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The call for
proposals for the spring round of funding is
now closed. Another RFP will be issued
late summer 2008.
Please sign up for the
I&E Newsletter to receive the latest news
regarding the 319 I&E Program and watershed
related announcements. |
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Mini Grants 2004-2007 |
| The
following activities were funded during the
2004-2007 cycle of the I&E Project. |
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| The impact
of trees on water quality was demonstrated
at the KIDS fair in Rapid City. Over 1,800
children were reached along with the parents
and teachers accompanying them. |
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Informational signs about ground water,
hydrology, watersheds, wetlands and
watershed restoration were developed and
posted at the Wall Lake Interpretive Center
in Minnehaha County which has an estimated
1,000 visitors annually. The wetland sign
was also used as part of the Wetlands
Outreach from Libraries. The signage is
available for download from the SD Discovery
Center’s website on the Watershed Page. |
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| My Home
Planet Earth environmental health exhibit at
the SD Discovery Center was funded The
exhibit was visited by close to 3,000
patrons and served as the focus for events
serving an additional 2,000 people. |
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| A watershed
camp for middle school students in Central
South Dakota was held for eighteen students.
This is an on-going event and has continued
beyond the initial funding. |
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| Lakes Are
Cool, a day long field experience for
elementary students in Day County was held
serving 11 children from the Roslyn school
district. The children sampled
macroinvertebrates, performed water quality
tests and played a lake game where students
simulate the role of watershed managers. |
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| A non-point
source pollution awareness media campaign
was implemented. The campaign was state wide
and reached an estimated 327,500 people with
the message about what urban non-point
source runoff is using two radio public
service announcements. A logo and slogan
were developed as part of the project as was
a website(http://www.sdstormwater.org/runoff.asp).
The radio PSAs are available for download at
the website. |
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| Six signs
for the Sioux River Oxbow Wetland Nature
Center were developed and installed. The
signs provided interpretation for the
function and value of wetlands and lists of
the plant life found at the nature center
during different seasons. Additionally,
markers for trees were purchased and
installed. Visitors surveyed during the
project indicated that the signs provided
information about the value of wetlands to
hydrologic systems. |
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| The Miner
County Conservation District held a workshop
on water quality and livestock grazing.
Fifty-five people attended (45 producers, 10
other) a workshop on Grassland Management
for Profit and Stewardship. The workshop was
held in conjunction with the Miner County
farm and home show, increasing the number of
people reached with the message. The core
message was that well managed grasslands
improve profit and this includes clean
water. A quote from the presentation: Clean
Water is the most important nutrient. (It)
pays over and over. |
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| The Rapid
Watershed Assessment (Natural Resources
Conservation Service) used Project monies to
recruit stakeholders to offer input on
watershed work in Eastern South Dakota. Over
120 attendees identified and prioritized
resource concerns so that NRCS could draft a
project implementation plan that will target
priority resource concerns with technical
and financial assistance. |
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| City and
county officials in the Big Sioux watershed
are receiving training on groundwater that
will assist in planning and development. A
“primer” on ground water has been developed
and will be made available on the web.
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| Speakers on
incorporating livestock and manure
management into no till systems were
provided at the SD No Till Association
Conference. Over 200 people attended, 75% of
which were producers. Twenty per cent of the
respondents requested more information on
this topic. Attendees indicated fertility,
building soil organic matter, manure use,
cover crops, better seed emergence, building
an manage eroded areas, rotations and
drought management techniques. |
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| A state
specific non-point source pollution
prevention guide for homeowners was
developed by the East Dakota Water
Development District and is now available
online. The print copies of the Guide were
disseminated to teachers through the
Brookings Water Festival as part of a storm
drain stenciling kit and at several “Farm
and Home Shows” to community members. This
project was also funded, in part, by the
funds designated for volunteer involvement
in non-monitoring events. |
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| A guide on
living on an acreage or “ranchette” was made
sent to two thousand real estate agents in
the Black Hills in partnership with the SD
Realtors Association and the Soil and Water
Conservation Association. There were eight
requests for multiple additional copies. The
follow up surveys returned (6) indicated
uniformly that the resource was valuable. An
online version of the resource is available.
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| Two
workshops on basic limnology (June &
October) were held for lake area residents
by the South Dakota Water Resources
Institute with a total of seventeen in
attendance. Pre-post test scores in June
increased by almost 30 points. The October
workshop saw an increase of 24 points.
Attendees in the workshop were encouraged to
reach a secondary audience and there are two
examples of this occurring |
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| A pilot
project for bacteria monitoring on selected
lakes was begun to screen for bacteria
problems. The project saw 32 people trained
in Coliscan Gel protocols and over 100 sites
sampled. The initial data show that there
are bacteria problems in some of the lakes.
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