Lynden Township Supervisor Jerry Finch and the Plum Creek Neighborhood Network (PCNN) have been chosen by the Stearns County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to receive their Outstanding Conservationist Award for 2017.
Plum Creek, a small stream in Lynden Township, was listed as impaired by bacteria for recreational use by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in 2012. A study conducted by the agency found Plum Creek Watershed to be impaired by E. coli, a bacterium found in the intestine of human and warm-blooded animals that becomes a contaminant when found in the food or water supply.
While only a few strains of E. coli are harmful to humans, they also serve as indicator organisms for the presence of other disease-causing pathogens, including protozoa such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium.
SWCD found the actions taken by Finch and the PCNN to try to delist Plum Creek for the impairment to be an amazing example of a grassroots effort by local citizens to protect water quality, which is what led to the award.
Finch was on the Stearns Co. Planning Commission at the time the original study was conducted by the SWCD in 2008, and inquired as to what could be done to delist Plum Creek from the impaired list because he was concerned with what it could mean to local residents.
He was informed there had only been enough money for the study, so he spoke with the MPCA, who didn’t have any money either and suggested he start action on his own. It was also recommended he take the watershed specialist training course through the University of Minnesota, which he did, using Plum Creek as his case study.
Applying civic engagement skills learned in the course, Finch organized the Plum Creek Neighborhood Network comprised of the Lynden Township Board of Supervisors and 24 local volunteers. The group learned as much as they could about bacterial impairment from private and government experts, then began intensive stream sampling for E. coli funded by the township.
The Plum Creek testing showed the E. coli levels were increasing as it flowed downstream from Warner Lake without any apparent watershed inputs such as manure or municipal waste runoff from fields, animal feedlot runoff, or non-compliant septic systems. Warner Lake itself has never exceeded state standard.
Finch next contacted Dr. Yokav Pachepsky, USDA rResearch soil scientist from Maryland, and Dr. Michael Sadowsky, of the Biotechnic Institute at the University of Minnesota. They were both behind the project 100% as it was a perfect laboratory in that the water coming out of Warner Lake is never out of standard, yet the E. coli levels increased the further north the creek went.
They explained E. coli bacteria can live in stream sediment and become an endless “naturalized” supply into the stream flow during both high and low flow conditions.
Dr. Sadowsky suggested that water samples be sent to a laboratory in Florida for DNA analysis. The results were negative for poultry, ruminant (cattle), swine, and human markers. In addition, bacterial samples taken from both the sediment and the water column were analyzed by Dr. Sadowsky and were found to be the same type, leading to the conclusion it has its own DNA.
Finch began sharing this data with MPCA, which brought about a series of meetings involving MPCA, SWCD’s, MnDOT, Stearns Co. Public Works, Stearns Co. Parks, University of Minnesota and St. John’s University. They are now working together to expand and refine the water sampling procedure and more closely look at watershed characteristics.
“We feel that one of our greatest accomplishments is facilitating the conversations between MPCA and academia concerning the impairment of rivers and streams with E. coli,” said Finch.
“We admire the hard work and tenacity that Jerry Finch and the Plum Creek Neighborhood Network have put into this effort,” said Dennis Fuchs, Stearns Co. SWCD administrator. “They are a great example of local citizens taking charge and figuring out how to get things done to protect their resources.”
He added that there are still questions to be answered and work to be done in Plum Creek, but the project wouldn’t be where it is now without the PCNN.
Currently the 2017 water samples are just being completed and will be sent to the MPCA to be analyzed; by next spring they hope to have an answer. The goal is to delist Plum Creek off the impaired list.
Finch and the Plum Creek Neighborhood Network will be recognized during the Minnesota Association of Conservation Districts (MASWCD) Annual Convention at the Double Tree by Hilton, Bloomington-Minneapolis South on Dec. 4 and 5. They will also be honored at the annual Stearns Co. Chapter of Pheasants Forever banquet in spring 2018.
