Watershed Programs and Future Needs
Filter Strips on All Tributaries
There are 178 miles of tributaries in the watershed. There are both perennial and intermittent
tributaries. An inventory and evaluation of the tributaries is needed to determine detailed
action steps. A best professional judgement grading system of the riparian zones has been
developed. This system can be used to aid in the development and rating of priority areas and
determine the type of practices which are best suited on a site-by-site basis. The optimal
practice would be a 50 foot grass and tree combination filter strip, but 25 feet of a grass/tree
combination would be acceptable. Further work needs to be done to look at the environmental
and/or economical benefits of this practice.
Riparian Corridor Management Plans
Approximately half of the riparian corridor plans would overlap with current farm management
plans which were targeted within the 1,000 foot corridor of all tributaries. Project team
members have been working on making improvements to riparian corridor areas.
ODNR, Division of
Forestry and Division of Soil and Water Conservation, have programs and information on
developing such programs and the types of practices which are best suited for the Indian Lake
region. The riparian corridor management plan would include the development of a snag and
clear program to rid the streams of fallen trees.
An inventory and evaluation of the tributaries needs to be completed to prioritize the most
severe areas. The South Fork tributary needs the most attention at present time. A best
professional judgment indicates there are approximately 30 miles of streams needing a snag and
clear program. Approximately $3,500/mile or $150,000 would be needed to revert the present day
conditions plaguing the streams. Removing the fallen and leaning trees would reduce the effects
of log jams. There are many areas with present day snag and clear programs in place. The
project needs to research these programs and the methods used to determine the most appropriate
methods for the project.
Targeting Highly Erodible Land (HEL) for Conservation Plans
The first step is to conduct a complete inventory of the Highly Erodible Land (HEL) to determine
actual units needing revised resource management system plans. The HEL would be ranked and
prioritized for target areas with severe problems to be addressed promptly. Data can be
entered into a GIS computer system for analysis.
There are 13,285 acres of soil rated as HEL. All of this land presently is covered under a
Food Security Act (FSA) compliance plan. FSA compliance plans are not conservation plans.
Under the current FSA plans, the restrictions of acceptable soil loss ( T ) is not as strict as
a conservation plan. Due to the soil types in the watershed, only approximately 40 percent of
the FSA plans are at the watershed's ( T ) soil loss tolerance rate. This leaves approximately
60 percent which is not at watershed standards. There needs to be a transition from the FSA
compliance plans to the Total Resource Management plans being developed by NRCS. As the
transition occurs, the plans would help bring the HEL down to the soil loss tolerance of 3.4
tons/acre/year. The Total Resource Management plans are a more holistic whole farm approach to
planning because they consider the soil, water, air, plants, and animals (the SWAPA planning
procedure).
Alternatives for CRP Land
There are 8,100 acres in CRP land and accounts for 18 percent of the total crop land in the watershed. In 1997 a large
proportion of the land in CRP will be released from contracts and this trend will continue for the next seven years.
A large portion of CRP land is marginal farm land, but a marginal return on land is better than no return once the
CRP payments cease. Without some incentives on the CRP land, there will be a steady increase of soil loss rates as land
goes back into production.
Alternative production practices may prevent reverting the land into row crop production. Some
alternatives include: hardwood tree plantations, intensive grazing and pasturing options,
ornamental plant production, wildlife development areas, hunt-lease programs, as well as others.
With corn markets hovering around $4/bushel at this time, it may be hard to convince
agricultural producers not to return land to crops. The 1994 CRP contract holder survey
(Section 9, Evaluation E - 7) indicated that 46 percent of the CRP land would be returning to
crop production at the end of the ten year contracts. The survey indicates many contract
holders would prefer the CRP to continue in present form. When asked to state the likely bid
to continue in the program, were the CRP extended; the average response was $73 an acre. The
average annual corn yield, as reported by the respondents, was 113 bushels per acre, slightly
below the state average of corn harvested for grain. With few exceptions, Indian Lake Watershed
CRP land is highly erodible and lower yielding. Some educational information of the problems
encountered when reverting CRP land back into production may help. Because the watershed has
converted to no-till in the last five years, CRP landowners would have a need for educational
programs specifically tailored to using no-till methods on this long fallow, highly erodible
land.
Utilization of Dredge Material Program
Dredging is not an issue which is going to go away. Even if sediment stopped entering from land
and streambank erosion, the lake would still need a progressive dredging program to maintain
navigational access. To better utilize the dredge material, several situations should occur.
