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  LWV Upper Mississippi River Region

UMRR blog

Carbon capture through conservation practices

3/30/2021

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Human activities have fundamentally altered our landscape, and the outcome has been degradation of the earth's natural processes and cycles.  Conservation practices are used to restore the natural hydrology and ecosystems in a patchwork of promise across the landscape.  Can these conservation practices also help to capture carbon in the atmosphere, reducing greenhouse gases and helping to combat climate change?  
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Restored wetland - photo credit to Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources
The answer is all too familiar - it depends.  Practices like turning marginal cropland into restored wetlands ​does increase the permanent land cover and can encourage the growth of woody plants, but wetlands also emit methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.  This 2019 report by the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources finds "... Drainage of wetlands and conversion to cropland can release significant amounts of long-stored carbon through organic matter decomposition. However, wetlands  also emit methane, making it difficult to assess their role relative to GHG emissions. Methane emissions are highest in wetlands that are permanently or frequently inundated, while less frequently inundated wetland types such as wet meadows appear to sequester more GHGs (green house gases) than they emit. "

Similarly, the role of other conservation measures - for example cover crops - has to be carefully considered before values for carbon capture are assigned.  This UMRR blog post from December, 2020, outlines a growing experiment in development of a carbon market in Minnesota.  Now, the budget proposed by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for the Board of Water and Soil Resources includes funding for expansion of carbon markets in Minnesota - see page 46 here.  

Let's be clear here.  Conservation practices are a good thing.  LWV UMRR 
strongly agrees that cover crops and reduced tillage are vital climate adaptation and resilience measures, providing undeniable benefits to soil health and farm resilience. Improved soil health, keeping water on the land, and restoring habitat will have benefits broadly, including making our landscapes more resilient to the added stresses of our changing climate.  Our concern is that cover crops and no-till may play a minimal role in sequestering carbon.   LWV UMRR is joining with other environmental organizations in Minnesota in requesting that more consideration be given to scientific data on carbon capture before the state more strongly commits to including cover crops and no-till as eligible practices in a carbon market.  

Watch the LWV UMRR Blog for continued reporting on this issue.  

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US Army Corps of Engineers seeking comments on the Water Resources Development Act - public meetings in March, comment period ends May 7

3/8/2021

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The Water Protection Network has shared upcoming opportunities for organizations to provide input to the Army Corps of Engineers on developing implementation guidance for the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2020, the bill that authorizes projects and policy changes for the Corps. The Corps issued this notice, published today in the Federal Register, opening a 60-day public comment period (May 7, 2021 deadline) and announcing a series of virtual stakeholder sessions (listed below) for the public to provide input and recommendations to the Assistant Secretary of the Army-Civil Works on any provisions of WRDA 2020.
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This Act includes provisions that recognize the role of climate change in water management.  There are some provisions that could be seen to be positive, and some that are more troubling.  You can read a summary of the bill at this link, and we've also included it at the end of this post.  

​Click here for a summary, from the  National Wildlife Federation, of key provisions of WRDA 2020 that they have identified to benefit the environment, underserved communities, and Tribes; that are particularly harmful to the environment; and that advance restoration of important ecosystems.

LWV UMRR urges people interested in the river to take time to dig into the Corps' plans for implementing the WRDA and raise concerns where appropriate.  Here's the information on public comment - note that these meetings start next week!   Sitting in on one of these virtual meetings would be a good way to get an overview of the issues at stake; final date for submitting comments is May 7.  

Stakeholder sessions:
  • March 16, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern to receive comments on Navigation (Inland and Coastal) provisions
  • March 23, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern to receive comments on Flood Risk and Coastal Risk Storm Damage provisions
  • March 30, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern to receive comments on Ecosystem Restoration and Nuisance Species provisions
  • April 6, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern to receive comments on Water Supply and Hydropower provisions
  • April 13, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern to receive comments on any WRDA 2020 provisions
  • Join any of the sessions listed above at https://usace1.webex.com/​meet/​WRDA2020 or by calling in to (844) 800-2712, Code 199 937 4287
  • For more information about the stakeholder sessions may be directed to Mr. Gib Owen at 571-274-1929, gib.a.owen.civ@mail.mil, or Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, 108 Army Pentagon, Washington, DC 20310-0108.


