ANNUAL REPORT

Transcription

1 MORRISON SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT Heron Road * Little Falls, MN (320) * ANNUAL REPORT MORRISON SWCD SUPERVISORS Marvin Stangl Chairman SWCD BOARD MEETING MORRISON SWCD STAFF Helen McLennan District Manager Dave Hubner Vice Chairman Scott Saehr Secretary Tom Brutscher Treasurer Dr. Bill Faber Public Relations 4 th Thursday of each 9:00 am Brenden Thompson Summer Intern Alan Ringwelski Lead Technician Lance Chisholm Water Plan and ACUB Coordinator LeaAnn Nouis Admin. Assistant/Bookkeeper Mike Becker Drainage/Engineering Technician Amy Heinen Intern/ACUB Assistant Scott Bill Marvin Tom Dave Mike Amy Alan Helen Lance LeaAnn

2 INSIDE THIS REPORT CAMP RIPLEY ACUB / LSOHC / SENTINEL LANDSCAPE DESIGNATION Page 3 LCCMR / PERFORMANCE DRAINAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN Page 4 BUFFER LAW / BUFFER COST SHARE Page 5 COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL WATER PLAN / ONE WATERSHED ONE PLAN Page 6 CLEANWATER FUNDS Page 6 24 th ANNUAL 6 TH GRADE WATER FESTIVAL Page 7 LOCAL CAPACITY FUNDING / PENDING PROJECTS Page 8 STATE COST SHARE / MISSISSIPPI RIVER WRAPS (SARTELL & BRAINERD) Page TREE PROGRAM Page 9 MN AG WATER QUALITY PROGRAM (MAWQCP) Page 10 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS FOR FEEDLOTS Page 10 MDA AGBMP LOAN PROGRAM / LITTLE ROCK SUSTAINABILITY Page 11 WETLAND CONSERVATION ACT (WCA) Page 11 LCCMR OAK WILT PROJECT / NITROGEN FERTILIZER MANAGEMENT PLAN Page 12 PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT PLANNING Page 12 WEST CENTRAL TECHNICAL SERVICE AREA PARTNERSHIP (WCTSA) Page 13 FEDERAL FARM PROGRAM /NRCS Page 13 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND PLANNING COMMISSION SUPPORT Page 14 RETIREMENT AND CHANGING OF THE GUARD Page 14 PROGRAM HOURS AND PERCENTAGE RATE CHART

3 CAMP RIPLEY ARMY COMPATIBLE USE BUFFER (ACUB) and SENTINEL LANDSCAPE DESIGNATION The ACUB program is intended to protect the mission of Camp Ripley by creating a permanent buffer around Camp Ripley that is compatible with the Camp s mission. This is being accomplished by taking advantage of available opportunities to minimize encroachment of incompatible land uses (e.g. residential development) and enhance conservation land management. By securing a buffer outside the fence line, Camp Ripley can continue to offer and provide critically important, high quality military training and operations inside the fence line, as well as mitigate the negative impacts of military training on the community due to noise, dust, and smoke. Since 2006 the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) through Morrison SWCD has worked directly with landowners in a three county (Morrison, Crow Wing, and Cass) 3-mile zone around Camp Ripley to convey nondevelopment easements. BWSR Sentinel Landscape Protection Status as of 8/01/ land deals Under Easement 23,863.2 acres Compensated (Complete) acres Donated (Complete) 35 land deals Ongoing 3,180.6 acres Ongoing 11.7 acres Donated (Ongoing) 27,328.5 TOTAL ACRES 264 TOTAL LAND DEALS Camp Ripley Sentinel Landscape Protection - To-date we have received over $33,700,000 in NGB (National Guard Bureau) and DOD (Department of Defense) funding and over $7,000,000 in LSOHC (Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage Council) funds. In 2015 the MN Legislature established a Sentinel Landscape in a watershed boundary, approximately 10 miles surrounding Camp Ripley to help preserve forests and natural resources. In 2016, the Sentinel Landscape was established through Congress, one of six nationwide, surrounding military bases. Morrison SWCD is the sponsoring agency for the Sentinel Landscape Initiatives. In 2016, we were awarded $2.88 million to further assist agricultural producers in managing healthy forests and managing their working lands. The federal designation will bring in additional funding mechanisms to keep farmers producing with best management practices. This program does not replace ACUB but further values the bigger landscape as a protection zone.

