Rathbun Land and Water Alliance members and partners include the following individuals, agencies and organizations:

Landowners in the Rathbun Lake Watershed; CoBank; Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardships Division of Soil Conservation; Iowa Department of Natural Resources; Iowa State University; Iowa Watershed Improvement Review Board; Southern Iowa Development and Conservation Authority; US Army Corps of Engineers; US Environmental Protection Agency; USDA Farm Service Agency; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Appanoose, Clarke, Decatur, Lucas, Monroe, and Wayne Soil and Water Conservation Districts; Appanoose, Clarke, Decatur, Lucas, Monroe, and Wayne Counties; Iowa Farm Bureau at the state and county levels; and Rathbun Regional Water Association.
September 2012

Rathbun Land and Water Alliance

7th Annual Protect Rathbun Lake Meeting

September 13, 2012 Allerton Centennial BuildingAllerton, Iowa
Agenda
WelcomeRathbun Land and Water Alliance President, John Glenn Protect Rathbun Lake Project ReviewVelvet Buckingham Landowner RecognitionsRathbun Lake Protectors Steak SupperAppanoose County Cattlemen Featured SpeakerDr. Chad Hart Door prize drawings
Fill out and turn in your evaluation form for an extra chance to win a $25 beef certificate.

Information and Education Outreach

Project Tours
Protect Rathbun Lake Project staff provided tours of installed conservation practices to the Environmental Protection Commission when they met in the Rathbun Lake area for their August 2012 meeting. A Rathbun Lake Watershed tour was also given to the US Army Corps of Engineers Kansas City District staff, including the District Commander during a visit to the area in August. Green Lands Blue Waters also requested a tour and presentation about the Alliances Rathbun Lake Watershed protection activities carried out by the Alliance.

Special AcknowledgmentThank you to Jamie Wilson of JL Photoworks for his assistance in taking photos tonight and at recent project events.

Featured SpeakerDr. Chad Hart

Dr. Chad Hart is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Grain Markets Specialist for Iowa State University. A native of southwest Missouri, Dr. Hart grew up on a rural homestead near Stark City, Missouri and received a B.S. in economics with minors in mathematics, history, and astronomy from Southwest Missouri State University in 1991. He received his Ph.D. in economics and statistics in 1999 from Iowa State University. Prior to becoming an assistant professor, Dr. Hart worked at the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) and the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University. His work concentrated on crop insurance, international trade agreements, and bioenergy policy. He is also a partner in FarmRisk, an Iowa firm that develops revenue insurance products, and receives a small amount of revenue based on Livestock Gross Margin policies sold by other companies.

Exhibits and Displays

Rathbun Lake and Protect Rathbun Lake Project associated information was exhibited at various outlets during the past year. The displays were viewed by the general public at the Iowa State Fair and at the shower house display boxes around Rathbun Lake to elected officials at the state capital and tractor ride participants from several states during WHO Radios Great Iowa Tractor Ride.

Rathbun Lake Protector Program

This evening the Rathbun Land and Water Alliance will recognize landowners from each of the six Rathbun Lake Watershed counties of Appanoose, Clarke, Decatur, Monroe, Lucas, and Wayne as 2012 Rathbun Lake Protectors. The Rathbun Land and Water Alliance created the Rathbun Lake Protectors Program seven years ago to encourage and recognize the actions by individuals or groups to protect Rathbun Lake. Each year, the Alliance invites our local Soil and Water Conservation Districts to nominate individuals in the Rathbun Lake Watershed to be recognized for their contributions to the protection of Rathbun Lake. These individuals have been willing to try new approaches to water quality improvement and their nominations were based on past efforts as well as present and planned actions to protect water quality. Nearly 20 Rathbun Lake Protectors have been featured in either Wallaces Farmer magazine or have been interviewed for WHO Radios, The Big Show.
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Annual Meeting held

Nearly 200 landowners attended the 2011 6th Annual Protect Rathbun Lake Meeting last September in Allerton. Landowners were recognized with Rathbun Lake Protector Awards, a project overview was presented, and a steak supper was grilled by the Appanoose County Cattlemen.

