Adaptive Watershed Management for Control of Nutrient Loss in the Mackinaw River Watershed. Krista Kirkham and Maria Lemke The Nature Conservancy

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1 Adaptive Watershed Management for Control of Nutrient Loss in the Mackinaw River Watershed Krista Kirkham and Maria Lemke The Nature Conservancy

2 Innovative Partnerships Mackinaw River Program Federal Government (USDA): Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Government and Universities: McLean County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois State University, Ball State University Not-for Profit: The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund Local: City of Bloomington and landowners/farmers

3 Mackinaw River Watershed Land Use Illinois River c 730,000 acres Mississippi River Land Use Corn Soybean Forested Grassland Developed

4 Drainage tile systems: 4.7 million hectares of subsurface drainage in Illinois (12 million acres)

5 Mackinaw River Watershed Land Use Illinois River c 730,000 acres Mississippi River Franklin Research & Demonstration Farm Bloomington Drinking Watersheds Project Paired Watershed Project Land Use Corn Soybean Forested Grassland Developed

Mackinaw River YSI YSI Biweekly grab samples: NH 4+, NO 3-, SRP, TP, TSS YSI ISCO Water Samplers (Storm events, stage

6 Paired Watershed Project (15 years) Question: How well do traditional conservation practices work to improve water quality, hydrology, and biodiversity at the watershed scale? Mackinaw River YSI YSI Biweekly grab samples: NH 4+, NO 3-, SRP, TP, TSS YSI ISCO Water Samplers (Storm events, stage height) Water temperature, turbidity, ph, conductivity, DO X Met Stations: Air temperature, rain, soil moisture X X Frog Alley: Reference (10,000 acres) Bray Creek: Treatment (10,000 acres)

7 p=0.047 p=0.004 p=0.007 Lemke et al., 2011 JEQ 40:

Paired Watershed Project Results: 1999-2006

8 Paired Watershed Project Results: Outreach works No nutrient/suspended sediment reduction No impact on hydrology or biota Need to better retain runoff, especially from tile drainage WETLANDS

9 Paired Watershed Project (2006-present) Quantify watershed-scale effectiveness of constructed wetlands at restoring altered hydrology and reducing nutrient and sediment transport (10,000 acre-scale) Current wetlands ( ) New wetlands ( ) Mackinaw River D X X Bray Creek: Treatment Frog Alley: Reference

nutrients & flow Cell 1 Cell 2 Cell 3 3% 3% 3% Monitor nutrients & flow

10 How well does a wetland perform? 3% 6% 9% Monitor nutrients & flow Tile Inlet Monitor nutrients & flow Monitor nutrients & flow Cell 1 Cell 2 Cell 3 3% 3% 3% Monitor nutrients & flow Nutrient Reductions NO3-N: 18%-44% P04-P: 57%-68% 6% What size of wetland is most effective at reducing nutrients in tile runoff? 9%

11 Next Steps: 1. How do winter cover crops influence nutrient export from tile-drained farmland? 2. Effectiveness of bundled in-field and edge of field practices N

12 Application Methods Seed Type/Rate Modified Hiboy Oats and Radish No-till drill Tillage Radish Aerial Cereal rye Annual Ryegrass

13 N Demonstrate many conservation practices on a working farm

14 Demonstrate many conservation practices on a working farm Floodplain wetland construction N

17 Mackinaw River Project Sites Illinois River Mississippi River Drinking Watershed Project Lake Evergreen Lake Bloomington USGS gaging stations Six Mile Creek Watershed 25,730 acres Evergreen Lake Money Creek Watershed 43,100 acres Lake Bloomington

Bloomington USGS gaging stations Six Mile Creek Watershed 25,730 acres

18 Mackinaw River Project Sites Illinois River Mississippi River Drinking Watershed Project Research and Demonstration Farm Lake Evergreen Lake Bloomington USGS gaging stations Six Mile Creek Watershed 25,730 acres Evergreen Lake Money Creek Watershed 43,100 acres Lake Bloomington Paired Watershed

19 NO 3 -N (mg/l) 30 Finished Water Nitrate Levels EPA Drinking Water Standard Year Nitrate-N sources: Creek water Tile water: pasture Rain water Artesian well Surface water runoff: Agriculture Tile water: Organic Agriculture Tile water: Row Crop Agriculture Nitrate-N (mg/l) Smiciklas et al., 2008

20 Long-term goals: To reduce nitrate loading to Lake Bloomington, the source of water for 80,000 people and Bloomington and Normal, IL. To construct tile-drainage treatment wetlands and nutrient management practices at scale throughout the Lake Bloomington watershed. A proof of concept study that proposes a more sustainable approach to agricultural runoff than solely an engineering solution.

