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Great Lakes Regional Water Program
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Final Newsletter - September 2013
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Endings and new beginnings often go hand in hand. We are grateful that this is the case for the Great Lakes Regional Water Program and a new water network that will build on the value and impact generated by the 13-year-old Great Lakes Program.
In this newsletter, we have regularly featured the impacts of Great Lakes initiatives. I won't dwell on those, but encourage you to read the project summaries and check back for up-to-date fact sheets, which will be available in the next few weeks. The fact sheets will summarize the most recent information, tools and resources, and impacts brought to you by Great Lakes initiatives - everything from climate outreach core competencies and resources to the nitrogen management capabilities and to-date impacts of two-stage agricultural ditches. That's the ending part. Now for new beginnings.
In the next few months, we will be initiating a new 12-state network that will work with land-grant universities and their partners to address water quality and quantity issues in the following states: IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, and WI. This region corresponds to the land-grant North Central Region. The new network will allow us to build on the successes of the Great Lakes and Heartland Regional Water Programs as well as the excellent work of our colleagues in North and South Dakota to develop new strategies for land-grant engagement in water resource management. Investing in water is essential not only because of direct issues such as water supply for drinking and industrial uses, but because water is a leverage point for addressing other critical issues of our time, such as sustainably feeding and providing energy for a growing population.
We are grateful to the many individuals who contributed to the development of a new framework for multi-state Extension and university research in the Midwestern U.S. We are also grateful to the Extension directors in participating states for providing foundational funding and institutional support. Stay tuned for more information as the new network develops. We expect to have an e-newsletter and to use our existing mailing lists to keep you updated. As always, you can opt out an any time.
On behalf of my colleagues working in water across both the Great Lakes Region and our new North Central Region, thanks for a great run, and we look forward to working with you on the water-related challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Rebecca Power, Co-Director, Great Lakes Regional Water Program
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| 2012-13 Initiatives Wrap Up | | |
Final reporting on our 2012-13 initiatives just wrapped up and we are once again amazed by the incredible work of our teams and the collective impacts of our efforts. This year's initiatives covered a variety of topics and included collaborators from a diverse list of regional universities and public and private sector organizations. These projects represent the culmination of over a decade of Great Lake's efforts to improve and protect our regional waterways and serve as shining examples of successful cross-institution programming.
Please visit the initiative web profiles listed below for detailed project summaries, support resources and project contact information. Also, be sure to check back soon to access our end of year factsheets.
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| LTAR Initiative Update |
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Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) representatives, Extension partners meet on Long-Term Agro-Ecosytem Research Program (LTAR)
In the last newsletter, we misreported on the Long-Term Agro-Ecosystem Research Program (LTAR) meeting. Due to a scheduling conflict, the meeting was moved to September 10-11. We apologize for the error.
Initiative leaders from the USDA Agriculture Research Service, University of Wisconsin, Iowa State University and the University of Minnesota are meeting to continue discussions on the role of Extension in planning and implementing long-term water resource projects in the region. The collaborative sessions are focused on building long-term working relationships that will ultimately lead to the development of integrated economic, social, and institutional programming. The meeting will also lay the groundwork for future shared grant proposals.
The UMRB effort is one of ten similar collaborations across the country, all dedicated to ensuring Extension has a central role in the development and implementation of water programming in the coming years.
