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Multi-State Projects
In our effort to unite organizations and individuals within the Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi River Basin for collaborative action to enhance and restore this region’s ecology, economy, and cultural resources in a balanced, integrated fashion, the DAI has engaged partners in a variety of projects. Although we are continuously working with partners to catalyze and facilitate projects addressing regional resource concerns, a few collaborative examples follow:
* Bird Friendly Forestry
in the Driftless Area
* Biomass Energy for Rural Sustainability in
the Driftless Area
* Lake Pepin Water Resource Protection Project
Bird Friendly Forestry in the Driftless Area
* Also known as the "Driftless Area Initiative to Increase and Promote Forest Habitat for Neotropical Migratory Birds in the Heart of the Upper Mississippi River Basin"
The first funding DAI was able to acquire came from the Upper Mississippi River Forestry Partnership, a collaborative effort involving the US Forest Service and State Foresters from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana, working to build a watershed-wide approach to forestry efforts in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. DAI, in cooperation with Northeast Iowa RC&D, Iowa DNR, the US Forest Service and other regional partners, coordinated efforts to identify regional management priorities for forest- dwelling neo-tropical migratory bird habitat in the Driftless Area. DAI then conducted a series of landowner workshops to share information on needed management practices with private woodland owners. The regional focus resulting from this effort has been used to identify Important Bird Areas of national and global significance, and to bridge gaps in communication and understanding between foresters and wildlife managers working in the unique multi-state Driftless Area.
DAI is working with partners to acquire funding and lay groundwork for a second phase of this project. Phase 2 of the Bird Friendly Forestry in the Driftless Area project will engage foresters, wildlife biologists, woodland owners, forestry associations, and interested individuals in educational and professional development workshops to help plan writers and land owners manage from a landscape bio- regional forest habitat perspective. Phase 2 of this project will improve regional coordination and consistency in managing habitat for migratory bird species while improving the health and sustainability of the forest resource in the Driftless Area.
Overall goals of the Driftless Area Initiative to Increase and Promote Forest Habitat for Neotropical Migratory Birds in the Heart of the Upper Mississippi River Basin are:
- Educate landowners about forestry issues that impact Neotropical migratory birds in the Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
- Provide technical support for implementation of on the ground forestry cooperative projects that improve Neotropical migratory bird habitat in the Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
- To assist landowners with obtaining financial assistance to implement forest management practices that benefit targeted bird species.
- Foster an integrated understanding of forestry management and Neotropical migratory bird habitat issues.
- Educate landowners and plan writers about landscape context and the importance of interior forest habitat to regional biodiversity.
- Provide multi-disciplinary perspectives on ornithology and woodland ecosystem management while focusing on development of economically sound, habitat appropriate management plans.
- Examine the role of forest regeneration in sustaining both healthy forests and interior forest bird habitat
An additional outcome of this collaborative project has been the development of a guide to help land managers integrate forest interior bird habitat considerations with forest management planning efforts. This document can be accessed through the following link:
- This guide is a Driftless Area Initiative publication developed in cooperation with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Audubon Society, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Departments of Natural Resources from MN, IA, WI, and other partners. The current version (Version 1.0) represents a final draft that is being used as a resource for regional workshops and educational events, but has not yet been assigned a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources publication number.
Learn More About Birds and thier Habitat
For additional links to informational resources related to birds and their habitat, Click Here.
Biomass Energy for Rural Sustainability in the Driftless Area
The Driftless Area Initiative is pursuing a three year initiative for market development and pilot projects promoting perennial biomass energy production and utilization. This initiative will develop the producer base, markets, and infrastructure needed to turn biomass into renewable energy through cooperative regional efforts in the four-state Driftless Area. Financial support from a federal energy and water resources earmark will help us to continue building partnerships, implement on-the-ground projects to promote perennial biomass crops, and assist businesses with planning and development. This project will engage municipalities and interested producers, businesses, and individuals throughout the Driftless Area to promote renewable biomass energy systems. Program specifics include t he promotion of perennial biomass crops and coordination with municipalities, utilities, and individuals to develop or adopt infrastructure able to utilize renewable biomass for heat, energy, and fuels needs.
