CONSERVATION DISTRICTS OF IOWA
REGION 8 SPRING MEETING
Cromwell Church Basement
Cromwell, Iowa
February 27, 2013
4:00 – 8:00 PM
Clare Lindahl – CDI Executive Director
Clare welcomed everyone to the meeting. She introduced herself and provided a little background information. Each person introduced themselves.
Those present:
SWCD / Commissioners & Asst Commissioners / SecretaryClarke / Tracy Booth
Decatur / Brad Funk Commissioner
Fremont / Phil Wing, Commissioner
Page / Robert Henke, Commissioner
Page / Curtis Meier, Commissioner
Page / Barbara Johnson, Commissioner
Ringgold / Lee Faris, Commissioner
Ringgold / Beverly McGinnis, Commissioner
Ringgold / Becky Taylor
Taylor / Kelly Tobin, Commissioner/SSCC / Kelsey Kinyon
Taylor / Jerry Fine, Commissioner
Union / Mike Eblen, Commissioner / Dixie Baker
Union / Eric Forquer, Commissioner
Union / John Tapken, Asst Commissioner
Union / Steve Crittenden, Asst. Commissioner
Ringgold/Union / Wayde Ross, NRCS District Conservationist
Page/Montgomery / Shane McNaughton, NRCS District Conservationist
Adams/Taylor / Doug Davenport, NRCS District Conservationist
Clarke / Dennis Schrodt, NRCS District Conservationist
Other Agency Representatives
Tim Palmer, Past President, Conservation Districts of Iowa
Jim Gillespie, IDALS/DSC - Director
Bob Waters, Regional Coordinator, Water Resource Bureau
Vince Sitzmann, IDALS-DSC- Field Services Bureau , Chief
Brandon Dittman, DSC Field Representative
Jamie Carpenter, NRCS Asst. State Conservationist (FO) Area 4
Jay Mar, NRCS State Conservationist - Iowa
Steve Cole, NRCS State Conservationist – North Dakota
Mike McGhee, Iowa DNR
Steve Hopkins, Iowa DNR
Moving Conservation Forward in the Face of Change:
The Role of Conservation Districts of Iowa and Commissioners
Clare discussed the importance of involvement by the commissioners and assistant commissioners. Outreach such as Legislative Field Days, Partnership Day at the Capitol, field days such as the recent Soil Health Meeting in Lenox, info in the newspapers about happenings for the District and promote soil and water conservation week. Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners were encouraged to think outside of the box and try new ideas. Clare is always open to try new ideas and promotions. Commissioners were encouraged to promote Soil & Water Conservation Week, April 28 – May 5th.
The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy: What does it mean for Farmers & Districts
– Vince Sitzmann, DSC Field Services Bureau Chief
The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is a science and technology based framework to assess and reduce nutrient delivered to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico. The Iowa strategy steps will include prioritizing watersheds and limited resources, improving the effectiveness of current programs and increasing voluntary efforts to reduce nutrient loading from nonpoint sources. Public Meetings and webinar resources will be used to educate Iowans about the strategy and answer questions. Presentations will be made to farmers, crop advisors and others in the ag industry. Tools such as targeted areas, voluntary conservation measures in conjunction with research, development and demonstrations of new approaches will be used. At this time we are not sure how much DSC will be involved with this but for sure will be involved.
The Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award is to recognize voluntary efforts of farmers as environmental leader committed to healthy soils and improved water quality. Districts were encouraged to submit nominations. The nominations are due June 15th.
Cover Crops: A Year in Review and the Year head
An Iowa Farmers Perspective on Cover Crops
Clare Lindahl and Kelly Tobin
Clare discussed the benefits of cover crops. Kelly Tobin has been doing cover crops in Taylor County for 5 years and shared his experiences.
Dinner
A wonderful dinner was provided by Cromwell Church ladies.
PARTNER REPORTS
Conservation Districts of Iowa (CDI)
Tim Palmer
Tim Palmer, past President of CDI provided information from CDI.
· CDI was very pleased with the number of Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners that attended Partnership Day at the Capitol in January. Thanked them for attending and providing support.
· Resolutions – last day April 12, 2013
· CDI Tour – Fort Dodge – June 11/12, 2013
· Annual Conference – September 4/5, 2013
State Soil Conservation Committee
Kelly Tobin
The State Soil Conservation Committee (SSCC) is the policy maker for IDALS-DSC.
· Thanked commissioners for attending Partnership Day at the Capitol
· Encouraged commissioners to attend the Annual Conference
DSC Update
Jim Gillespie, IDALS-DSC Director
· Thanks to host counties
· Budget for FY 2014
· Chapter 10 & 12 updated – proposed rule changes
· Will be no new applications for WSP or WSPF this year
· Farm Bill XIII – Contracts should be out soon
Clean Water SRF Loans and Sponsors
Bob Waters
The Storm Water program was discussed. The District can be a sponsor to these projects and this would bring in additional cost share dollars for conservation work to the county for work in that watershed.
Internship Program
Brandon Dittman
Intern positions sponsored by IDALS-DSC are available to Districts. Counties were encouraged to apply.
· DSC will provide limited funding to help support these positions.
· Limited to 480 hours at $10 per hours ($9 DSC contribution)
· Intern must be enrolled in college or recent graduate of ag, conservation or engineering
· Most of time will be spent working on CRP related items
· Will be required to host a field day or informational meeting, or an outreach event
· Will be required to do a wrap up report
· Work activities will be decided by SWCD
NRCS Updates
Jamie Carpenter and Jay Mar
Jamie Carpenter – Assistant State Conservationist (FO) Area 4
· Computer Update (Conservation Delivery Streamlining Initiative) This is to implement a more effective, efficient and sustainable model for delivering conservation assistance.
· Budget
· Programs
· CRP Signup starts May 20th
Jay Mar- NRCS State Conservationist
Mr. Mar did a wrap up of NRCS activities. Thanked us for inviting him.
DNR
Mike McGhee and Steve Hopkins
Mike McGhee talked about Lake Restorations and the amount of dollars that come into the state thru our lakes.
Hopkins gave an update on water quality projects and shared information on a grant program with entities for research.
Accomplishments of Ringgold and Union Districts
Wayde Ross, District Conservationist did a short powerpoint presentation on the accomplishments for the Ringgold/Union Management Unit. Thanked everyone for coming and have a safe trip home.
Meeting adjourned at 8:00 P.M.
Dixie Baker, Union SWCD Secretary
Becky Taylor, Ringgold SWCD Secretary