4 LEGISLATIVE CITIZEN COMMITTEE MINNESOTA RESOURCES GRANT (LCCMR) MORRISON COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE PERFORMANCE DRAINAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN We are in the third summer of our culvert inventory and it has become a much bigger job than we envisioned. As of this writing 18 townships have been completed with valued assistance from many township road supervisors. We offered them flags and maps to help identify where they knew culverts to exist which saves valuable time in the field. Many townships had nearly 500 culverts. It became clear early on that we needed to include the driveway and field access culverts because that s where some of the problems of drainage management exists. Culverts in some places were inappropriately sized and elevations weren t determined with any clear plans for efficient drainage. We have requested a one year extension from the LCCMR because with the late spring of 2018, we know that we are not likely going to be finished with the elevation data, let alone the overall plan. Protected Water Basins/Streams (Shoreland Buffer) and County Ditches Each township completed will get a disc, a digitized version, and a hard copy of their data. Many contractors and townships have been excellent in notifying the office when culverts have been replaced. That relationship is imperative in keeping the data current. A contractor workshop will be held fall of 2018 to make sure all contractors understand the need to report work on culverts so the inventory stays complete. Mike Amy Brenden Becker Heinen Thompson Engineering Intern Summer Technician Intern

5 BUFFER LAW BUFFER COST SHARE The Buffer Law did not get repealed as many hoped for but it also was not as discerning as the public thought. Many landowners on Public Waters, requested the extension to plant a 50 buffer of perennial seeding by July 1, 2018, rather than the original mandate of November 1, Some landowners requested cost share assistance, but most did not. The buffer could be pastured or hayed, and that is predominantly what people chose. Even though the spot checks are not complete, most landowners were either in compliance or met the challenge. Morrison County did accept the enforcement responsibilities of the Buffer Law but it only involved a handful of farmers and even those have mostly agreed to comply. What is a buffer? A buffer, also known as a riparian area, is land adjacent to a stream, river, lake or wetland. Buffers are critically important in keeping water clean. This buffer strip in southern Minnesota shows a vegetated strip that helps filter pollutants and runoff from entering the water from the surrounding land. What s left is the required 16.5 foot buffers on Public Ditches required by November 1, This effort too is finding fewer landowners needing to reduce fields. There will be some planting required. Overall, like much of the state, farmers in Morrison County are already doing a commendable job in buffering watercourses. We are required to conduct the ongoing monitoring. We don t know what that s going to mean so far. We work closely with the county s new shore land specialist on any problem sites. The stream on the left has insufficient buffer coverage. Areas circled in red should have a buffer. The stream on the right has sufficient buffer coverage. 50 feet of perennial vegetation borders the entire shoreline. This aerial view shows grass buffer strips along a stream. Without a buffer of plants to filter runoff, pollutants such as sediment and algae-causing nutrients can drain to the water.

6 MORRISON COUNTY COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL WATER PLAN ONE WATERSHED ONE PLAN INITIATIVES AND WATERSHED STUDIES TAKING PLACE The new initiative set forth by MN BWSR is to redirect water planning to do entire watersheds instead. Taking this into consideration but not receiving any funding, the 2017 Local Water Plan was called, One Plan Five Watersheds, with the intent carried throughout. All of the studies, TMDL plans, WRAP plans, and comments from the neighboring counties were included, by watershed. There are some existing teams now working and seeking funding on One Watershed One Plan efforts. Most specifically, the Rum River Watershed and the Sauk River COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL WATER PLAN At the same time, the Mississippi River Sartell (fiscally managed by Morrison SWCD) and Mississippi River Brainerd are in the cycle for analysis, TMDL planning, and WRAP planning. Morrison SWCD is actively involved in both efforts and has been coordinating public outreach on what is known to date. With the workload of the SWCD however, it is nearly impossible to make it to all of the surrounding planning teams. Instead, we have been monitoring all releases and efforts and have passed resolutions both at the County Board level and the District in support of the One Watershed One Plan teams. The two Mississippi teams are publicizing and planning Citizen Engagement meetings for citizens in late August and September. CLEANWATER FUNDING We have applied every year to no avail, since We even enlisted the help of BWSR staff to direct us in building a better application. Clean Water Funding is the primary source to carry out the goals and objectives in the Local Water Plan. The District will again submit an application in August of 2018 but for this report, there has been no projects to report through the Clean Water Fund.

