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Welcome to the Water Log
Volume 1, Issue 1
Special Neosho Headwaters Edition
Summer - 2010
 This newsletter is a quarterly publication of the Flint Hills Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council. Flint Hills RC&D coordinates seven Watershed Restoration and Protection (WRAP) projects in the Flint Hills Region. A map on page 3 shows the locations. The Neosho Headwaters Watershed is one of the newest which the RC&D is administering. You have been identified as a landowner in this watershed.
The Flint Hills Water Log is available in an electronic or paper hard copy version. We can save money on the electronic version of the newsletter. So, if you are willing and able to receive the newsletter electronically please send the editor an e-mail with your e-mail address. The Water Log Editor’s contact information is listed on page 2. We would also appreciate it greatly if you would take the time to complete a short survey on page 5. We look forward to serving you and keeping you informed about land and water issues that affect us all.
The Flint Hills Staff What the heck is WRAPS?
WRAPS stands for Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies. It is a planning and management framework that engages stakeholders within a particular watershed in a process to:
- Identify watershed restoration and protection needs and opportunities
- Assess the watershed and establish management goals for the watershed community
- Create a cost-effective action plan to achieve goals
- Implement the action plan
WRAPS represents a shift from "top-down" government intervention in watershed issues, to a more citizen-stakeholder approach, in which funds, guidance and technical assistance are provided for stakeholders to reach consensus on issues of relevance in their watershed, and then design and execute a plan to address those issues.
* A watershed is an area of land that drains to a common place like a lake or stream.
 The term "WRAPS" was coined by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) in response to the 1998 Clean Water Action Plan issued by the Clinton Administration. The Clean Water Action Plan directed the state environmental agency and the State Conservationist of each state to complete a "unified watershed assessment". Once the assessment was completed, states were then directed to develop "watershed restoration action strategies" (WRAS). Kansas' has long contended that restoration of damages is only part of the need and that action to protect water is also necessary, hence the term WRAPS. As used by KDHE, WRAPS referred to the development of action plans to address nonpoint source pollution sources on a watershed basis that reduce pollution loads and other related water quality concerns.
In 2003, a review of the Basin Sections of the Kansas Water Plan showed that watershed restoration and protection was a priority issue in most of the river basins of Kansas, and an interagency work group was appointed to develop a Water Issue Strategic Plan. The work group found that Kansas and the federal government have many different programs and activities that address related water resource management issues. The work group determined that much more could be accomplished through a collaborative watershed planning process that addressed not only water quality/pollution issues but the entire spectrum of watershed water resources needs.
The WRAPS program is unique because the natural resource agencies of Kansas, supported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are seeking citizen and stakeholder input on how to best manage and protect our watersheds. Through WRAPS, local, state and federal program resources are being streamlined to do just that.
The process is overseen by the WRAPS Work Group. The Group is the advising body for the WRAPS program and is comprised of the members of the Kansas Natural Resources Sub-Cabinet and other state and federal natural resource related agencies. The Work Group assures that all Kansas’ water resources meet the expectations of all stakeholders by facilitating a collaborative relationship among state, federal, local government and private sector interests so that financial, programmatic and technical assistance resources are directed to the priority water resource needs of Kansas’ citizens.
Participation from stakeholders like you is essential to the success of the WRAPS program. For more information you can call or e-mail one of our WRAPS coordinators listed on page 5, or you can check out the WRAPs website
 Watershed Scales
Watersheds come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The farm pond pictured below is part of its own 30 acre watershed. It is a sub-watershed of a small tributary stream that is a tributary of Elm Creek. Elm Creek is a sub-watershed of Melvern Lake Watershed. Melvern Lake is part of the larger Marais des Cygne River Basin Watershed, which is part of the Missouri River Basin or watershed, which is part of the Mississippi River Watershed. What is your watershed address?
NEOSHO HEADWATERS JOHN REDMOND LAKE
John Redmond Lake is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers multipurpose reservoir located in Coffey County on the Neosho River. The lake or reservoir has been in operation since 1964 and has 8,516 surface acres of water at multipurpose pool elevation.
The Neosho Headwaters watershed includes the area above the lake in Coffey, Lyon, Morris, and Wabaunsee Counties, but does not include the Cottonwood River Watershed. It is a vital resource for the Wolf Clear Nuclear Power Plant north of Burlington. Primary water quality concerns are sedimentation and excessive nutrient loading or eutrophication.
 WRAPS Implementation: 2010
Watershed Size – 659 sq. miles
Project Coordinator: Paul Ingle
Neosho Headwaters Watershed &
Melvern Lake Watershed
P.O. Box 8736 Topeka, KS 66608
Phone: 785-640-2645
Email:
Phone: 785-640-2645
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Acres to Expire
 More than 430,000 acres in Kansas will expire in September from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The question for landowners and operators will be what to do after the fact? It is hoped by many watershed scientists, wildlife biologists, climatologists, and conservationists that the acres will stay in a permanent vegetative cover of grass and/or trees. If you have acres due to expire don’t wait until after the fact, work up a plan now. Some of the land will be eligible for an extension. The USDA Service Center where your land is carried can help you with the decision.
There are a number of options that include; grazing it, haying it; setting it up for a hunting preserve; or a combination of uses. If fence and water are needed to convert it to grazing lands then there are some grant opportunities available to help with the conversion. If the land has Highly Erodible Land (HEL), then a conservation plan that will address soil erosion will be mandatory if you wish to continue receiving any government payments.
