Environment and Natural Resources

Stewardship: Opportunities and

Issues

Jim Pease and

Matt Helmers

Why are we concerned?• Human health – relative to water

quality• Aquatic life• Recreational uses• Wildlife habitat

There is an ever increasing pressure from society for maintaining and improving our natural resources and specifically water quality

0

5

10

15

20

Nit

rate

-N (

mg

/l)

1/4/

00

5/30

/00

7/21

/00

12/4

/00

2/8/

01

4/6/

01

5/10

/01

6/5/

01

7/2/

01

8/21

/01

12/1

2/0

1

1/15

/02

2/25

/02

4/10

/02

5/14

/02

6/6/

02

6/26

/02

8/27

/02

10/2

9/0

2

12/1

1/02

1/15

/03

2/20

/03

4/16

/03

5/14

/03

6/9/

03

6/30

/03

7/20

/03

8/22

/03

10/1

0/0

3

12/1

/03

1/23

/04

3/9/

04

4/6/

04

5/4/

04

6/2/

04

6/30

/04

7/29

/04

12/1

3/0

4

3/4/

05

4/19

/05

5/17

/05

6/15

/05

7/15

/05

8/26

/05

10/1

4/0

5

12/2

/05

1/25

/06

3/3/

06

3/31

/06

5/2/

06

Date

Raccoon River at Van Meter, IA, 2000-2006 (USGS data)

Nitrate-N (mg/l)

"Unfortunately, the Raccoon River has the highest averagenitrate concentration of any of the 42 largest tributaries in theMississippi River Basin." -- Des Moines Water Works, 2007

EPA limit

Slide prepared by USDA-National Soil Tilth Lab

Nitrate Export

Source: USGS

Issue Areas

Tillage and Nutrient Management

• Soil and nutrient loss via surface water runoff is a concern

• Role: Continue educational and demonstration programs on improved tillage and nutrient management (e.g. Iowa Learning Farm)

• Challenge: This is not a new issue so how do we continue to raise awareness

Subsurface Drainage• Extensive agricultural areas in

Iowa benefit from subsurface drainage

• Subsurface drainage water commonly has nitrate-nitrogen concentration in excess of 10 mg/L (ppm)

• In-field and edge-of-field practices that have the potential to reduce nitrate export are being investigated:– In-field nitrogen management– Wetlands– Subsurface drainage

bioreactors– Cropping practices (e.g. cover

crops)

Subsurface Drainage and Nitrate Export• Role: Continued educational and demonstration

programs focused on utilization of best management practices– Education on the challenges to make significant improvement

• Challenges: Can we make significant improvement without significant land use changes or structural investments (e.g. wetlands)?

Hydrologic Alteration

• We have greatly altered the hydrology due to land use changes, drainage, stream straightening, etc.

• In many cases need to focus efforts not only in-field but in the stream due to factors such as stream bank and bed erosion.

• Role: Facilitate increased understanding of the importance of in-stream issues.– Should be considered in

watershed management plans

Watershed Management

• Increasing numbers of local watershed groups interested and concerned about water quality.

• Role: Facilitate dialogue about objectives of projects and provide science-based information for groups to consider.

Energy Conservation and Human Housing

• Energy conservation and human housing issues are important to many stakeholders

• Do we have resources to be a leader in this area?

Air Quality

• The issue is emerging in:– Livestock production– Energy generation (harvest,

manufacturing)

Air Quality• Air quality continues to be an issue

because of nuisance concerns, regulations and potential emission restrictions. 

• Proposed legislation incorporates the use of ABE's community assessment model for determining acceptable separation distances for siting of new facilities. 

• The challenge is to work with producers before there is a problem.

Forest12.8%

Urban waste2.9%

Manure4.1%

Grains5.2%

Crop residues7.6%

Soy6.2%

Wheat straw6.1%Corn stover

19.9%

Perennial crops35.2%

From: Billion Ton Vision, DOE & USDA 2005

U.S. biomass inventory: 1.3 billion tons*

*Could supply 66% of U.S. transportation fuel

What is ANR’s role in the emerging bioeconomy?