7 24 th 6 th Grade Water Festival was held on Tuesday, September 19 th and Wednesday, September 20 th 2017

8 LOCAL CAPACITY FUNDING ONGOING PROGRAMS & STATUS So far, Local Capacity Funding has still been a reality for the third year in a row. However, in the first year of legislative approval it was funded from the Clean Water Funds but was meant to be general funded after that through the BWSR budget. Unfortunately, it s still being funded through the Clean Water Funds, so it s an annual decision whether it continues. While it is still a reality, we subsidize the Engineering Technician we hired for the LCCMR Drainage Management Grant and use the Capacity dollars to meet our matching funds, and we also have been able to hire 1.5 additional staff people to support program delivery. In addition, unfunded engineered practices designed by WCTSA is often funded through Capacity dollars. Also new this year, the county facilitated us transitioning onto the county s computer and phone system, leaving the USDA connection. It took quite a few dollars to make the connection and buy the additional computers, phones, and software needed, it will long term serve us much better and we are truly grateful to the county for allowing the new connection. PROJECTS PROPOSED BUT PENDING DUE TO LACK OF FUNDING SOURCES STATE COST SHARE This program has been around forever, 40 or more years. It s not a lot of money but the District receives $27,000 - $32,000 annually which allows us to do smaller projects like sed-basins, waterways, tree plantings etc. We typically cost share projects a year and we are required to do one-year, five-year, and nine-year spot checks to assure the practice survived 10 years which is the commitment required of the landowner. MISSISSIPPI RIVER SARTELL TMDL/WRAPS Morrison SWCD is the fiscal agent for this watershed study and public outreach. The consulting firm is TetraTech and the program is administered by MPCA. The project is currently in Phase 2 and the chemical analysis and professional judgement team has been completed. A public meeting will be held at the Rice Lions Club Park on August 22, 2018, from 4 pm - 6 pm. Weyerhauser Museum erosion on the Mississippi River, Little Falls. Proposed estimate of $80,000. Pierz Golf Course erosion on the Hillman Creek, Pierz. Proposed estimate of $50 - $60,000. The ongoing problems of Lake Shamineau flooding will still be on the horizon for assistance. MISSISSIPPI RIVER BRAINERD TMDL/WRAP This watershed study is also in the Phase 2 and at the same stage as mentioned above. Crow Wing SWCD and Aitkin SWCD are the leads, but Morrison SWCD is a team member since the Mississippi River Sartell and Brainerd encompass most of the county.

9 2018 TREE PROGRAM Each year Morrison Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) offers thousands of trees to landowners at inexpensive prices. Over 60 varieties of conifer trees, deciduous trees and shrubs are available to choose from, see below. Reducing wind erosion, conserving energy, creating wildlife habitat, improving water quality and beautifying the countryside are all benefits of the District s Tree Program. Order trees the summer before planting is advised. By early winter, supplies are limited. Keeping the area black, or tilled the year prior to planting is advised. In May and August, the District pre-ordered all of the trees listed on our Order Form from a variety of nurseries. Additional facts and information about trees and shrubs can be found by going on our website When considering a new windbreak or reforestation or filter strip, the District Staff can assist with a plan. Ordered trees will be delivered to Morrison SWCD, Little Falls Hockey Arena, late April or early May, packed and ready for pick-up. Questions about trees and/or shrubs not included on the order form, might be available by calling LeaAnn at (320) Special orders for specific species are often facilitated. We also continue to distribute the DNR trees to assist the landowners from having to drive to the MN State Forest Nursery in Akeley, MN, and because DNR is generally in fire season. A dedicated seasonal crew of retired Camp Ripley men have faithfully come back year after year.