Submitting comments:
  • Submit comments by the public comment deadline, Friday, May 7, 2021, and include Docket ID No. COE-2021-0002 in the subject line.
  • Submit by Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/COE_FRDOC_0001-0893
  • Submit by email: WRDA2020@usace.army.mil
  • Submit by mail: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: Ms. Amy Frantz, CEW-P, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 3F91, 441 G St. NW, Washington, DC 20314.
 
More information:
  • Read the Federal Register notice here.
  • Read the WRDA bill text here.

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Tollway Sustainability - April 5, 2021

3/2/2021

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 The Illinois Tollway stretches 294 miles (473 km) of tollways in 12 counties in Northern Illinois.  This highway system includes these tollways: 
  • Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-39/I-90/US 51)
  • Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355)
  • Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway/Chicago–Kansas City Expressway (I-88/IL 56/IL 110)
  • Tri-State Tollway (I-80/I-94/I-294)
  • Elgin-O'Hare Tollway (IL 390)
These highways are VERY busy, carrying freight, travelers, commuters, deliveries, everything.  The Jane Addams Memorial Highway (I-90) had an average daily traffic count of more than 55,000 vehicles, 11,000 of which were trucks.  The roads are built for safety, speed and yes, sound environmental performance.  

Our speaker for the April 5 educational session will be Bryan Wagner, Environmental Policy Program Manager for the Illinois Department of Transportation, shown below on the right.   He's going to tell us about the measures that IDOT has taken to effectively manage storm water, mitigate construction impacts and more.  The session will start at 1pm on Zoom and will be recorded for later viewing.   
The program starts at 1pm Central, the Zoom  will open at 12:30 so stop by early to socialize a bit.  
Click here to join the Zoom
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Congrats to Environmental Policy and Program Manager Bryan Wagner and our environmental team for receiving the 2019 Biosolids User Award from Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago at its Sustainability Summit. The Tollway is studying the effectiveness of biosolids as a soil enhancement in landscape projects. (photo from IDOT Facebook Page).
Here's an example of the types of measures that are being undertaken:
The Illinois Tollway’s Landscape Master Plan was developed with the goal of establishing and maintaining healthy tree communities throughout the Tollway’s 294-miles, 5 roadways and 12 counties.
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OBJECTIVES: In partnership with The Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, this Master Plan will guide Tollway efforts to:
  • Install 58,000 trees with the intent of increasing regional tree canopy coverage
  • Develop experimental approaches to planting that could test new ideas for tree installation and care in stressful roadway conditions
  • Develop maintenance programs to better ensure the long-term viability of future planting efforts
  • Evaluate and develop a diverse list of plant species and material suitable for high speed roadways
  • Identify viable living snow fence locations
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Chris Jones - Nitrogen Discharge from Iowa Rivers

3/1/2021

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Iowa is famous for the livestock it produces - the number of hogs in Iowa in 2020 was more than twice that in the next highest state - more than 24,000 hogs.  Iowa is also the top producer in chickens and 7th highest in cattle.  All these animals eat a lot of corn and soybeans and they make a lot of manure.  

Chris Jones is a Research Engineer at the Iowa Institute of Hydraulics and Engineering, and he has a chatty and informative blog where he analyzes and reports on  Iowa water data.  
In his March 1, 2021 post, Jones compiled data from the monitoring of Iowa watersheds since 2003.  His post documents his data sources and explains his methodology.  The graph above shows the amount of nitrogen being discharged from Iowa on the major rivers.  The green line is the rivers discharging to the Missouri River, and the blue line is the rivers going directly to the Upper Mississippi.  The red line is the total discharge.  Jones' data shows that the total nitrogen discharge has doubled since 2003.  

