Join Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith for a Town Hall Water Summit Friday, Jan. 27, 9:45 a.m.-4 p.m., at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Registration opens Jan. 6 and the full program is to be announced on that date.

Despite the state’s abundance of lakes, rivers, groundwater and streams, more than 40 percent of Minnesota’s waters are currently listed as impaired or polluted. Governor Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith have declared a Year of Water Action to focus on improving access to clean water across Minnesota.

Governor Dayton and Lt. Governor Smith encourage all Minnesotans to take a role in protecting our state's most precious resource for future generations. Learn more about the Year of Water Action here. 

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The 9th annual Crop Nutrient Management Conference, will be held on Feb. 7, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud. The conference program will focus on nitrogen and phosphorus management with significant emphasis on water quality and economics.

In addition to economics and crop production, nutrient management can also have a major benefit for water quality. It is a major part of Minnesota’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which was introduced at the 2014 Nutrient Management conference in Mankato. More recently, cover crops and building soil health are receiving greater attention, both for water quality and production benefits. Photo: Cover crop in Renville County soybeans.

The conference is hosted by the Minnesota Agricultural Water Resource Center (MAWRC) with primary sponsorship from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The conference will highlight recent advances in effective and economical nutrient management presented by University of Minnesota researchers, fertilizer industry experts and state agency officials.

Farmers, crop advisors and other nutrient management professionals are encouraged and invited to attend. The ongoing importance of efficient use of applied crop nutrients relating to farm profitability and food production economics combines with growing interest in the environment.

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If you know of springs in your neighborhood or elsewhere, please let the DNR. The DNR has developed a Springs Reporting App to expand the current knowledge of springs. It is gathering information from various agency records and searching public lands, but we need the help of private citizens to make the inventory more comprehensive. The DNR is currently only aware of approximately 5,000 of the possible 22,000 springs statewide.

You can add to inventory using the Minnesota DNR Statewide Spring Inventory App from your mobile device in the field, or from your home computer based on map location or aerial imagery. Spring locations will be available on a Spring Inventory Map after verification by the DNR.

The spring inventory project has developed the procedures and methods for conducting spring mapping statewide. Existing spring information from various agency records is being collected for inclusion in the statewide spring database. The database will contain both reported and verified spring location information and physical, chemical, and historical data for spring sites if available.

Springs have their own aesthetic and historical value that creates a special “sense of place” for local residents and visitors. Preserving springs contributes to a love of the land and an environmental ethic that helps create a Minnesota quality of life. You can’t protect something if there is no public or government awareness of its existence. - Greg Brick, DNR.

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Reported by Tom Cherveny, West Central Tribune: Winter can come hard to the Minnesota prairie, but never so early that cover crops cannot be used to improve and protect the soil. "We do have the potential here,'' said Holly Hatlewick, district manager with the Renville County Soil and Water Conservation District. "It is not just something that grows further south. We have that potential to have that living root on the landscape.'' Photo: Holly Hatlewick at the Renville County cover crop field day Sept. 23.

Hatlewick spoke at the Hawk Creek Watershed Project meeting in December in Clara City. She shared the results of the second year of cover crop test plots in Renville County. The Renville County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Hawk Creek Watershed Project have been working with cooperating farmers.

Along with sponsoring test plots for research, the Renville County SWCD offers a cost-share program to encourage farmers to experiment with cover crops on their own. This year roughly 1,100 acres were seeded. Hatlewick is hoping the conservation district and watershed project can continue a third year of test plots in 2017. Along with answering the economic questions surrounding cover crops, the test plots are helping acquaint staff and local farmers with the real-life challenges that need to be overcome. Full story in West Central Tribune, Dec. 14.

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Friends of the Minnesota Valley is planning to launch a River Watch program in the Minnesota River Basin. River Watch monitoring will take place on the main channel and the tributary rivers and streams of the basin. The planned River Watch program is modeled after a very successful program based in the Red River Valley and operated by the International Water Institute. To learn more about the River Watch Program on the Red River, go to http://www.iwinst.org/education/participate

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Lanesboro is the next stop for the Smithsonian Water/Ways travelling exhibit Jan. 7 through Feb. 19. Lanesboro Arts, Commonweal Theatre Company, Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center, Lanesboro Museum, and Friends of the Root River are partnering to develop and present dynamic local programs and engagement initiatives that will bring together the storyline of the Root River Watershed. These activities will run concurrently with the exhibits from the Smithsonian Institute and the Minnesota Humanities Center.

Opening day Jan. 7 begins with a “water blessing” ceremony at 3 p.m. at the Lanesboro Dam (photo), followed by a 4 p.m. reception at the Lanesboro Arts Exhibition Gallery. The opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting will be at 7:30 p.m. at Commonweal Theater. A host of special events are scheduled through Feb. 19, such as: Jan. 19-fish snow sculpture, Jan. 21-candlelight snowshoe, Feb. 4-family sled dog day, and Feb. 16-18-H2O Ten, eight short plays about water. The entire list is available on the Minnesota Humanities Center-Lanesboro Arts webpage. See a collection of Lanesboro water stories on the We Are Water: Lanesboro webpage.

Water/Ways is a traveling exhibition and community engagement initiative of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program. In Minnesota, Water/Ways is led by the Minnesota Humanities Center in partnership with MPCA, Minnesota a Historical Society, Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Section of the American Water Works Association. Previously, the exhibit visited New London-Spicer, St. Peter, Red Wing, and Sandstone. The tour concludes Feb. 25-April 9 at Detroit Lakes.

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DES MOINES -- A 2016 report of Iowa’s water monitoring efforts for nutrients highlights both the complexity and long-term value of evaluating nutrient levels in Iowa’s lakes, streams and rivers. 

Developed jointly by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Iowa Department of Natural Resources, with the support of Iowa State University and the University of Iowa IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering Center, the report is the first of its kind in Iowa and includes a comprehensive list of surface water monitoring efforts specific to nutrients.

The report was developed in support of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy and is available at www.nutrientstrategy.iastate.edu/documents underneath the heading "Supplemental Documents." More.

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