10 MN AG WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION PROGRAM (MAWQCP) MAWQCP is a MN Department of Ag funded program. Grant Pearson from Stearns SWCD administers the program and works to certify farmers. Tom Wilczek also works in the same capacity through the MN Department of Ag. These people reach out to neighboring districts to conduct on site investigations and outreach to farmers to participate and final certification. When a farmer receives certification, he is then considered in compliance with all state and federal laws, and is free of regulatory authority on new laws for a period of 10 years. We presently have 23 enrollees with 13 certified. 8,830 acres are certified to date. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS FOR FEEDLOTS The normal workload for environmental reviews each year averages 5-6. However, since July 2017, we did 13 new barn proposals, two for hogs, and 11 for poultry. In almost all cases it was a second barn on existing feedlot. This has become a bit trickier because the landowner isn t required to do a review for a single barn, if it s only Tier 1 (under 300 animal units. And at a Tier 1, the setbacks from nearest neighbor and nearest feedlot is less. A second barn triggers Tier 2 and often the landowner must either apply for a variance, or we are trying to squeeze it in to existing feedlot. Whether this is a lack of foresight, or manipulation, we don t know but it drives the discussion on what we should be looking at with the first barn. We attempt to capture this discussion in the Development Review Team meetings which has helped tremendously in getting the landowner in compliance right away. Each environmental review takes 1-3 weeks to complete depending on the scope of information needed. Morrison County is to be commended for adding this component to conditional use permitting, because Morrison is obviously a targeted county for livestock growth. Along with the new barns comes the constant demand for stacking slabs and manure storage facilities which has partially been funded through EQIP and/or direct landowner cost. Managing the manure and having adequate acres for application are being looked at seriously by the Land Services Dept. and County Board.

11 AG BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (MDA AgBMP Loan Program) This program has been sustainable for many years now. $1.7 million dollars is now revolving successfully with all area banks participating, including Region 5. Loans are available for typical conservation practices and/or tillage equipment if the SWCD certifies that the practice or equipment provide the ability to improve or protect water quality. Practices include manure handling systems, septic and well upgrades, conservation tillage equipment, sediment basins, etc. The loan can either fund the practice entirely, or be a bridge for construction, or meet the landowners portion of the cost of the practice when grants have also been awarded. The relationship between MN Depart of Agriculture, local units of government, and multiple lenders have truly shown the success of the intent placed in motion back in WETLAND CONSERVATION ACT (WCA) Never gets old! It is a highly active year due to large storm events, flooding of fields, roads, and saturated soil. As usual, we continue to have 6-12 violations a year that take more time than usual. Some get resolved quickly, others linger on. In the past 12 months, we responded to 172 field determinations, 8 violations, and many, many complaints from landowners who think problems exist for reasons other than precipitation. The drainage performance plan, when completed will perhaps help design storm water drainage more effectively. In addition to normal workload, the flooding of lake lots, which may have been wetland originally and are returning to wetland conditions, deters from allowing residents to fill and grade to relieve their problems. This subject is on the table for further discussion with the county, BWSR, DNR, and other interested parties. The Technical Evaluation Panel meets monthly with any applications requiring additional scrutiny. LITTLE ROCK SUSTAINABILITY TEAM STATUS The Plan was published and very much opposed by the farming community members that served on the Partnership Action Team, who were actively represented by the MN Irrigators Association. The District has two certified wetland delineators on staff. In consideration for the county s increase in our funding three years ago, we agreed to provide a like match to doing delineations for the Public Works Department, thus saving money from their budget. So far, we have kept up with the requests for delineations. The plan allowed for a 5 year continued study with appropriation permits already permitted, remaining status quo.

12 LEGISLATIVE CITIZEN COMMITTEE MINNESOTA RESOURCES GRANT (LCCMR) OAK WILT PROJECT Partnering with DNR Forestry, the SWCD submitted a new application for funding to eradicate oak wilt on identified sites in Morrison County. We requested $100,000 which has been recommended for legislative approval. DNR has already identified up to ten sites with existing oak wilt. The SWCD will be the direct contact with landowners and hopefully convince them to successful remove the affected trees. This is the northern most county where oak wilt has been found and DNR is hoping to control the spread. If oak wilt is found in adjacent counties, the grant will also reach beyond county lines. PERFORMANCE REVIEW ASSESSMENT PLANNING by BWSR MN Board of Water and Soil Resources has been mandated by the state legislature to make sure state funding and programs are operating efficiently and with proper implementation. Morrison was in the cycle for review in 2018 for the MN Wetland Conservation Act and the Morrison County Water Plan. While the review was intensive and quite a lot of scrutiny, the BWSR reports were fairly generous in the assessments of the two programs accomplishments and procedures. Only a few recommendations were made and already fulfilled. These two programs while they drive a great deal of the work load of the Morrison SWCD but woefully underfunded for years. NITROGEN FERTILIZER MANAGEMENT PLAN The MN Department of Agriculture (MDA) created a local advisory team to address high nitrate levels in Agram, Belle Prairie, and Ripley Townships in Morrison County. The SWCD accepted delegation to facilitate outreach. The teams consist of members of local farmers, local gov. staff, and other professionals and will meet 4-5 times then annually. Primary function of the team is to: Advise MDA on appropriate Nitrogen Fertilizers Best Management Practices (BMP). Explore alternative management tools in high risk areas. Provide MDA with guidance on most effective communication with agricultural community. Support implementation of BMP s. The MN Wetland Conservation Ace state funding is only $26,700 per year, the same as it was in The state requires a match which is made up by fees charged for wetland site determinations, delineations, and mapping. The law takes approximately 1.5 Full Time Equivalents of staff time and doesn t even generate revenue for one FTE. The Local Water Plan generates a little over $13,000 state funding and another $7,000 in county levy. The LWP is used in all major land use decisions and is the comprehensive work plan for the District. Both the county and the SWCD were happy to comply with the review but pointed out to the state that it was perhaps unrealistic to expect more unless state funding is increased to the staffing level it would take to do more.