In 2019, Jones wrote a post that compared the impact of the population of livestock to the human population of major cities.  Our speaker at the UMRR session, David Osterberg, quoted Chris Jones  as he talked about the need for a stronger approach to nutrient management.  You can watch the video of Osterberg's talk via the link in this UMRR Blog post.  Chris Jones' blog post that Osterberg quoted is found at this link.  

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Fishers and Farmers February Conversations

3/1/2021

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Our February 1 meeting featured Heidi Keuler from Fishers and Farmers as one of our speakers.  You can see the video from this meeting at this link.  She talked about the work of this organization in bringing together people who care about the land and water to reach solutions that work for both.  
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Every month, Fishers and Farmers posts a podcast and a video talking about work in Upper Mississippi watersheds to advance soil health and water quality improvements.  Their February events focused on the Polk County, Iowa, Soil and Water Conservation District and the work of the Peno Creek Landowner Council near Hannibal, Missouri.  You can watch the video and listen to the podcast on the Fishers and Farmers website.  Also on this page, you will learn of F&F's upcoming programs, and have the opportunity to participate and learn.  
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Ag-Urban Partnership for Water Quality - Trading Guidance published, pilot project planned

3/1/2021

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In our December blog post,  we told you about the Ag-Urban Partnership Forum hosted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.   In a recent email, Katrina Kessler of MPCA  said:

"I am reaching out to let you know that the MPCA recently published a detailed Water Quality Trading Guidance document and a companion website that provide a high-level introduction to the concept of water quality trading. Water quality trading provides a mechanism and legal framework for regulated wastewater and stormwater sources to engage in watershed-based water quality restoration and protection partnerships, and is closely related to the ecosystem services marketplace ideas presented at the Ag-Urban Partnership Forum.
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The Water Quality Trading Guidance is available on the MPCA’s water quality trading webpage. I encourage you to visit the website and, if you are interested, review the guidance document.
​​

I am also pleased to share that the MPCA, in coordination with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR), will be initiating a pilot project to increase awareness and participation in water quality trading opportunities. We are excited to work with local resource managers and agricultural producers to identify how state agencies and local partners can work on innovative water quality solutions."

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We will continue to follow developments and share them on the blog.  Trading is an important option for reducing nonpoint source pollution.  Read more about MPCA's efforts in trading on their website's trading page.  

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Regulatory Capture and Minnesota's Government:   Working for the Public Interest, or Special Interests?

2/28/2021

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Monday, March 15, 2021, 7:00 p.m. – Public Meeting via Zoom
 presented by: Don Arnosti, Environmental Organizer
                                                                                                
This program is a Zoom Webinar hosted by LWV Woodbury Cottage Grove (MN).   Please register here:

https://lwvmn-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yswZ8tQMTceo0c286C7C-A

Open to the public – invite a friend!

​Regulatory capture occurs when government serves private interests instead of enforcing existing laws written in the public interest.   Don Arnosti provides evidence that documents regulatory capture
  • in multiple Minnesota agencies
  • on various Minnesota issues 
  • during the administrations of all political parties.
 
Don Arnosti has 30 years of broad expertise in environmental policy and organizing. He currently consults for the Friends of the Minnesota Valley on agricultural drainage issues. Don Arnosti is a long-time, active member in Minnesota Environmental Partnership (in which LWVMN belongs). He served as Executive Director for Audubon Minnesota and the Izaak Walton League, and in various positions for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, and Clean Water Action. He has worked with people in all corners of the state to protect water, land and wildlife, while incorporating rural communities' interest in farming, forestry and tourism.

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LWV UMRR plans meetings and events for 2021

2/11/2021

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​LWV Upper Mississippi River Region, or UMRR (pronounced “Ummer”), is an interleague organization focused on water quality.  UMRR is made up of 60 local Leagues in the states of Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  Our geographic area is the Upper Mississippi River basin – that part of the Upper Mississippi basin upstream of the river’s confluence with the Ohio at the south edge of Illinois.  Here’s a link to an UMRR blog post  to learn more about what an ILO is and how it fits into the LWV national structure, and to learn more about how our structure strengthens our work, allowing the amplification of the voice of League throughout the watershed.  