21 Conservation Practices Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): Farmable Wetlands Program (CP39) 50% cost-share 40% practice incentive payment $100/acre signing incentive payment CRP annual soil rental payments + 20% Farmer Network Nitrogen field trials on corn (rate and timing) Corn stalk and soil nitrogen testing Aerial imagery to determine nitrogen uptake Nitrogen management plan USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant :

incentive payment CRP annual soil rental payments + 20% Farmer Network Results:

nitrogen Agricultural Advisory Group (AAG) IEPA 319 proposal and IL Nutrient

22 Conservation Practices Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): Farmable Wetlands Program (CP39) 50% cost-share 40% practice incentive payment $100/acre signing incentive payment CRP annual soil rental payments + 20% Farmer Network Results: Farmers are not over applying nitrogen Next step: Increase spring application of nitrogen Agricultural Advisory Group (AAG) IEPA 319 proposal and IL Nutrient Research and Education Council (NREC) USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant :

23 How well does a wetland perform? Reference Treatment + + X 3 Constructed Wetlands Bundled Practices Monitoring equipment Adaptive management Constructed wetlands How many wetland acres are needed? (i.e., how much tile is in the watershed?) What kind of watershed reductions can be expected? How many wetland acres are possible?

24 Flow nets using high resolution LiDAR data

25 Flow nets using high resolution LiDAR data Miran Day (Cal Poly) Dr. David Kovacic (University of Illinois)

26 Watershed Mapping: i.e., Where are the tiles? Miran Day (Cal Poly) Dr. David Kovacic (University of Illinois) 1.6 acres 8 acres 30 acres Tier 6 Sub-basins LB Tier 5 Sub-basin LB Tier 4 Sub-basin LB Tier 3 Sub-basin LB acres Tier 2 Sub-basin of Lake Bloomington LB-1 43,000 acres Tier 1 Entire Lake Bloomington Watershed LB Kovacic

27 Money Creek watershed USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant :

Practices Monitoring equipment Adaptive management Constructed

What kind of watershed reductions can be expected How many

Economic analyses and financial models + Landowner and funding

28 How well does a wetland perform? Reference Treatment + + X 3 Constructed Wetlands Bundled Practices Monitoring equipment Adaptive management Constructed wetlands How many wetland acres are needed? What kind of watershed reductions can be expected How many wetland acres are possible? Economic analyses and financial models + Landowner and funding commitment - Watershed conservation blueprint for the City of Bloomington - Applicability beyond the Mackinaw River for sustainable conservation and agricultural production

Collaborators, Partners and Funding Sources: Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS) Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (UIUC)

29 Collaborators, Partners and Funding Sources: Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS) Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (UIUC) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)/Walton Family Foundation City of Bloomington, Illinois World Wildlife Foundation Private landowners and producers Illinois State University (ISU) Monsanto DuPont -Pioneer Lumpkin Family Foundation Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) AGREM LLC Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Southern Illinois University (SIU) Ducks Unlimited (DU) Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Kellogg Foundation; Mackinaw River Partnership

30 Questions?

31 Nitrate-nitrogen (mg/l) Mackinaw River YSI YSI Long term monitoring Current wetlands New wetlands Outlet X X Reference (10,000 acres) Inlet Treatment (10,000 acres) Inlet Outlet 24% 36% % 38% Year

Illinois Farmers as Nutrient Stewards: Opportunities via the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy

Illinois Farmers as Nutrient Stewards: Opportunities via the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy IFB Commodities Conference July 30, 2014 Lauren Lurkins Director of Natural and Environmental Resources