• Having access to research-based information, what are our responsibilities to our communities, both as citizens and as professionals?

• Being ISU employees, to what degree do we “cheerlead” ISU’s efforts?

• How can we partner with researchers to find answers to unanswered questions?

Does Iowa have an adequate supply of ground water?

• One dairy cow uses about 35 gallons of water a day.

• One feedlot animal uses about 15 gallons of water a day.

• One human uses 150 gallons of water a day.

• A 50 million gallon ethanol plant uses about the same amount of water as a town of 4000 people.

• One gallon of ethanol is produced using 4+ gallons of water.

MONTGOMERY

WINNEBAGO

DES MOINES

DICKINSON

JEFFERSON

CERRO GORDO

MUSCATINE

HUMBOLDT

APPANOOSE

POCAHONTAS

CHICKASAW

WASHINGTON

OSCEOLA

VAN BUREN

BLACK HAWK

BUENA VISTA

AUDUBON

WAPELLO

MITCHELL

MONROE

POWESHIEK

RINGGOLD

BUCHANAN

PALO ALTO

BREMERCHEROKEE

HOWARD

DELAWARE

MARSHALL

FREMONT

CLARKE

WORTH WINNESHIEK

HAMILTON

ALLAMAKEE

DECATUR

EMMET

POTTAWATTAMIE

HANCOCK

LOUISA

MAHASKA

CALHOUN

FRANKLIN

GRUNDY

ADAMS

MADISON

CARROLLCRAWFORD

DUBUQUE

JOHNSON

HENRYLUCASUNION

WARREN

HARRISON GUTHRIE

JACKSON

TAYLOR

KEOKUK

GREENE

SCOTT

MARION

WRIGHT

HARDIN

WAYNE

WEBSTERWOODBURY

O'BRIEN

MILLS

BUTLER

SHELBY DALLAS

FLOYD

MONONA

PLYMOUTH

BOONE

CLINTON

CEDAR

FAYETTE CLAYTON

DAVIS

STORY

JONESBENTON

ADAIR

JASPER

PAGE

KOSSUTH

CASS

LYON

POLK IOWA

CLAYSIOUX

IDA

TAMA

SAC

LEE

LINN

SOUTHERN

NORTHEAST

NORTHWEST

Jurassic

Cretaceous

Bedrock Units

Pennsylvanian

Mississippian

Silurian-Devonian

Cambrian-Ordovician

N

0 50 km

0 50 mi

Manson Impact Crater

Does Iowa have an adequate supply of ground water?

FAIR

POOR

GOOD

Iowa DNR – Geological Survey

Will growth in biobased industries affect the quality of surface water?

• Residue and tillage management

• Buffers

• Nitrate-removal wetlands

• Strategic placement of perennial vegetation

• Regulation--effluents?

How will biomass production impact biodiversity?

• Recovery of species past 50 years--impact of CRP

• Monocultures limit biodiversity– Row-crop acreage– Single species grass crops

• Soil erosion affects stream quality and aquatic species

• Careful growth and harvest of cellulosic crops affect– valuable winter cover for wild species– nesting and brood-rearing cover functions

How can resource monitoring impact our

future?• Citizen-science programs help

citizens become knowledgeable and engaged

• Examples: Iowa NatureMapping, IoWater

• Lead to community-based environmental protection

• Keeps people directly involved with the natural world--grows their values

Iowa NatureMapping since 1999 inception:

• NatureMappers: 1064• Monitoring Sites: 1635• Observations: 62,230• Species: 364, out of 496

How can Iowa NatureMapping* help us in

ANR?• Implement on-farm monitoring

projects• Track changes over time• Test differences between different

land use practices• Customize according to community

needs *Contact Jason O’Brien,

jpobrien@iastate.edu

DISCUSSION