Established in 2015, UMRR’s Board has strong representation from each of our four member states
.  Our Board members are listed on our Contact Us page– you may know some of us!   The Board meets six times a year on the first Monday of even numbered months.  In the pre-Covid days, we traveled around the basin for these meetings, which was a great way to get to know our members and the water issues in their communities.  Now, everything is on the same schedule, but virtual.  For each Board meeting, we also hold an educational session that focuses on a specific topic of concern.   These educational sessions are open to the public and recorded videos are shared and posted.

​Upcoming educational sessions are planned on
  • the impacts of highways on water resources (April 5),
  • efforts a city can undertake to protect and improve water quality (August 2),
  • PFAS (fire-suppression chemicals found contaminating water (October 4), and
  • the impact of electric cars can have in combating climate warming (December 6).
UMRR’s annual meetings are larger events, built around topics of current concern.  Our May 22, 2021, Annual Meeting will focus on using carbon capture to combat climate change, highlighting the role of agricultural lands in this effort.  All these meetings will be described on our Blog and advertised through the UMRR newsletter, direct emails to member Leagues and through state communications like this All Member News.  We look forward to working with you!
PictureLWV UMRR Board members Mary and Steve Ploesser at the Headwaters, June 2019
How to connect with LWV UMRR:
 
LWV UMRR’s website has lots of information.  Our Blog features 2-3 posts per month on topics that UMRR is working on.  One recent post includes a link to video from our Feb 1 meeting, where we learned about watershed-scale work to reach people and promote soil health and water quality.  Our “Upcoming Events” page includes posts for our upcoming meetings and maintains Board meeting information from past events.  Here, those who are interested can see our Board agendas, meeting minutes, Treasurer reports, and Action Committee reports as well as see the topics that were included in the educational sessions. 
 
Almost every month, LWV UMRR puts out a newsletter that includes links to our Blog posts and other items of interest.  You can sign up to receive the newsletter by submitting the info through our Contact Us page, or by emailing us at lwvumrr@lwvmn.org.   Leagues that are not already members can join UMRR through our Membership page, and anyone interested in making a donation can do so on our Donate page.


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Wisconsin Water Week - March 8-12, 2021

2/11/2021

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Wisconsin Lakes is planning their annual get-together, virtual this year.  And it's a multi-day event!  Lots of great talks and interesting things to learn - read more below.
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With Wisconsin Water Week, March 8-12, 2021 you can expect
  • Inspiring content in the form of engaging presentations, panel discussions, interactive conversations with experts and more on the full range of water topics
  • Opportunities to network with fellow participants through messaging and chat functions
  • Exposure to a wide range of service providers and non-profit organizations working on water and water conservation, including the ability to meet one-on-one with representatives

Conference organizers promise that this is NOT going to be just a series of Zoom presentations. You might even call it, unconventional.
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Environmental Advocacy from Home

2/11/2021

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​Citizens' voices are needed in environmental advocacy.  Here's an opportunity for Iowans to reach out to their legislators and speak up for their environment.
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Iowa Environmental Advocacy Day
​February 25, 12-3pm
Iowa Environmental Council's post on the subject: 

Each legislative session presents opportunities to advocate for Iowa’s water, land, and climate. In 2021, IEC staff, advocates, and volunteers will push to for improvements in clean energy policy, water quality, energy efficiency, and more. This year we're doing things a little differently! We invite you to join us virtually on February 25 for two engaging events. You'll hear from advocates and legislators, learn how you can get involved, add your voice to our growing coalition, and support this important work.

Individual activists and organizations are encouraged to participate in Environmental Advocacy Day. 
During Advocacy Day, you'll hear from environmental advocates and legislators, have a chance to participate in a free advocacy training session, network with environmental organizations and other Iowans engaged in this work. Environmental Advocacy Day will take place on Whova, an online event platform. Detailed instructions will be provided in advance of the program.   Registration at this link - you can also register for the evening social event/fundraiser here.  

The Minnesota Environmental Partnership is planning a similar event for April, in conjunction with Earth Day - more on that as information becomes available.  

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