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Howard Soil & Water Conservation District Providing leadership and education for protecting, enhancing and utilizing the soil and water of Howard County, Iowa.
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Howard Soil & Water Conservation District Providing leadership and education for protecting, enhancing and utilizing the soil and water of Howard County, Iowa.
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Current Projects
Staff & Beaver Creek Water Quality Project
Staff and Beaver Creeks are two tributaries of the Upper Iowa River. Additional acres that drain directly into the Upper Iowa River (UIR) bring the size of the project area to 41,328 acres. Both streams are located in northwestern Howard County where the UIR enters the state from Minnesota. The Staff and Beaver Water Quality Project has been a watershed project since October 2004. Tremendous progress has been accomplished towards the original goals of the project. Due to the large number of best management practices (BMPs) installed and the continued high interest, more work remains to be done. Accomplishments in the first three fiscal years of the project have shown a dramatic increase in BMPs applied in the watersheds. Original goals have been met and exceeded in several practices. The highest rate of success has been with wetland restoration, waterways, terraces and filter strips. The increases have been accomplished by promotion of the practices through project news letters and estimates sent directly to landowners and operators. The continuous CRP program has been promoted aggressively with good results and continued interest. The goal of the Staff/Beaver Water Quality Project is to improve the water quality of the steams and reverse the negative effects that sediment and excess nutrients are contributing to the streams within the watersheds and to the Upper Iowa River to which they are tributaries. The District believes this can be achieved by promoting BMPs that reduce or trap sediment from entering the stream. The District believes that the interest in the watershed project area is at an all time high and that even more progress can be achieved in reducing sediment delivery. Click for more information:
Lake Hendricks Watershed Project
The Lake Hendricks Watershed Project is located on the edge of Howard County in northeast Iowa. Although a relatively small watershed (1,209 acres), the lake has a significant public impact through the location of the largest county-owned campground facility in the area. Built in 1960, the 54-acre, man-made lake is the central attraction to the 234 acre park. In 2004, Iowa placed the lake on its 303(d) list of Impaired Waters. The project over a 3 year period will offer information & education along with various management practices to producers in the surrounding upland areas, and more focused structural practices in the areas adjacent to the lake to reduce both sediment and nutrient loading. In time, and through continued monitoring, the in-lake nutrient concentrations should decrease to the point to eliminate the impairments. The first year FY2009 supplement to the project agreement between the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), division of Soil Conservation, Howard Soil and Water Conservation District, United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, Watershed Protection Fund (WSPF) and the Water Protection Fund (WPF) will finance the activities for this project. Some of these activities will include
Additional funding for other projects in the watershed as well as outside the watershed may be possible through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) practices. Lake Hendricks is the central attraction to Lake Hendricks Park, managed by the Howard County Conservation Board. The park is open year-round to the public, with camping allowed from May-October.
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Women, Land & Legacy has regular workshops. Please visit the
Current Events page. “We, as women, have a big opportunity for change and the opportunity to support those changes”. -- Howard County WLL participant |
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