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| Watershed Leader Competency Assessment |
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Great Lakes initiative identifies core competencies all watershed leaders need
A team funded by Great Lakes and comprised of Lois Wolfson (Michigan State), Jane Frankenberger (Purdue), Laura Esman (Purdue), Anne Baird (Ohio State) and Joe Bonnell (Ohio State), recently conducted a three state survey to better understand the core competencies required of successful watershed managers. With a sample size of 117 past watershed academy/institute participants, the survey provides a comprehensive view of shared priority areas that will be used to improve programs such as the Indiana Watershed Leadership Academy, Ohio Watershed Academy and Michigan Lake and Stream Leaders Institute. A full summary will be available online soon. In the meantime, here are a few select findings:
- Participants rated the following knowledge/skills as most critical to their work: partnerships/collaboration, outreach and communication, project management, and landowner interaction/interpersonal skills
- Competency in each of these five theme areas is considered fundamental to success: management, communication, collaboration, leadership, and assessment
- The most beneficial aspects of existing academies/institutes are: broadening participants' understanding of watershed management and helping them build a network
- Improvements needed for existing academies/institutes include: more applied learning experiences and inclusion of additional technical topics
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2013 North American Manure Expo Update
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Over 750 people attend event
The 2013 North American Manure Expo was a huge success. Over 750 total producers, advisors and manure industry representatives made the trip north of the border to Guelph, Ontario on August 20-21. Guided by the theme "Getting it right", the expo featured workshops and demonstrations including a primer on planning a dragline system, a field trip featuring on-farm manure storage agitation and anaerobic digester demonstrations, a full day of learning sessions, and over 60 vendor exhibits. Photos and presentation materials are available on the event website. Look for next year's expo on July 9 in Springfield, MO!
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Road Salt Monitoring Workshops
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Key stakeholders participate in Great Lakes sponsored workshops
Great Lakes initiative leader Kris Stepenuck (University of Wisconsin) recently led two training workshops on road salt monitoring at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Held on July 15th and 16th, the workshops provided an overview of the environmental concerns related to road salting and a summary of findings from the past year's worth of volunteer monitoring efforts in Black River Falls, Eau Claire and Menomonie, WI. Staff members from Fortin Consulting, Inc., based in the Twin Cities, and a public works manager, explained how homeowners and winter maintenance professionals can take practical, cost-saving steps to reduce their application rates and carry out best practices that minimize environmental impacts. Participants in the July 15th workshop included private landowners from the surrounding area, while participants in the July 16th workshop represented public and private winter maintenance personnel.
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Edge-of-Field Monitoring Workshops
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Extension water resource managers learn to manage edge-of-field monitoring stations
Dennis Busch (University of Wisconsin-Platteville), Paul Kivlin (University of Wisconsin-River Falls), Ben Brown (UW-Platteville Pioneer Farm) and Jim Anderson (University of Minnesota), recently led a workshop on planning, implementing and maintaining edge of field monitoring stations in Midwestern watersheds. Held on August 15th at UW-River Falls, the workshop was attended by 12 Extension water resource managers. Edge of field stations provide detailed information about nutrient levels, sediment loads and flow rates to help farmers and advisors implement practices that keep watersheds within proposed Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL). Trained Extension professionals will use their knowledge and expertise to expand the current station network.
Workshop participants were overwhelmingly positive about their experience. Selected post-training evaluation results suggest that:
- 100% felt the workshop met or exceeded their expectations
- 75% felt confident in their ability to install lower cost monitoring equipment in the field post training
- 88% felt confident in their ability to operate lower cost monitoring equipment post training
- 88% knew how to collect and analyze edge-of-field data post training
- 73% felt able to use collected data to populate watershed scale predictive water quality models
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Soil Health Courses Available Now
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Courses designed for conservation advisors
Three online soil health courses are available now through the Great Lakes funded Conservation Professional Training Program. The courses, including Understanding the Wind Erosion Prediction System (WEPS), Understanding the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE2) and Conservation Planning Web Tools, are designed for conservation advisors. Click on the links below for full descriptions and registration instructions. Participants should set
aside roughly 4 hours per course. CEUs are available.
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| In the News #1 | |
County grants target phosphorous runoff
by Roberta Baumann, Waunakee Tribune (WI), Sept. 4
On the shores of Lake Mendota last week, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced the availability of $750,000 in county grants for farmers to implement phosphorous reduction practices and help clean up lakes and waterways. Parisi noted that the grants are aimed at expanding partnerships built with area farmers for the last 20 years.