Rathbun Lake Protector

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Protect Rathbun Lake ProjectGoals and Objectives

The Rathbun Land and Water Alliances primary goal is to reduce sediment and phosphorus delivery to Rathbun Lake. Rathbun Lake is the water source for Rathbun Regional Water Association, which provides drinking water to 80,000 people in southern Iowa and northern Missouri. The primary objective is to apply best management practices on priority land in targeted sub-watersheds. The Alliance uses GIS to identify land in the watershed which is the principal source of sediment and phosphorus that impairs water quality in Rathbun Lake called priority land. Seventeen percent of the priority land delivers 73 percent of the sediment and phosphorus to Rathbun Lake The Alliance has determined that the application of BMPs to address as much as one-half, approximately 30,000 acres, of this priority land is an achievable water quality protection objective in pursuit of the projects goal of reducing sediment and phosphorus delivery to Rathbun Lake and water bodies in the lakes watershed. Accomplishment of this objective will reduce annual sediment and phosphorus delivery to Rathbun Lake by an estimated 90,000 tons of sediment and 360,000 pounds of phosphorus. Monitoring water quality at sites in Rathbun Lake and the lakes tributaries has been carried out since 1996.

Rathbun Land and Water Alliance Special Event

WHO Radio selects the Rathbun Lake Watershed for its annual tractor ridetwice.
Last fallOctober 6, 2011 WHO Radios The Big Show traveled to the Rathbun Lake Watershed for Bob Quinns Annual Fall Tractor Ride. Quinn and tractor ride participants traveled a 40 mile loop around Rathbun Lake. In June of this year, the tractor ride returned for the shows 16th Annual Great Iowa Tractor Ride. This time, an estimated 450 tractors and their drivers spent four days in the Rathbun Lake Watershed. The Rathbun Land and Water Alliance and Rathbun Regional Water Association provided an afternoon break on the second day of the multi-day ride. The Big Show co-host, Mark Pearson, passed away a few weeks before the 2012 ride. As a tribute to him, memorial flags were attached to each Alliance sign along the tractor route. Information about the Alliance and RRWA was displayed during various portions of the ride. Right: RLWA Board members Ralph Alshouse and Chuck Moore and RRWA Board member, Randy Eddy greeted tractor ride participants as they arrived for their break at the RRWA plant. WHO Radios The Big Show co-host, Bob Quinn, (in blaze orange vest above) takes a break during his tractor ride around Rathbun Lake last fall. At left, he takes the lead as the group crosses the Rathbun Lake dam.
Right: One of nine groups of tractors wait their turn to enter the RRWA treatment facility where they enjoyed an afternoon break. Below: All makes and models of tractors fill the RRWA parking area.

Photos by Jamie Wilson

Monitoring is essential to secure financial resources to assist landowners with the installation of practices to protect Rathbun Lake.

RLWA President and RRWA CEO, John Glenn, talks with Bob Quinn about the actions taken by landowners to protect Rathbun Lake.

The RRWA water wagon provided clean refreshing cold water each day of the ride.

Above: RLWA President and RRWA CEO, John Glenn visits with riders before they go into RRWA plant to enjoy a break. 8

Protect Rathbun Lake ProjectBy the Numbers

WIRB and BMP Update
Shown below is the progress of the Iowa Watershed Improvement Review Board funding. Tables located on the opposite page summarize best management practices installed and load reductions achieved in the 39 targeted sub-watersheds. Summary of financial support for BMP application in targeted sub-watersheds can be found at the bottom of this page. Table 2: Cumulative summary of BMPs installed and load reductions achieved in the 39 targeted sub-watersheds
CUMULATIVE (FFY 04 June 30, 2012 Units Installed 1,164,819 ft. 344 no. 116 no. 10 no. 8 ac. 1044 ac. 44.8 ac. 20.8 ac. 13,022 ft. 10 no. 3160 ft. 7 no. 280 ac. 159.7 ac. Acres Benefited 11,304 989 3561 2175 8 1044 626 37.8 Gross Erosion Reduction Tons per year 17,660 1639 2200 723 84 4403 497 46 Sediment Delivery Reduction Tons per year 20,128 2088 6235 5746 32 1565 510 23 Phosphorus Delivery Reduction Pounds per year 91,990 8543 23,888 19,682 158 8271 2607 103

Practice

2009WIRB #5 BMP ProgressDecember 31, 2014

Sandy Branch, Goodwater Creek, Hamilton Creek, Chariton River #3, Lower Chariton Creek
Practice Seeding Waterways Terraces Debris Basins Basins Structures Total Grant Obligation $6,000.00 $2,950.00 $129,000.00 $250,000.00 $29,250.00 $51,200.00 $468,400.00 Obligated-Unspent $0.00 $437.00 $0.00 $82,980.80 $0.00 $1,860.98 $85,278.78 Expended $0.00 $3,714.30 $119,075.90 $0.00 $33,926.27 $26,503.71 $183,220.18 Available Balance $6,000.00 -$1,201.30 $9,924.10 $167,019.20 -$4,676.27 $22,835.31 $199,901.04

