Feb 14, 2023 12:00 PM
Steve Hopkins
Iowa Department of Natural Resources Watershed Improvement

DRC Sponsor: John Moeller

Steve Hopkins, Nonpoint Source Coordinator with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Watershed Improvement Section, will visit our club to provide insights into historical practices, local initiatives, and recent developments in northeast Iowa watershed management.

From a guest posting by Steve in the online blog Iowa Learning Farms, "Healthy watersheds are those that act like a sponge to soak in rainfall, enabling the watershed to minimize flooding and reduce runoff that carries pollutants to our lakes, rivers, and streams. Every time a single action takes place that adds more runoff in a watershed, such as adding more paved areas or converting land from soil-covering, deep-rooted perennials to tilled row crops, it reduces the watershed’s ability to act like a sponge and soak in rainfall. When this happens, a watershed “catches” less and “sheds” more. When multiple “single actions” take place in a watershed, it results in flooding and water quality problems. Our primary course of action after that point is to invest lots of time, money, and energy to fixing the flooding and water quality problems that we did not prevent in the first place. Many of us are already very well aware of the many practices that are available to soak in, trap, or store rainfall before it runs off our watersheds in Iowa. Many are also working to develop detailed watershed improvement plans to help fix flooding and water quality problems across the state."

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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcment, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advance to all members by email.