There needs to be better education information distributed to show its value. An easier
handling and distribution system would allow more access to the material. To enhance dredging
efforts, a study of deposit site selection is needed. Once a site is selected, land rental
payments may need to be made. A $75 to $95 dollar per acre rental payment plus the cost of
soil testing and monitoring should be figured into cost of the program.
Along with education, there needs to be alternatives developed for using and disposing of dredge
material. Suggestions like bagging and selling the dredge material as fill and garden dirt to
garden and landscape retailers outside the watershed should be further researched.
Sediment Basins/Wetlands on Tributaries
The sub-watershed of the South Fork tributary would benefit and be the highest priority target
for such a program. By targeting the branches of the sub-watersheds, the sedimentation could be
trapped at the source rather than allowing the sediment to travel through the tributary system,
eventually reaching the lake. Numerous acres would be needed to establish the basins. If the
land was not bought outright, it would need to be in long-term agreements. Any area with a soil
loss over three times its acceptable soil loss tolerance (T) should be targeted. NRCS personnel
will inventory and evaluate areas where sediment basins would be successful. Due to the cost
and massive undertaking of these types of structures, they should only be considered after all
other conservation practices have been implemented.
Chemical Pads and Loading Systems
Agrichemical storage and handling sites present a high potential risk for polluting surface and
ground water because of the concentration, quantity and type of chemicals used. Often, chemical
application equipment is loaded and rinsed in the same location, often near a well, surface
water supply or drainage way. Pesticides and other agrichemicals are a necessary component of
efficient agricultural production. However, when used improperly or indiscriminately, they can
create a hazard and be harmful to water and land resources, people and animals.
The primary objective of a handling facility is to provide containment of
agrichemicals, to
protect the environment and reduce the potential risk for contamination of soil and water
resources and a risk to human health. A properly designed chemical handling facility helps
reduce the risk of potential contamination and legal liability arising from potential accidents
during handling, mixing, and storage. A mixing/loading pad provides positive containment of
agrichemicals on a imperious surface and is a program which helps protect the environment.
Development of Flood Plain and Flood Control Programs
The goal of this program is to help alleviate flooding problems in areas of high flooding
occurrence. Flooding causes extensive damage to crops, land and personal property. By
developing a flood plain management plan, the project could work to develop corrective measures
and alleviate the complications caused by flooding. Flood Boundary and Flood Way Maps exist and
are located in the NRCS office in Logan County. This information could be entered into a GIS
system to map flood zones and areas of high and frequent flooding occurrences.
A flood plan/flood control program would also need to encompass the issues of field tiling and
drainage. Issues can be reduced by working to repair existing problems with failing tile
surface flooding. A flood plain/flood control program would not be a "drain the wetlands
approach," but instead look at all possible solutions, which may include adding or repairing
tile to solve surface flooding problems or plugging tiles to create flooding holding areas.
This program could use the Indian Lake Watershed Project Joint Board and Team in an advisory
capacity on issues pertaining to flood plain development. By better managing the flood plain
obstructions to drainage it will alleviate flooding problems further away from the natural
flood plain zones.
Expanding the IPM and ICM Programs
Currently there are 3,200 acres (seven percent) of the 45,000 tillable acres in the watershed
enrolled in the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) Program. The goal is to have all the cropland
into ICM programs. Presently a $10 acre payment is made for being enrolled in the program.
The best approach is to start targeting implementation of ICM on a site-specific application
basis on land within the 1,000 foot corridor of the tributaries. There are approximately 38,000
acres within the 1,000 foot corridor of a perennial or intermittent tributary. An inventory
and evaluation of this land would give guidance on high priority areas. Once the program is
established and the economical value is evident, hopefully more producers would voluntarily
sign up. They could sign with a private organization like a grain elevator or crop consultant
which provides a ICM program. If the $ 10 acre cost-share payment was applied to land in the
1,000 foot corridor the project would need $380,000 a year to cover ICM program
implementation.
Development of Animal Waste Programs
Many farms in the watershed have livestock operations. The cost of installing structures
depends on the number and type of livestock, and desired containment system. The project could
work with those livestock operations which presently or potentially could affect the watershed's
water quality. Education information for livestock producers could be developed. A possible
equipment buy-down program on manure management and application equipment could be developed.
These would promote the latest technology in manure handling issues.
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