After leaving a March water quality 

watershed, Mike Budd was deep in thought wondering what he could do to spur some action to educate young people and stop sediment from leaving farm fields and getting into local water ways.

As a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, Budd drives a lot around Arkansas. He often sees fields with open water control structures during the winter that, if closed, he thought could help preserve water quality and act as a rest stop for migrating birds. The idea of a competition came to mind and the Arkansas Mud Drive was born.

Budd is working with conservation groups to generate competition among farmers and youth groups to close water control structures in late summer or 14 days post-harvest. Agricultural students and groups can win a cash prize by obtaining pledges from farmers interested in closing their water control structures. This is a way for students to learn about farming, wildlife and water quality issues, Budd said. Or farmers can submit the pledges themselves to donate "mud" on their property.

"It solves a whole lot of resource concerns at one time," Budd said.

The program seeks to reduce the amount of sediment and nutrients that leave fields during the winter and fall, provide critical habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl, reduce the abundance of spring weeks, and shows that producers are concerned about water quality, the environment and wildlife habitat.

"It's just like having ground cover," said Mike Daniels, water quality specialist for Extension. "The rain water will hit the water and you don't get the impact and soil erosion. It's a way to maintain cover in the winter time and reduce soil erosion. It's also a BMP for creating habitat for overwintering waterfowl."