2022 Annual Report
Cover crops in spring 2022 at Mower SWCD’s soil-health research site in Lansing Township with Northern Country Coop.
Jensen Bigelow MN GreenCorps
Maddie Merten Intern
Jessica Bulman ConservationTechnician
A familiar face took the lead at Mower SWCD after its manager Justin Hanson joined a state agency’s leadership team.
In May 2022, Cody Fox, project manager for Mower SWCD and Cedar River Watershed District, became district manager of Mower SWCD and, in turn, administrator for CRWD. He was chosen by the Mower SWCD Board of Supervisors.
could not have happened without Cody’s passion, knowledge and credibility. He’s going to be a great leader.”
A native of New Ulm, Minn., Fox joined Mower SWCD in 2010 and began working basins that control stormwater and sediment. Fox and his wife, Kelsey, have two children, Savannah. He’s an avid hunter and conservationist
parcel of hunting
Since 2016, Fox has led CRWD’s Capital Improvement Plan that has led to nearly $7 million in construction of 14 structures. CIP
Watershed Districts’ annual conference. BWSR executive director John Jaschke called Fox an example of local staff being a “driving force behind conservation delivery in Minnesota.”
Hanson agreed, saying project landowners and farmers have summed up Fox’s character well with the saying: “He does what he says he’s going to do.”
“We have completed our project plans on time and on budget while exceeding our ambitious goals,” Hanson said. “All of this
flooding by building large, earthen dams –mostly in the upland areas of the flashy Dobbins Creek watershed –to capture significant amounts of stormwater or snowmelt and slowly release it.
Hanson, who joined Mower SWCD in 2004 right after the Austin area experienced its worst-known flooding, is joining BWSR as the assistant director for field operations.
Hanson served as Mower SWCD’s resource specialist from 2004 to 2015, when he replaced retiring, long-time manager Bev Nordby. Since 2015, Hanson led both Mower SWCD and CRWD, leading each entity to statewide recognition.
Cover crops 1,980 acres Grassedwaterways 8projects (3 miles) CRP enrollments 598 acres
On his last day, Justin Hanson (left) embraces long-time coworker Cody Fox, who replaced Hanson in May 2022. Hanson left for a leadership role with the Minnesota Board of Water & Soil Resources, a state agency.
Cody Fox (on right) introduces Lori and David Reuter in 2021 at a project site toured by leaders with the state’s Board of Water & Soil Resources.
Brownsdale-area brothers honored by Mower SWCD
Award for Akkermans
AgAppreciation
Erasing erosion
Mower SWCD leads field projects in Cedar, Root
2022 Field Structures
A dozen projects were built to control the ongoing erosion issues at the sites either in the crop field or in an adjacent area. The map of Mower County to the right shows the project locations from 2022 with black dots.
Out of those projects, Mower SWCD led the construction of eight grassed waterways totaling the length of three miles overall. Staff also oversaw the creation of several gradestabilization structures and water-andsediment control basins.
Two of the projects were built just on the other side of the Mower County line, with one near Hickory Lake in Freeborn County and one in Fillmore County. Mower SWCD got involved with those projects as part of the collaborative “One Watershed, One Plan” work with other SWCDs in the Cedar River (western Mower) and Root River (eastern Mower) watersheds.
In 2023, Mower SWCD has plans ready for constructing about double the number of field projects than in 2022. The main focus areas for those projects are the headwaters of Dobbins Creek (Cedar River watershed) and the North Branch of the Root River.
With an expected, major increase in federal EQIP funding, even more projects are expected to be built in 2024.
Landowners and farmers who have erosion concerns on their land are encouraged to contact Mower SWCD to start discussions
about options for addressing the issue and possible cost-share funding for the work.
Mower SWCD watershed conservationist Paul Hunter is the main contact for those with resource concerns in their fields located in Mower County.
Cover charge
“It definitely continues to be the best time in years to enroll cropland into conservation,” said James Fett, Mower SWCD’s watershed technician who oversees in MN CREP in Mower County.
MN CREP is a state-federal program that combines the federal CRP with the state’s Reinvest In Minnesota (RIM). Landowners accepted into MN CREP enroll in the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for 14 to 15 years. At the same time, the land is put into a permanent conservation easement through the state’s RIM program.
Overall, MN CREP aims to protect and
restore up to 60,000 acres across 54 southern and western Minnesota counties, including Mower, by using vegetative buffer strips, wetland restoration and drinking water wellhead protection.
Typically, MN CREP restorations involve restoring hydrology through tile breaks, tile blocks, embankment construction, scrapes and daylighting tiles, among other practices. The site is seeded with a highly diverse mixture of native grasses and forbs beneficial to wildlife and pollinator habitat. That also prevents erosion and filters surface and ground water.
Mower SWCD soil scientist Steve Lawler digs a soil sample May 24, 2022, with Megan Solland of Northern Country Coop also collecting samples. The duo led ongoing efforts to research the effects of cover crops at the Sustainable Answer Acre in Lansing Township on Northern
Part of Mower high priority for pocket prairies
Priority areas (dark green is the highest) are shown on a map of Mower County.
Mower SWCD 2022 outreach
Canoemobile at Ramsey Mill Pond
Arlen Schamber, co-founder of Mower County’s Pheasants Forever chapter, was honored as Mower SWCD’s 2022 Outstanding Wildlife Conservationist. Schamber also was the Outdoor News’ “2018 Person of the Year” for his various conservation efforts and leadership.
SWCD distributes
10,784 trees, shrubs
windbreaks for rural landowners as part of the program.
Austin, MN 55912
507-434-2603, ext. 5 www.mowerswcd.org
