(Spirit Lake)– Agricultural landowners in the watershed of Big Spirit Lake are being reminded that funding remains available for various conservation practices. Dean Gronemeyer, Acting District Conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service says the funding is through the National Water Quality Initiative…
“And what that is meant to do is be used for practices that reduce nutrient loading and also controls sediment. Water quality benefits to the watershed. So typically in the past, you know, some of the more common practices would be an incentive payment for folks that want to do some no-till that haven’t done it before on those acres, or implementing cover crops. You know those have been a couple of popular practices that do a good job of targeting those resource concerns of that watershed.”
Gronemeyer says this program also allows for grass filters around intakes…
“If you look at the wetland and there’s an intake, we can seed down an area around that intake and it would create a filter for nutrients and sediment from getting into the intake and if that intake drains to the lake, we think it’s a water quality benefit. So this practice has been available but some of the payment rates for this particular watershed have been tied together. So the payment rate for this is pretty attractive. We can do a five year contract, we don’t have to do anything as far as a wetland restoration, it just is seeding around the intake; producers can drive through this area. You know it’s not like a CRP practice where we have to exclude somebody from entering in that area.”
Gronemeyer says that based on how the program is structured, it’s eligible only for landowners that are within the Iowa side of the watershed.
Those wanting more information should contact the NRCS office at the USDA Service Center in Spirit Lake at 336-3782.