Terraces Water & Sediment Basins Grade Stabilization Structures Sediment Basin Livestock Exclusion Pasture & Hayland Seeding Grassed Waterways CRP buffer / filter strips Fence Heavy Use Protection Areas Pipeline Tanks Brush Management Nutrient Management TOTALS

2010WIRB #6 BMP ProgressOctober 31, 2014

South Fork Chariton River #1, Upper West Jackson Creek, Upper Jackson Creek, Lost Branch, Chariton River #6
Practice Debris Basins Total Grant Obligation $180,000.00 $180,000.00 Obligated-Unspent $0.00 $0.00 Expended $0.00 $0.00 Available Balance $180,000.00 $180,000.00

19,745 ac.

27,252 tons per year

36,327 tons per year

155,242 pounds per year

2011 WIRB #7 BMP ProgressFebruary 28, 2017

Upper and Lower Dick Creek, Chariton River #4, Chariton River #8
Practice Terraces Debris Basins Grade Stabilization Structures Water Sediment Basins Priority Land Conversion Grassed waterways Total Grant Obligation $78,750.00 $0.00 $23,000.00 $11,250.00 $3,750.00 $750.00 $117,500.00 Obligated-Unspent $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Expended Available Balance $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $78,750.00 $0.00 $23,000.00 $11,250.00 $3,750.00 $750.00 $117,500.00

Total Cost

NRCS EQIP/ AWEP

IDALS-DSC WSPF/IJOBS

IDALS-DSC IFIP

EPA Watershed Initiative

WIRB

IDNR Section 319

Landowners

Cumulative (FFY 04-12)

10,789,845 $1,646,523

$2,506,743 $258,012

$1,693,201 $388,596

$57,643 $5231

$460,878 $0

$1,589,691 $114,245

$1,003,402 $282,472

$3,371,477 $491,157

FY 2012

Rathbun Land and Water Alliance Special Event

Governor Branstad Visits Rathbun Lake Watershed for 2012 Soil and Water Conservation Week
Right: Lucas County SWCD Commissioner and Rathbun Land and Water Alliance Board member, Kevin L u ed t k e, g re et s L t . Governor Kim Reynolds as she and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad arrive at his familys farm as part of Soil and Water Conservation Week, May 1, 2012.
Photos by Jamie Wilson

Partner Support
Strong support for Rathbun Lake protection efforts
Efforts to protect water quality in Rathbun Lake continued to receive strong support from Alliance members and partners during the past year. Since the Protect Rathbun Lake Project began in late 2003, Alliance members and partners have committed more than $24 million in financial support for project activities in the Rathbun Lake Watershed. The support has enabled the Alliance to share the cost of installing best management practices with landowners in the watershed as well as carry out other important project activities. The table (right) presents the principal sources and uses of this support for the Protect Rathbun Lake Project.

Above: Conservation practices on the Kevin and Lori Luedtke farm in Lucas County can be seen in the background where Governor Terry Branstad visited during Soil and Water Conservation Week. Pictured L-R: Iowa Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Jay Johnson; RRWA CEO and RLWA President, John Glenn; Clarke County Protectors, Jim and Betty Sullivan; Decatur County Protectors, Dick and Connie Hines; IDALS-DSC Director Jim Gillespie; Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, Decatur County SWCD Conservationist, Kevin Reynolds; Governor Terry Branstad; Wayne County Protectors, Jim and Barb Cory; Appanoose County Protector, Chuck Moore; IDALS conservationist Jerry Neppl and Lucas County farm hosts Lori and Kevin Luedtke.

Rathbun Lake Protectors were invited to present information to the Governor about the conservation practices they have implemented on their farms and included Chuck Moore, Appanoose County; (left, bottom) Dick Hines, Decatur County; Jim Cory, W ayn e Co unt y; Kev in Luedtke, Lucas County SWCD Commissioner and RLWA Board member ; and (left, top) Jim Sullivan, Clarke County.

