Elected SWCD Board Take Oath
On January 5th, the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Board of Supervisors held its operational meeting for 2017. At this meeting, officers were elected and meeting dates were established for the year.
Due to recent redistricting, all five Supervisor positions were up for election in 2016. Additionally, there is a need to stagger terms for future elections. Supervisors representing Districts 1, 2 and 3 will serve four-year terms and Districts 4 and 5 will serve two-year terms.
|
|
The elected Board of Supervisors for the SWCD are:
District 1 – Kevin Chamberlain, Hastings (7th term; non-consecutive)
District 2 – Laura Zanmiller, West St. Paul (3rd term)
District 3 – Chelsea Skog, Eagan (1st term)
District 4 – Bruce Johnson, Burnsville (1st term)
District 5 –Jayne Hager Dee, Northfield (1st term)
|
|
|
Officers for 2017 will include Laura Zanmiller as Chair, Kevin Chamberlain as Vice Chair (former Treasurer), Jayne Hager Dee as Treasurer, Chelsea Skog as Secretary, and Bruce Johnson as Public Relations and Information Officer.
The Board established the first Thursday of each month at 8:30 a.m. as the regular meeting date. Meeting times are subject to change. The meetings are held at the Dakota County Conservation Center in Farmington and are open to the public.
For more information about the Board and SWCD programs visit their website at www.dakotaswcd.org. |
|
Landscaping for Clean Water Workshops
Please join us at one of our many Landscaping for Clean Water Introduction Workshops held all around Dakota County to see how others in your area have created great looking landscapes that benefit local lakes, rivers, and wetlands!
At the free Introduction Workshop, you can learn how to create a beautiful and environmentally beneficial native garden, raingarden, or shoreline planting that will help to keep water clean! Creating landscaped areas using low maintenance native plants or raingardens to filter pollutants is the secret to leisurely living and great looking yards!
|
|
|
Pre-registration for the free workshop is required.
To register, please call the Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District at
(651) 480-7777 or register by clicking the button below!
|
|
|
After seeing dozens of affordable designs that have transformed bland urban landscapes to beautiful retreats, participants can attend a Landscaping for Clean Water Design Workshop where you will receive help to create the perfect design for your yard!
|
|
|
The Landscaping for Clean Water program engages residential landowners to give them the skills and resources they need to improve water quality in their communities. The SWCD staff has assisted with almost 400 projects since the program started in 2007! Please join us for a class and learn more about what you can do to promote clean water!
|
|
|
Irrigation Knowledge Increases
Farmers had the opportunity to participate in an Irrigation Water Management program for the 2016 growing season thanks to a partnership between Dakota County SWCD, Dakota County, the Vermillion River Joint Powers Organization, and University of Minnesota Extension. The objective of the program was to decrease use of local groundwater supplies and the potential for nitrate groundwater contamination by increasing farmers understanding of field-measured soil moisture and irrigation scheduling tools.
A final report has been submitted by Extension, which includes results from the before and after surveys of participants. Results show that before the program only 54% rated their knowledge of Irrigation Water Management as Good or Very Good. After participating in the program, 100% of participants rated their knowledge as Good or Very Good. This increase in knowledge will also result in behavior change, as participants noted that it they “will now use water balance” to decide when to irrigate.
The full report can be viewed here: (will get it posted to web once a few edits are made)
|
|
Citizen Stream Monitoring Program
 The Dakota County Soil and Water Conservation District is partnering with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), the Vermillion River Watershed Joint Powers Organization, and the North Cannon River Watershed Management Organization to engage local community members in monitoring both the Vermillion River and North Cannon River watersheds!
Volunteers participating in the Citizen Stream Monitoring Program will be asked to visit their stream monitoring site once per week to monitor water transparency (using a Secchi tube), as well water level and appearance. Data will be submitted to the MPCA and used to assess the water quality of rivers and streams in Minnesota.
For more information about how you can become involved with the Citizen Stream Monitoring Program, please contact Lindsey Albright at (651) 480-7783.
|
|
|
Upcoming Events
Nitrogen: Minnesota’s Grand Challenge &  Compelling Opportunity Conference
When: February 16, 2017
|
|
|
Road salt and Water quality
Salt pollutes. When snow and ice melts, the salt goes with it, washing into our lakes, streams, wetlands, and groundwater. It takes only one teaspoon of road salt to permanently pollute 5 gallons of water. Once in the water, there is no way to remove the chloride, and at high concentrations, chloride can harm fish and plant life. Less is more when it comes to applying road salt.
To learn more about road salt and its impact on water quality, please visit the MPCA's website. |
Web Soil Survey
Soil type influences crop productivity and even determines the value of farmland. Soil type also affects the risk of erosion or potential for nutrient loss. Knowledge of the soils present within a field should be factored into agronomic and economic decisions. Soils information for anywhere in the United States can be found on the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Web Soil Survey.
If you would like assistance interpreting soils data for your farmland within Dakota County, feel free to contact the Dakota County SWCD at (651) 480-7777. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
