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Over 85 farmers and partners attended the first ever Ozaukee County Demonstration Farm field day on Wednesday, April 3, 2019. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Ozaukee County Land & Water Management Department partnered to develop and support the network of farms that are demonstrating the best conservation practices to reduce phosphorus entering Lake Michigan. Demo Farm Participant, Brian Karrels, hosted the event featuring no-till corn planter setup and tune up information. Funding for the effort is made possible through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Angela Biggs, Wisconsin NRCS State Conservationist, and Andy Holschbach, Ozaukee County Land and Water Management Department Director, introduced the new network of three participating farms: Melichar Broad Acres, operated by Jim and Adam Melichar in Port Washington; Redline Dairy, operated by Matt and Sarah Winker in Belgium; and Lake Breeze Farm, operated by Brian and Roger Karrels in Port Washington. “We want to showcase soil health practices like multi-species cover crops, no-till and diverse rotations, that can help farmers be sustainable and profitable too,” said Holschbach. Read the full article here.
For more information about the Ozaukee County Demonstration Farm Network, contact Andy Holschbach, Ozaukee County Land & Water Management Department Director, at 262-284-8271, aholschbach@co.ozaukee.wi.us. To find out about future Demo Farm events, contact Andy, or search “Ozaukee County Demo Farms” on Facebook, and like the page to see notifications in your feed.
Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust, Inc. has been commissioned by Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District to create a Water Quality Improvement Plan (WQIP) for the Greater Milwaukee Watersheds. With input and guidance from the WI Dept. of Natural Resources, this plan will build on the technical strength of the TMDL Report, several nine key element (9KE) plans, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s (MMSD) Regional Green Infrastructure and 2050 Facilities Plans, and a number of Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission’s (SEWRPC) plans.
However, the WQIP is different from these plans in that it focuses on how to make sure the goals and the recommendations in these other plans are put into action in an efficient way while also achieving important co-benefits. This relates directly to how work is funded and implemented, how work is prioritized, how collaboration can work, and how to leverage the strengths of each sector in this, and how the impacts of watershed restoration efforts can be monitored and measured over time. It will achieve these goals through the use of integrated watershed management, which recognizes the need for collaboration among a range of stakeholders in an impaired watershed.
This web page will serve as a platform to keep stakeholders up-to-date about how the WQIP is evolving. It will also be a source for stakeholders to access relevant documents that the WQIP references and develops, such as an ‘Options Paper’ for providing preliminary analysis of stakeholder interest in options for integrated watershed management. Information about stakeholder meetings and other relevant events will be available as well.
Next Meeting: All are invited to the 5th community meeting for a Fredonia-Newburg Nonpoint Source Watershed Restoration Plan.
- May 7, 9am-11am, Village of Fredonia, Government Center Board Rm.
- Meeting Topic: : Watershed Goals & Prioritization
Presentations from Past Meetings
Contact Karen Nenahlo, MMSD Project Manager, for more information.
Assessing the efficiency of N application on a per field basis is a valuable first step in evaluating N fertilizer management. From multiple years of data collection, UW Discovery farms have established Wisconsin-specific benchmarks for NUE measurements in corn grain and corn silage. See their work in this peer-reviewed publication.
The NRCS in Wisconsin and Waupaca County Land & Water Conservation Department, in partnership with Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Marquette, Outagamie, Portage, Shawano, and Winnebago counties and the Green Lake Association, have entered an agreement to launch a new network, the Upper Fox-Wolf Demonstration Farm Network. The partnership will support a network of farms that will demonstrate the best conservation practices to reduce phosphorus entering the Great Lakes basin.
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The date is set! Paul Skawinksi, a State-wide coordinator for the Citizen Lake Monitoring Network (CLMN) will be visiting Waukesha County to give a training for volunteers interested in the program. Learn how to identify aquatic vegetation and monitor lakes for aquatic invasive species!
The training will be held on June 5th at the Oconomwoc Community Center on Lac La Belle:
220 W Wisconsin Avenue, Oconomowoc, WI 53066
The training will begin at 9 AM and will last for approximately 2 - 3 hours. Bring a writing utensil, paper, and some clothes you don't mind getting wet!
For more information, email Cassie Taplin, AIS Coordinator Washington and Waukesha Counties
Join Milwaukee Riverkeeper and Riveredge staff to learn how to assess the water quality of a nearby stream or river. You’ll find out how to identify aquatic invertebrates and do five water quality tests. Monitors are asked to conduct tests monthly during the summer and submit their data to the statewide Water Action Volunteers website. For questions, and to register, contact Mary Holleback at 262-375-2715 or mholleback@riveredge.us.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is currently developing the following two water quality standards rules, which are now available for public comment on their economic effect:
- WY-23-13: Revision of chs. NR 102, including processes for waterbody assessments and impaired waters listing, biological criteria for water quality standards, and biological confirmation of phosphorus impairments
- WT-17-12: Creation of ch. NR 119, establishing procedures for developing site-specific criteria for phosphorus. This rule cross-references revised portions of ch. NR 102, contained in rule WY-23-13 above.
