2022 Mower SWCD annual report

2022 Annual Report

Cover crops in spring 2022 at Mower SWCD’s soil-health research site in Lansing Township with Northern Country Coop.

Jessica Bulman

Conservation Technician

Jensen Bigelow MN GreenCorps

Maddie Merten Intern

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.

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.

Cover crops 1,980 acres

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 with farmers and rural landowners on conservation projects, including grassed waterways and basins that control stormwater and sediment. Fox and his wife, Kelsey, have two children, Levi and Savannah. He’s an avid hunter and conservationist with his own parcel of hunting land in Mower Cody Fox (on right) introduces Lori and David County.

Reuter in 2021 at a project site toured by leaders Since 2016, Fox has with the state’s Board of Water & Soil Resources. led CRWD’s Capital Improvement Plan that has led to nearly $7 million in construction of 14 structures. CIP aims to improve water quality and reduce flooding by building large, earthen dams – mostly in the upland areas of the flashy Dobbins Creek watershed –to capture Watershed Districts’ annual significant amounts of stormwater or conference. BWSR executive director John snowmelt and slowly release it.

Jaschke called Fox an example of local staff Hanson, who joined Mower SWCD in being a “driving force behind conservation 2004 right after the Austin area experienced delivery in Minnesota.” its worst-known flooding, is joining BWSR as Hanson agreed, saying project landowners the assistant director for field operations. and farmers have summed up Fox’s character Hanson served as Mower SWCD’s well with the saying: “He does what he says resource specialist from 2004 to 2015, when he’s going to do.” he replaced retiring, long-time manager Bev “We have completed our project plans on Nordby. Since 2015, Hanson led both Mower time and on budget while exceeding our SWCD and CRWD, leading each entity to ambitious goals,” Hanson said. “All of this statewide recognition.

Grassed waterways 8 projects (3 miles)

CRP enrollments 598 acres

Field structures 4 projects

Well sealings 19 wells

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Award for Akkermans Brownsdale-area brothers honored by Mower SWCD

Ag Appreciation

Erasing erosion Mower SWCD leads field projects in Cedar, Root Across the county and even just outside its boundaries, Mower SWCD led projects in 2022 Field 2022 focused on addressing erosion.

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 With an expected, major increase in federal about options for addressing the issue and constructing about double the number of EQIP funding, even more projects are possible cost-share funding for the work. field projects than in 2022. The main focus expected to be built in 2024.

Mower SWCD watershed conservationist areas for those projects are the headwaters of Landowners and farmers who have erosion Paul Hunter is the main contact for those Dobbins Creek (Cedar River watershed) and concerns on their land are encouraged to with resource concerns in their fields located the North Branch of the Root River. contact Mower SWCD to start discussions in Mower County.

Cover charge

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 Country’s land.

“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.

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

SWCD distributes 10,784 trees, shrubs

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.

Mower Soil & Water Conservation District 1408 21st Ave. N.W. Austin, MN 55912 507-434-2603, ext. 5 www.mowerswcd.org

Mower SWCD’s James Fett, who leads the office’s annual tree program, helps unload hundreds of trees in April 2022 at Austin’s Runnings store.

This was for Mower SWCD’s order pickup days. Staff also designed five windbreaks for rural landowners as part of the program.