13 WEST CENTRAL TECHNICAL SERVICE AREA PARTNERSHIP (WCTSA) Morrison SWCD is a member of a Joint Powers Board of 12 Counties that receive funding from BWSR to provide engineering and technical service to those 12 SWCDs. Work is prioritized by need and whether or not it is state, state and federal, or federally only funded. Each SWCD contributes a portion of any technical dollars they receive on projects. The WCTSA were successful in writing and receiving a $1,000,000 grant to help support the Federal Farm Program. This will relieve somewhat the need to subsidize the WCTSA from local district budgets. Often, practices come forward that there is no funding for the engineering planning and design and the districts reimburse the WCTSA for that time. In addition, the TSA staff often are designing EQIP projects with no contribution agreements and it becomes a financial burden on the landowner and the district. With these funds, those federally funded projects now have financial assistance. This enables more work getting done, at a much better cost, and helps District offer more services to the landowners. FEDERAL FARM PROGRAM Our co-located partner is still NRCS and in Morrison County we work together seamlessly to best serve agricultural partners. There is an ongoing restructuring within NRCS that will be happening in the near future but hopefully it still will remain in one building. The Federal Farm Program is managed by District Conservationist Josh Hanson with two other employees Terry Zapzalka and Carrie Miller. With just three staff, Morrison remains the biggest EQIP and CSP county in the state. In the past year, the following contracts were approved bringing the attached financial assistance to farmers in Morrison County. Environmental Quality Insurance Program $3,033,875 Conservation Security Program $ 459,384 The practices funded by both programs range from ag waste systems, sediment basins, pasture rotation, pollinator habitat, forestry management, etc. The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) sponsored by Morrison SWCD brought in the additional $2.88 million to support the above programs and convey Healthy Forest Easements on several hundred acres. Ross Reiffenberger Luke Herkenhoff Gary Borash Engineer Engineering Tech. Feedlot Tech. Terry Zapzalka Carrie Miller Josh Hanson Soil Con. Soil Con. Tech. Dist. Con.

14 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND PLANNING COMMISSION SUPPORT The county requested several years ago, that the District Manager attend these two board / committee meetings to offer environmental impact opinions when asked regarding land use decisions. Most months that requires two nightly meetings. In addition, the county developed Developmental Review Team (DRT) meeting with applicants to advise how to present complete applications and advise of the potential success so landowners aren t caught unaware of questions they may be asked by the public or board members. Those meetings are typically twice a month as well, taking two mornings a month. RETIREMENT AND CHANGING OF THE GUARD After 32 years of service as District Manager, Helen McLennan announced she would be retiring in November. Wanting to give the District adequate notice and training time, the SWCD Board conducted interviews in July and have offered the position to Shannon Wettstein of Long Prairie, MN. Shannon begins her position on August 13, 2018, and will be the manager in training until Helen leaves. We are happy to be included in that approach and it shows a consistency and commitment by Morrison County that land use decision making factor in all issues that might arise. SUPERVISOR RETIREMENT Marvin Stangl of Pierz has announced he would not seek re-election in November 2018, for District 4 Supervisor. Marvin has served the District for 34 years and initially hired Helen as Manager. They decided to go out together feeling good about their service and wanting to celebrate their time with the District. OPEN HOUSE FOR HELEN AND MARVIN An Open House celebration will be hosted by Camp Ripley on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, from 4 pm 7 pm at the Camp Ripley Hanger where they hope to be joined by all their friends, colleagues, and families as they say goodbye to this chapter and continue on the next journey. X:/2018 ANNUAL REPORT 08/08/2018