The 2014 Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) conducted its annual Fall Conservation Tour last Friday, providing a number of interesting insights on water quality programs, crop technology and management techniques and some timely tips on the most successful methods for planting and nurturing trees.

 

The 20 participants and six SWCD staff members rendezvoused in the parking lot at the Sherburne County Government Center in Elk River early Friday morning for the traditional coffee and bakery breakfast before boarding a bus to visit the seven sites selected for this year’s tour.

 

The first stop was a walking tour of two raingardens at Russell’s on the Lake in Big Lake.  Water Resource Specialist Tiffany Determan described the project, which included the completion of two rain gardens that were installed in 2013 with the assistance of a Clean Water Fund Grant that was administered by the Elk River Watershed Association.

 

While the rain gardens do not capture all of the water flowing into Big Lake from the structure and parking lot, they do treat an estimated 40 per cent of the phosphorus in the stormwater runoff before it reaches the lake, she said.  Both raingardens were designed by a landscape architect from the Metro Conservation District.

 

Owner Russell Vetsch joined the group during the tour, discussing the effects of the project and serving a welcome cup of hot coffee to the participants on the chilly stop on the lakeshore.

 

Resource Conservationist Bill Bronder took over the next stop, which was a one-acre cover crop demonstration site near the intersection of Hwy. 10 and Co. Rd. 11.  The five rows of crops contained oats, radishes, turnips, winter peas, clover, canola, barley, buckwheat and mustard, which are designed to manage soil erosion, soil fertility, quality, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife.

 

The stop also included a demonstration of a computerized water measurement device, which relies on a probe fitted with detectors that transmits information on water levels to a solar-powered computer that relays the information via either satellite or cell-phone signal.  Steve Lenzmeier and Patrick Moritz from Midwest Machinery Co. were on hand to demonstrate the device, which collects and distributes information to farmers regarding the levels of irrigation application their fields will need at any given time.

 

The third stop was a visit to the Anoka Sand Plain Plant Materials Evaluation Site in Becker, where Bronder and Site Mgr. Ron Faber discussed the many varieties of shrubs, trees, fruits and grasses that are planted at the site.  The facility was established in 1997, and is managed under a memorandum of understanding between the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U. of M. Extension, Sand Plain Research Farm and four local SWCDs (Benton, Sherburne, Stearns and Wright counties).

 

Stop number four was a short walk to the Sherburne County Community Gravel Bed, where Resource Conservationist Gina Hugo gave a presentation on the benefits of the “bare root” tree nursery located there.  By placing young trees in the gravel bed and watering them several times a day, the trees root system grows in an uninterrupted circular fashion in all directions from the trunk.

 

The process makes it possible for the SWCD to sell trees at a 50 to 75 per cent savings over trees sold in other commercial venues.  The “root ball” used by some retailers can result in the tree roots growing in a spiral fashion around the underground base, which may eventually choke off the flow of nutrients and water to the tree tops, resulting in the death of the tree in 10 or 12 years.  That problem is virtually undetectable by the planter, Hugh said, and results in a costly disappointment if the landscaped tree should die.

 

The process is a simple one, Hug said, and she demonstrated it by uprooting a pair of young trees to display the root development. She simply replaced them in the gravel bed, where they waited for their next watering with no ill effects.  The system also provides the growing trees with increased resistance to diseases, Hugo said, as well as decreasing planting times and effort and providing more different species for planting.

 

The project was completed in April, 2013, in partnership with the cities of Becker, Big Lake, Princeton, Clear Lake, Elk River and Zimmerman.

 

Following a break for lunch at Becker City Park, the tour moved on to a stormwater/sediment control project on Little Elk Lake in Baldwin Township.  That project was a partnership between the Elk River Watershed Association, the Sherburne SWCD and Baldwin Township.  Of the $35,760 total cost, $12,691.33 came from the Clean Water Fund, with the remaining $23,068.67 contributed by Baldwin Township.

 

The project involved resurfacing a gravel road and installing a sediment trap, (called a SAFL Baffle) above a rock chute leading to the lake to settle sediment in stormwater before it reaches the lake.

 

The final tour stop was an assessment of potential stormwater retrofit projects on Birch Lake in Big Lake Township.

 

Taking part in the 2014 SWCD Fall Tour were the following: State Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer; Karen Miller (Cong. Michele Bachman’s office); SWCD supervisors Larry Goenner and David Berg, Mary Berg, Big Lake, Shane Berg, Orrock Tsp.; Sherburne County Commissioner John Riebel; Barbara Tucker, Sherburne Water Plan Advisory Committee; Darrell Tucker, Clear Lake; Doug Manthei, Livonia Tsp.; Terry Polsfuss, Elk River Watershed Assn.; Nancy Riddle, Sherburne Zoning Administrator; Jon Bogart, Baldwin Tsp. Supervisor; Dan Merchant, Briggs lake Chain Assn. President; Lynn Waytashek, Asst. Sherburne Zoning Admin.; Lucinda Messman, Becker Tsp.; Steve Lenzmeier and Patrick Moritz, Midwest Machinery Co., and Ron Faber, Anoka Sand Plain Mgr.

 

SWCD staff on hand included Dist. Mgr. Francine Larson; Water Resource Specialist Tiffany Determan, Resource Conservationist Gina Hugo, District Technician Bill Bronder, District Aide Frances Gerde and Admin./Marketing Asst. Andie Bumgarner.