Buffers are Big Bang, for the Buck
 Have you heard the expression before about getting the most “bang for the buck”? A best management practice (BMP) that most scientists believe would fit this phrase would be grass buffer strips planted adjacent to the stream corridor. Often times they are called buffer or filter strips and in Kansas are usually planted to native grass. The recommended minimum planting width is of 30 feet wide according to NRCS standards.
These buffers trap sediment and nutrients, provide wildlife habitat, protect streambanks, and can reduce flooding by acting as a sponge to capture water. A riparian specialist with the US Army Corps of Engineers has calculated that a 50 foot buffer strip adjacent to a stream can store up to 8 times more water than by trying to farm right up to the edge of a stream.
In addition, the roots of native plants act as glue to hold streambanks together instead of losing your precious soil to the stream.
 The federal government will pay you for installing and maintaining these buffers on your farm. Crop yields are typically less next to the stream anyway as shown in the photo at the right. This program known as the *Continuous CRP program is administered through the Farm Service Agency.
In addition to the buffer strips, the *C-CRP offers a number of other conservation options you may be interested in. There are over thirty different conservation options available.
Some of the options available are:
- Grassed waterways – If you don’t want to hay or graze the waterway, you can get cost-share assistance to construct a waterway and then get an annual payment for the grass that you established.
- Field borders – If you are a wildlife enthusiast, this option will pay you to establish a grassed safe zone for birds and animals around the edge of your cropland fields.
- Riparian tree buffers – Plant trees and shrubs adjacent to the streambanks now and have a great stand of harvestable timber in 40 years.
- Grassed Contour Terraces – Sow your terraces down to native grass and extend the life expectancy of your terraces. Or just plant grass strips on the contour of your field in lieu of terraces.
- Wetland Restoration – Take those wet, low lying, hard to farm areas out of crop production into wetlands.
- Marginal Pasture Land – Fence off streams and riparian areas in your pasture and receive a rental rate for the acres taken out of grazing production.
 SAFE – This is the newest option and will allow you to put small or unproductive parts of larger fields into native grass or trees.
These are just a few of the options available. Any of them can be used alone or together to help make your farm more profitable. All of the practices can be set up with 10 to 15 year contracts. Most come with extra incentive payments that help to pay the expenses for installation. Get into your local UDDA office to get more information on how to get a big bang out of a conservation buck.
What’s An RC&D?
Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) is a unique partnership between the federal government and a local not-for-profit organization. The purpose of RC&D is to accelerate the conservation, development and utilization of natural resources, improve the general level of economic activity, and enhance the environment and standard of living in the RC&D area. “Making Things Happen” has long been the slogan for RC&D.
RC&Ds are often mistaken as a government agency because of their relationship with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The NRCS partnership, in general, provides operational support to the council. This includes NRCS staff, office space, equipment and supplies, and vehicle. This support allows the council to focus their time and energies on implementing project measures and not on annual fund raising activities needed for operational support.
 The Flint Hills RC&D Council was formed in 1971 to provide technical and financial assistance to local units of governments. The Council is the local not-for-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation that serves Butler, Chase, Dickinson, Geary, Greenwood, Lyon, Marion, Morris and Wabaunsee Counties of Kansas. Each of the nine county commissions and conservation districts support the Flint Hills RC&D Council. The council is governed by a 36-member council/board that is made up of four representatives from each county. The council helps people in rural areas plan and carry-out activities that address their locally identified needs and opportunities. Because the council is locally supported and led, the program provides an ideal way for residents to join together to decide what is best for their community.
The Flint Hills RC&D office is located in the USDA Service Center at 3020 West 18th Ave, Emporia, KS 66801.
The RC&D Coordinator is Tom McGuire, and he can be reached at 620-340-0113-Ext. 9, or email
Tom would be happy to send you additional information about the organization.
"When drinking water, remember its source."
— Chinese proverb
Keep It Covered!
An old practice that is having a renaissance is the use of cover crops. Cover crops were used by the Romans and Ancient Greeks as green manures, along with animal manures, to improve soil fertility. Before the advent of commercial chemical fertilizer and pesticides in the U.S. cover crops were commonly used when farms were more diversified with livestock. Today cover crops are taking the practice of keeping the soil covered a step further than even no-till has. Some ardent no-tillers are adopting the incorporation of cover corps into their no-till systems.
In addition to keeping the soil covered cover crops can provide multiple benefits. These benefits include: improved organic matter and soil structure, nutrient enhancement, weed suppression, increased water infiltration, reduced soil loss, and production of an alternative crop. According to research at Purdue University, fields with a winter cover crop that were used as a green manure crop in the spring had 55% less water runoff and 50% less soil loss than fields without a winter cover (Kansas Rural Center, 1998).
 Disadvantages of cover crops include the cost of the seed and planting, lowered soil temperatures in the spring, and potential depletion of soil moisture at planting time.
There are numerous plants that can be used as a cover crop and include: clovers; cow peas; Hairy Vetch; soybeans, annual rye; wheat; oats; triticale; millet; black medic; and a host of others.
Cover crops just make good agronomic sense. The fallow period between cash crops could be a lost opportunity. If a cover crop is not planted weeds are going to grow anyway. For the cost of using a herbicide why not try and take advantage of growing something during that period that will offer numerous benefits?
Whether you are a conventional tiller, no-tiller, strip-tiller, or organic farmer, cover crops will offer benefits. While doing research for this article I was thrilled to read there are new frontiers being discovered with the use of cover crops. I have listed a number of websites that you may want to explore. Whatever road you travel, remember to “Keep It Covered”.
www.attra.org/ www.newfarm.org/ www.notill.org/ www.oznet.ksu.edu/kcsaac/; www.kansasruralcenter.org www.sare.org/ www.noble.org/Ag/
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Water Quality 
