project will be used to fi nd out
what works best in the sandy soil of northern Wadena
County. Some types of materials are native trees,
shrubs, plants and seeds; temporary biodegradable toe
protection; and erosion control fabric and mulch.
The SWCD is also working on a CWL Spirit Lake
Stormwater Abatement Grant to minimize the quantity
of stormwater runoff and improve the quality of
stormwater that enters the storm drains by bringing the
treatment of stormwater up into the watershed through
low-impact design and BMPs such as rain barrels,
rain gardens, swales and innovative technologies. The
SWCD is also working with the Laestadian Church to
showcase stormwater treatment in their parking lot area.
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