This effort dovetails with multiple projects being pursued concurrently by the RC&D partners. Related projects involve the analysis of the cost/profit associated with bringing underutilized woody biomass (pulp wood and other low-value stems) to the landing where it becomes available for transport to market, and assessment of biomass potentially available from existing CRP ground. The common theme promoted by these projects is enhanced rural economies based on the sustainable production of biomass for energy from perennial plants and crops.
Lake Pepin Water Resource Protection: Agricultural Assessment & Conservation Security Preparedness Effort
The present-day Mississippi River was sculpted by mighty geologic forces unleashed over 10,000 years ago. Broad valleys carved out by the sudden drainage of Glacial Lake Agassiz to the northwest, and Glacial Lake Duluth to the northeast, still channel runoff through the Minnesota and St. Croix Rivers to the Mississippi. Lake Pepin was formed after the glacial torrent subsided, allowing sand discharged by the Chippewa River to settle, creating a natural dam across the Mississippi. Once considered mainly a conveyance for waste and commerce, the Mississippi today is prized for its aesthetic, ecological, and recreational values. Riverfront property has become prime real estate, and Lake Pepin is the most popular site for recreational boating on the Upper Mississippi River.
Today, the Mississippi River is flanked by an ever-expanding population. Both residential development and intensified agriculture contribute to increased runoff, sediment, and nutrients entering the river. Excess nutrients lead to dangerous algal blooms in the lake, and impair the recreational value of this resource. Silt is filling Lake Pepin in at an unnaturally fast rate. The lake will, eventually, become a marsh unable to support navigation or the tourism benefiting communities throughout the region. The Clean Water Act sets a Total Maximum Daily Load limit on pollution that can be contributed to navigable bodies of water in the United States. Currently, Lake Pepin is considered impaired for fecal coliform, and a study on turbidity (total suspended solids/sediment) is underway. Many community development projects are on hold until these water quality impairments are addressed.
DAI, with the assistance of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, has convened and coordinated a diverse stakeholder group from MN and WI to address resource concerns in the multi-state Lake Pepin Watershed. Participants in the planning effort include local Soil and Water Conservation Districts, business owners, farmers, and state and federal agencies like DNR, USFWS, NRCS, and others. The partner group is actively working to educate and involve people who live and work in the watershed, and is delivering assistance to improve conservation practices.
DAI has begun implementation on two projects to immediately reduce run-off related water pollution in this watershed. Hiawatha Valley and River Country RC&D’s have initiated on-the ground efforts to restore perennial vegetation to the landscape, and promote best management practices like contour strips, no-till/low-till farming, enrolling sensitive lands in set-aside programs like CRP, CREP, EQIP, and WHIP. Small-scale diversified farming operations involving livestock, grain/hay, and specialty crop production provide both positive environmental solutions, and an economic solution that helps maintain community vitality. DAI is working to address technical assistance backlogs, and to engage more farmers in assessments of their operations to help identify additional practices that can keep more soil on the land and improve the productivity of their farms. Economically competitive alternatives to current farming practices will play an important role in reducing sediment and nutrient runoff in the Lake Pepin Watershed.
Funding for this effort comes from a Federal Agriculture Appropriation promoted by Senator
Kohl (D-WI) and Senator Dayton (D-MN). Additional funds were contributed by River Country,
Hiawatha Valley, Northeast Iowa, Southwest Badger, Limestone Bluffs, and Blackhawk Hills RC&D’s.
Learn More About Watersheds and Water Quality Management:
-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Goodhue County Soil and Water Conservation District
http://www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov/partnerships/goodhue/index.htm
Clean Water Act (EPA)
http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/cwa.cfm?program_id=0
-Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: Lake Pepin TMDL
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/tmdl/tmdl-lakepepin.html