If you're the coordinator of a watershed project that's received a Watershed Planning Grant or Watershed Implementation Grant from the DNR, a number of tools, services and resources are available to you.

Resources - Watershed improvement news - Meeting recaps - Grants and other funding - DNR water quality tools

Available Services - Technical help and guidance - Outreach assistance - Staff contacts - Assistance from our partners

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.

• March 2008,*pdf
• June 2008,*pdf
• September 2008,*pdf
• December 2008,*pdf
• March 2009,*pdf
• June 2009,*pdf
• September 2009,*pdf
• December 2009,*pdf

To receive the newsletter via e-mail, send a blank e-mail to join-clean_water@lists.ia.gov or contact editor Jessie Brown at Jessie.Brown@dnr.iowa.gov.


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Meeting recaps
Find presentations and other materials from project coordinator statewide meetings.

• March 2009
• September 2008

DNR water quality tools

• 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 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 Basin Coordinators.

• More on monitoring and assessment tools and assistance (*.pdf)

Project guidance
Three Basin Coordinators work with watershed projects on assessments, grant applications and developing local watershed efforts. The basin coordinators Vince Sitzmann, Jeff Tisl and Bob Waters - can also answer day-to-day questions from project coordinators.

The DNR’s two project officers, Kyle Ament and Rachel Glaza, work with the projects and Basin 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 Basin Coordinators and DNR project officers can help plan your project.

Project officer and basin coordinator contact info

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Outreach assistance
Help on your public outreach efforts (sometimes referred to as "Information and Education") is available from DNR Information Specialist Jessie Brown. She can assist in creating public outreach plans and campaigns, as well as helping develop and review individual pieces. Contact Jess with any questions at (515) 281-5131 or Jessie.Brown@dnr.iowa.gov.

• More about available support (*.pdf)
  
  
• Public Outreach for Iowa Watershed Projects (I&E Guidebook) (*.pdf)
  A helpful guide to using public outreach to achieve your project's goals. The guidebook helps you develop an overall plan and create individual pieces.
  • Pages 1-25
  • Appendices A-1 to E-8
  • Appendices E-9 to H-2
  
  
  
• Creating an outreach plan for your project (*.pdf)
• Sharing innovative, measurable outreach successes (*.pdf)
  
  
• Coordinators share outreach efforts, March 2009 (*.pdf)

Find additional outreach materials at the EPA's Nonpoint Source Outreach Toolbox site.

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Staff contacts

DNR contacts Steve Hopkins, DNR Watershed Improvement grants 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 Additional DNR Watershed Improvement Staff

Basin Coordinators Adam Kiel Upper Des Moines and Raccoon River basins (515) 242-6149 or Adam.Kiel@dnr.iowa.gov Vince Sitzmann South central and southeast Iowa (515) 242-6008 or Vince.Sitzmann@iowaagriculture.gov Jeff Tisl Northeast Iowa (563) 422-6201 or Jeff.Tisl@iowaagriculture.gov Bob Waters Western Iowa (712) 243-2913 ext. 207 or Bob.Waters@iowaagriculture.gov

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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