Shawnee County Conservation District Watershed Projects Take Off

The Shawnee County Conservation District (SCCD) embarked on a watershed restoration effort last year. With grant funding from KDHE, input from residents of the Lynn and Sixmile Creek watersheds has been sought. Participants share concerns and ideas for improved education or land management efforts. More infomation about this work is available at www.sccdistrict.com.

It's apple picking time and KVHA is making a meeting out of it

There's an orchard in Overbrook, KS called Fieldstone Orchard. They have asparagus, grapes, pecans and the like, but their main emphasis is on apples. They are also a bed and breakfast. The house is a beautiful, renovated barn with all sorts of interesting furnishings.

KVHA was trying to figure out when and where to host its annual meeting. Since Fieldstone is a business within the Upper Wakarusa watershed, and since September is a great month for picking apples, we decided September at Fieldstone. There will be presentations from various KVHA staff highlighting projects that are in the works. Attendees will also hear from representatives of WaterLINK, the KU School of Journalism, Rathbun Land and Water Alliance, and the Watershed Institute.

If you think that you may be interested in attending this event, please call Aimee at 785-840-0700.

Watershed meetings continue

Following the success of the meetings that took place in July where participants were asked to share their concerns about Clinton Lake and drinking water, another working meeting has been scheduled. This meeting will bring the people together who both impact and are impacted by Clinton Lake. We hope to find the common or connected issues of participants and to identify potential options in remediation. Results of this and previous meetings will be posted soon.

The upcoming meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 14 at 9:00 am in the Clinton Lake Visitor's Center, 872 N. 1402 Road.

KU J-School focuses on Clinton Lake

The University of Kansas School of Journalism's Environmental Reporting class taught by Rick Musser spent the summer researching and reporting on Clinton Lake, water quality issues, and the interrelationship between this resource and the surrounding communities. Partnering with WaterLINK, The Journal World, and Channel 6 the class covered topics such as nonpoint source pollution, the history of the area and Clinton Lake, and drinking water quality. This was a multimedia effort, meaning that there are print stories, photo essays, and video reports. You can find them at http://www2.ljworld.com/news/out_of_the_tap/.

June 2006 - Upper Wakarusa Watershed Report

WRAPS - Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy

• Helped with a booth at Wakarusa Festival and was interviewed about Wakarusa water quality by a reporter from lawrence.com.
• Attended a conference on conservation easements. Deb Baker told me that WRAPS funds could potentially be spent on purchasing easements/development right.
• Helped Shawnee County Partners in Conservation plan the Lynn Creek
• stakeholder meeting.
• Discussed agriculture and water quality education needs with Douglas County Extension Program Development Committee.
• Helped Agriculture Agents in Douglas, Shawnee and Osage Counties develop a proposal to K-State for water quality education/demonstrations.

Work with landowners/local stakeholders

• Helped lead the well plugging demonstration and local water quality discussion held at Mike Fawl's in Douglas County.
• Met with Ken Krause from the Overbrook area to discuss potential water quality related improvements for the Overbrook City Park Pride Project.
• Continued work with five livestock producers in the watershed this month.