If you're the coordinator of a watershed project that's received Section 319 funding from the DNR, a number of tools and resources are available to you.

DNR assistance and support Coordinator news Staff contacts

Grants and other funding Other DNR tools and resources Assistance from our partners

Assistance and support
DNR Watershed Improvement staff can assist with your project from the planning stages to completion, from technical assistance to help with your public relations campaign. The DNR, along with our watershed improvement partners (Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship- Division of Soil Conservation and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service), offers the following:

Technical assistance
From the sediment delivery calculator to tools to use in the field, a number of support options are available to watershed projects.

The DNR and its partners can assist with assessments in the watershed, which help determine what the problems are and where they're coming from. These include stream (RASCAL), gully, watershed land cover and tillage, livestock and other assessments. Project coordinators can use tools from the DNR, like tablet computers and hand-held GIS units, to complete these assessments.

Project coordinators can also use the Sediment Delivery Calculator, a database that calculates sediment delivery reduction resulting from conservation practices installed during a project.

Projects can receive advice on selection and design of conservation practices, as well as help with cost-share and funding assistance issues from DNR, DSC and NRCS.

More information on technical assistance is available from Adam Kiel at (515) 282-6149 or Adam.Kiel@dnr.iowa.gov or from one of the DSC regional coordinators.

• More on monitoring and assessment tools (*.pdf)
• Custom GIS maps (*.pdf)

Project guidance
Three Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship - Division of Soil Conservation regional coordinators (RCs) work with watershed projects on assessments, grant applications and Watershed Development and Planning Assistance Grants. The RCs - Vince Sitzmann, Jeff Tisl and Bob Waters - also help develop projects and can answer day-to-day questions from projects.

The DNR’s two project officers, Kyle Ament and Rachel Glaza, work with the projects and regional coordinators on project planning, development and oversight, and contracts. The project officers also serve as a contact with EPA and can answer questions on eligibility for 319 funds. Once you have a grant, DNR project officers will visit you in the field at least twice a year to help you reach your watershed improvement goals.

Both the DSC regional coordinators and DNR project officers can help plan your project using the watershed planning protocol (*.pdf).

Project officer and RC contact info

Public relations assistance
Help on your Information and Education efforts (often called "I&E") is available from DNR Information Specialist Jessie Brown. She can assist in creating public relations plans and I&E campaigns, as well as helping with individual pieces. Contact Jess with any questions at (515) 281-5131 or Jessie.Brown@dnr.iowa.gov.

• More about available support (*.pdf)
• I&E Guidebook (*.pdf)
  • Pages 1-40
  • Pages 41-82
  • Pages 83-123

Coordinator news
Clean Water Starts With Us is a quarterly e-newsletter for watershed project coordinators and all those considering working on a watershed project. The newsletter is jointly published with our watershed improvement partners, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship-Division of Soil Conservation, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The newsletters are in PDF file format. To receive the newsletter via e-mail, contact editor Jessie Brown at Jessie.Brown@dnr.iowa.gov.

• March 2008

Staff contacts

DNR contacts Steve Hopkins, DNR coordinator (515) 281-6402 or Stephen.Hopkins@dnr.iowa.gov Kyle Ament, DNR project officer (515) 242-6196 or Kyle.Ament@dnr.iowa.gov Rachel Glaza, DNR project officer (515) 281-8158 or Rachel.Glaza@dnr.iowa.gov

DSC Regional Coordinators Bob Waters, DSC Regional Coordinator for western Iowa (712) 243-2913 ext. 207 or Bob.Waters@iowaagriculture.gov Jeff Tisl, DSC Regional Coordinator for northeast Iowa (563) 422-6201 or Jeff.Tisl@iowaagriculture.gov Vince Sitzmann, DSC Regional Coordinator for southeast Iowa (515) 242-6008 or Vince.Sitzmann@iowaagriculture.gov

Back to top

Other DNR tools and resources

• Storm drain stenciling
• GIS mapping
• IOWATER volunteer water monitoring
• Impaired waters list
• Lake restoration
• Water quality standards
• Water quality assessment and monitoring
• Iowa DNR ADB Water Quality Assessment Database
• Water quality improvement plans (TMDLs)

Assistance from our partners
The Section 319 program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides DNR funding for nonpoint pollution programs. The DNR generally funds local watershed projects in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship - Division of Soil Conservation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

• Iowa Dept. of Agriculture and Land Stewardship - Division of Soil Conservation
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Conservation Districts of Iowa