These rule revisions are expected to have minimal economic impact. The department has developed a draft economic impact analysis and is holding a public comment period to solicit any additional information or advice on the economic effect of the proposed rules. Note that a separate public comment period on the rules themselves will be held after the economic impact analyses have been finalized. This notification is being distributed to those entities that may be interested in or affected by the proposed rules.
Materials for review may be found on the DNR's website at https://dnr.wi.gov/news/input/ProposedPermanent.html under rules numbered WY-23-13 and WT-17-12. Comments will be accepted from April 16 to May 16, 2019, and may be emailed to Kristi.Minahan@Wisconsin.gov
News from Extension has posted a new item, 'Volunteer Stream Monitoring Award Winners Announced'
Four individuals and two citizen monitoring groups from across the state were recognized last week for their contributions to volunteer stream monitoring and sharing their knowledge about the health of Wisconsin’s streams.
You may view the latest post at
https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/news/2019/04/18/water-action-volunteer-awards-2019/
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Riveredge Nature Center wants to help our communities take action to manage storm-water and improve water quality. Families are invited to come build their very own rain barrel with step by step instruction on how to create and then put your rain barrel to use!
Workshop supplies are such that each family will be allowed one barrel per registration fee.
Call Cassie at 262.416.1364 with questions or to register your family!
Cost: Free for Newburg, Saukville, & Grafton residents through the Community Rivers Project
Please mark your calendars and join us to learn more about past, current, and future watershed events and projects located in Southeastern Wisconsin. The Spring 2019 Membership Meeting is Tuesday, May 14th, 2019. Come see what 15 years of ongoing restoration looks like in the Pike River watershed in Racine and Kenosha counties!
“Restoring the River of Pike”
Meeting Schedule
- 8:30am Registration - Mount Pleasant Village Hall
- 9:00am Project Presentations
- 11:30am Lunch
- 12:30pm Project Tours
- 3:30pm Fun and Froth at Petrifying Springs Biergarten
- 5:00pm Bus Returns to the Mount Pleasant Village Hall
For the complete agenda, visit the LMS Website
Mount Pleasant Village Hall
8811 Campus Drive, Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin
Access the meeting agenda HERE.
For more information, please contact:
Jim Kettler
Jim@LNRP.org
920-304-1919
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Half-day workshop on the topic of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) maintenance, with a focus on ideas for designing GSI to lessen maintenance costs.
Tentative agenda:
- GSI Maintenance Challenges
- Designing GSI for Lower O&M
- Outsourcing GSI Maintenance
- Cost-effective GSI inspection/reporting.
Wednesday May 22; 8AM-Noon
Location: Milwaukee County Zoo, Peck Welcome Center
For more information, contact:
The Great Lakes Commission is pleased to announce the release of a request for proposals (RFP) for green infrastructure mini-grant applications under its Green Infrastructure Champions Program.
Green infrastructure grants of up to $15,000 will fund capacity building projects in small to mid-sized communities within the binational Great Lakes Basin. Capacity building projects address institutional barriers such as restrictive local codes, inadequate operations and maintenance protocols, and lack of sustainable funding streams. The deadline to submit proposals is July 31, 2019.
Please feel free to email gichampions@glc.org with questions or for more information.
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Public comment period extended on DNR’s surface water bacteria criteria and effluent limits
The extended public comment period runs from Mar. 4 to May 15, 2019
The comment period has been extended for the DNR’s proposed revisions to bacteria criteria for the protection of recreation and associated permit effluent limits, which were public noticed on March 4. The comment period, previously slated to end on April 30, has been extended to May 15, 2019.
The extension is provided due to a revision to rule language outlining effluent limit requirements in ch. NR 210.06(2)(a)2., based on discussion raised during the current comment period. The proposed permit limits in that paragraph contain both a monthly geometric mean and a second expression of the limit to provide short-term protection of the surface water quality criteria. In the version noticed on March 4, the short-term limit was a weekly geometric mean. However, the department is now proposing to replace the weekly limit with the following limit: “No more than 10 percent of E. coli bacteria samples collected in any rolling 90-day period may exceed 410 counts/100 mL.” This directly corresponds to the surface water quality criteria proposed in ch. NR 102.04(6)(a). This approach, recommended by EPA, allows for variability in effluent samples, addresses concerns raised about the weekly limit, and is protective of water quality.
The updated Board Order containing the new rule language can be obtained at https://dnr.wi.gov/news/input/ProposedPermanent.html, under rule number WY-17-15. In addition, a “track changes” version is attached to this email for your convenience in reviewing the changes. A few additional updates are also shown in track changes in response to earlier comments received. Comments may be submitted until May 15 to DNRAdministrativeRulesComments@wisconsin.gov .
Revised-WDNR_BWQC_Board OrderTrackChanges_WY-17-15_2019-04-17.pdf
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