NRCS selects Lower South Fork Chariton River for NWQI Program
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in consultation with Iowas State Technical Committee, selected the Lower South Fork Chariton River area of the Rathbun Lake watershed as a priority for the National Water Quality Incentive (NWQI) Program. NRCS financial and technical assistance is available to landowners through the NWQI to help them install best management practices. Alliance members and other partners including the Appanoose and Wayne SWCDs, RRWA, IDALS Division of Soil Conservation, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources have also committed resources to the Lower South Fork Chariton River NWQI priority watershed. The Alliance had identified the Lower South Fork Chariton River as a potential NWQI priority watershed. Alliance assessment activities determined that this area of the Rathbun Lake watershed has experienced a significant increase in priority land as a result of changes in land use to row crop production in recent years. A primary concern of the gain in priority land in this area is that the associated increase in sediment and phosphorus carried in runoff from this land will directly impact the South Fork Arm of Rathbun Lake. The South Fork Arm of Rathbun Lake is on Iowas 2010 Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters due to high levels of turbidity and algae. Landowner has been strong. To date, project staff has received 28 applications from landowners whose practices will reduce sediment and phosphorus delivery from as many as 1,000 acres. BMPs to be applied consist primarily of terraces and grade stabilization structures. The total estimated cost of installing these practices is close to $1 million.

Governor Branstad enjoys a grilled hamburger meal as he visits with local farmers.

Protect Rathbun Lake Project Technician, Jeff Pfeifer, offers Governor Branstad a variety of homemade pie.

IDNR Deputy Director, Chuck Gipp greets Iowa Governor Terry Branstad.

The Alliance and its partners propose to eventually assist landowners to install BMPs on 2,000 acres in the Lower South Fork Chariton River watershed through the NWQI program. These practices will reduce annual sediment and phosphorus delivery to Rathbun Lake by an estimated 3,000 tons and 10,000 pounds respectively.
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Information and Education Outreach

Project Website
A project website located at rlwa.org contains a collection of all the activities of the Protect Rathbun Lake Project. Technical reports and maps can be read and viewed. Web visitors can download podcasts of radio interviews or read Wallaces Farmer issues containing Rathbun Lake Protector features. Slideshows with photos of recent events are included on the site as well as a Whats New tab that gives a quick look at what has happened recently. Information about past Protect Rathbun Lake Annual Meetings is available or visit the site to read about recent grant awards or look to see where in the Rathbun Lake Watershed your land is located.

Rathbun Land and Water Alliance Board of Directors

The Alliances Board of Directors consists of 11 members. Seven of these members are appointed for three-year terms by the Appanoose, Wayne, and Lucas SWCD and Board of Supervisors and Rathbun Regional Water Association. These seven board members appoint the remaining four at-large board members. The at-large board members are appointed annually at the board of directors first meeting after the beginning of the calendar year.

John Glenn, Alliance President, Rathbun Regional Water Association Bruce George, Alliance Secretary/Treasurer, at-large member Jody McDanel, Appanoose County Board of Supervisors Chuck Moore, Appanoose County SWCD Dennis Ryan, Monroe County Board of Supervisors Dennis Ryan, Monroe County Board of Supervisors Ralph Alshouse, at-large member

Kim Francisco, Alliance Vice President, at-large member Chuck Moore, Appanoose County SWCD Kevin Luedtke, Lucas County SWCD Dennis Smith, Lucas County Board of Supervisors John Sellers, Wayne County SWCD Billy Joe Alley, Wayne County Board of Supervisors

Protect Rathbun Lake Project Staff

Marty Braster Rathbun Regional Water Association Environmental Management Specialist mbraster@rrwa.net 641.647.2416 Velvet Buckingham IDALS, DSC Protect Rathbun Lake Project Coordinator velvet.buckingham@ia.nacdnet.net 641.872.1350 Brian DeMoss Lucas County SWCD Environmental Specialist brian.demoss@ia.usda.gov 641.774.2512 Tyler Jacobsen Rathbun Regional Water Association GIS Specialist tjacobsen@rrwa.net 641.647.2416 Jeff Pfeifer IDALS, DSC Protect Rathbun Lake Project Technician jeff.pfeifer@ia.nacdnet.net 641.774.2512

Signage
Signs that identify landowners who have been selected as Rathbun Lake Protectors continue to be installed throughout the Rathbun Lake Watershed. The signs serve to recognize the actions taken by these landowners. Plaques noting the names of these landowners are also displayed in each Soil and Water Conservation District office. Rathbun Lake.
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Media Campaign
Information about the Alliances Protect Rathbun Lake Project activities was sent to local newspapers and radio stations in each of the six Rathbun Lake Watershed counties. The project also received multi- state coverage through WHO Radios agricultural program, The Big Show and Wallaces Farmer magazine.

Appanoose and Monroe Margaret Cope ClarkeDennis Schrodt DecaturKevin Reynolds Lucas and WayneMark Fehseke

SWCD District Conservationists