Iowa Department of Natural Resources
 
Jan. 10, 2008
For immediate release
 
1.      Iowans create water quality successes in 2007; DNR receives funding to assist more watershed projects
 
 
IOWANS CREATE WATER QUALITY SUCCESSES IN 2007
DNR receives $2.1 million from EPA to assist more Iowa watershed projects in 2008
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Steve Hopkins, DNR Watershed Improvement, at (515) 281-6402 or [log in to unmask] 
 
DES MOINES — The efforts of Iowans in 2007 to improve Iowa’s lakes, rivers and streams have resulted in success stories across the state, and more efforts are underway for 2008. Working with groups across the state, including the Iowa DNR’s Watershed Improvement Program, Iowans are making changes on the land to improve our waters.
 
“While we’ve worked hard to find ways to improve our water, it’s the participation of Iowans in communities across the state that is the key to making changes in our water,” said DNR Director Richard Leopold. “Partnering with the DNR and countless other organizations, Iowans are making changes to the way they manage the land to create better water. With about 90 percent of land in Iowa in private ownership, it’s critical that Iowans get involved.”
 
The DNR works with other state and federal agencies to help Iowans organize local watershed improvement projects, providing technical and financial assistance. Watershed project coordinators work one-on-one with landowners, homeowners and volunteers to improve the quality of water entering our lakes, streams and rivers. Funding from watershed projects helps landowners use conservation practices – farming and land management practices that help keep soil on the land and pollutants out of our water.
 
For example, at Lake Icaria in southwest Iowa, a watershed project paved the way for a restoration project that’s given new life to the lake. Where Lake Icaria’s clarity used to be measured in inches, you can now see down as much as six feet. Landowners working with the Adams County Three Lakes Project used new ways to till fields, built terraces and made other changes to keep soil, nutrients and bacteria out of Lake Icaria. Once work in the watershed was in place, the DNR moved forward with in-lake restoration efforts. The watershed work protected the in-lake investment, and visitors to the lake are noticing the difference.
 
“Aquatic insects – the foundation for the food chain – have flourished, resulting in a dramatic increase in everything that depends upon them from fish, to songbirds, to waterfowl. In many ways the entire ecosystem at Icaria has been reborn,” said Bob Waters, the regional coordinator of watershed projects in western Iowa. 
 
Success stories from 2007, including Lake Icaria, are highlighted in “Working for Clean Water: 2007 Watershed Improvement Successes in Iowa,” a booklet available on the DNR’s Web site at http://watershed.iowadnr.gov.
 
Future success stories are underway as well. The DNR recently received $2.1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assist more watershed projects in 2008.
 
“We’re excited that we can continue to help Iowans get out there and improve the lakes, rivers and streams in their own backyards,” said Steve Hopkins of the DNR’s Watershed Improvement Program. “And shortly, we’ll be asking for more watershed projects to apply for grant funding.”
 
The DNR’s call for applications for “319” watershed improvement grant funding generally opens in January and closes in April. The term “319” refers to Section 319 of the federal Clean Water Act, which allows the EPA to provide the DNR funding for nonpoint pollution programs.
 
While the Watershed Improvement Program heads up these watershed projects for the DNR, watershed projects are a collaborative effort with many DNR programs, such as fisheries, wildlife and forestry. The DNR also works with a number of partners, such as the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Iowa soil and water conservation districts.
 
For more information on the DNR’s watershed improvement efforts or on grant applications, contact Steve Hopkins at (515) 281-6402 or at [log in to unmask] 
 
Writer: Jessie Brown
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