"They are aimed at practices that are low tech but have high impact," Parisi said, adding that funds can be used to restore wetlands, construct manure storage facilities, build roofs over animal feeding areas, plant cover crops and other measures.
At the Aug. 29 announcement, Parisi compared the practices to the manure digesters, calling the digesters "high tech" measures.
Grants will be available to all farmers, but priority will be given to farms in the Dorn Creek and Sixmile Creek areas, including the Waunakee, Westport, Middleton and Springfield area, Parisi said.
Every pound of phosphorous translates to 500 pounds of algae in Dane County lakes, Parisi said...
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| In the News #2 | |
Drugs found in Lake Michigan, miles from sewage outfalls
By Brian Bienkowski, Environmental Health News, Sept 5
Prescription drugs are contaminating Lake Michigan two miles from Milwaukee's sewage outfalls, suggesting that the lake is not diluting the compounds as most researchers expected, according to new research.
"In a body of water like the Great Lakes, you'd expect dilution would kick in and decrease concentrations, and that was not the case here," said Dana Kolpin, a U.S. Geological Survey research hydrologist based in Iowa.
It is not clear what, if any, effects the drugs are having on fish and other creatures in Lake Michigan. But this ability to travel and remain at relatively high concentrations means that aquatic life is exposed, so there could be "some serious near-shore impacts," said Rebecca Klaper, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and senior author of the study published in the journal Chemosphere.
In addition, Milwaukee draws its drinking water from Lake Michigan, although no pharmaceuticals have been found in the city's water, according to Milwaukee Water Works...
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| In the News #3 | | |
Why Lake Ontario turned neon blue last week
Source: CBC News, Sept 3
If you flew over the Great Lakes last week - either in an airplane or aboard the International Space Station - you might have noticed an explosion of colour between Ontario and New York state.
Lake Ontario was an electric blue on all but its westernmost surface.
The phenomenon was visible from orbit, where an astronaut on the space station captured it with a camera. A NASA satellite also recorded images.
The lively neon hue used to be a common event on Lake Ontario, but has grown rarer over the last two decades, said biologist Michael Twiss, a professor at Clarkson University in New York state who studies the Great Lakes.
Twiss explained that the colour develops from a confluence of several factors, including micro-organisms that thrive in warm temperatures. As those tiny creatures photosynthesize, they cause the water's pH to rise, which in turn makes calcium and carbonate ions that are naturally present in the lake condense into white blocks of calcite on the organisms' surface...
Full Article
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In the News #4
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UW-Madison Offering New Crop Irrigation Tool
Source: Wisconsin AgConnection, Sept 3
Predicting when and how much to water fields can be difficult when weather conditions are extreme. But thanks to new research by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, farmers now have access to a new tool to help fine-tune irrigation in order to save water and the energy needed to pump it.
It's called WISP 2012, developed by UW-Madison soil and water conservation specialists, and makes it easier to make better decisions about when and how much to water.
"Having adequate water in the root zone is critical to good yields and high quality crops," says John Panuska, a UW-Madison soil and water conservation specialist. But too much water can wash nutrients and pesticides out of the root zone and into groundwater and streams. Excess water is a three-strike proposition--higher costs for nutrient application, higher costs for pumping, and possible contamination of water needed by people and wildlife.
When a field is running a water deficit at key stages in crop growth, a farmer may need to play catch-up by irrigating even in the midst of a rainstorm.
Full Article
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Thank You!
We appreciate your contributions to our newsletter over the past few years. Your great work and project updates have benefited water resource management efforts across the region. Stay tuned for new engagement opportunities as the North Central Region takes shape.
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About Us
The Great Lakes Regional Water Program (GLRWP) is a partnership among the Land Grant universities in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and the NIFA National Water Program. The overarching goal of the GLRWP is to maintain and protect natural environmental systems for agriculture, human health, recreation, and economic benefit through regional leadership and coordination of research, education, and extension/outreach efforts within Great Lakes and North Central Region states.
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