7/9/99

Contacts:
Tom Isenhart, Forestry, (515) 294-8056
Brian Meyer, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-0706

ISU WATER QUALITY PROJECT RECEIVES NATIONAL HONOR

AMES -- An Iowa State University project has received a national designation as a model for restoring stream corridors and improving water quality.

ISU's Bear Creek Watershed Project was one of 12 projects nationwide selected to be a "National Restoration Demonstration Watershed" under the Clean Water Action Plan, a program by nine federal agencies to revitalize the nation's commitment for clean, safe water. The Action Plan was announced last year as part of the 25th anniversary of the 1972 Clean Water Act.

"The designated projects will be demonstration areas that showcase the application of technology to restore stream corridors and to improve environment, water quality and community," said Tom Isenhart, an ISU forestry researcher.

This is the project's second national honor in the past year. In 1998 the Bear Creek project was designated a national research and demonstration area by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The ISU project site, located near Roland, began in 1990 as an effort to study ways to re-establish native vegetation along creeks that run through Iowa farm fields. Working with local landowners, a team of ISU researchers planted a variety of trees, shrubs and native grasses along the streambanks. Researchers also worked to stabilize eroding streambanks and constructed nearby wetlands.

Studies have shown the buffers have helped slow runoff, trap sediment, increase water infiltration and reduce nitrate and atrazine levels in the water. The wetlands have helped to slow water movement, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat.

The site, which now includes five miles of buffers along Bear Creek, has been used extensively by the USDA for promoting water quality and for training others on restoring streamsides. Each year hundreds of people visit the site to learn more about the project.

In 1998 ISU, Trees Forever and other agricultural organizations began a five-year project to establish 100 buffer demonstration sites in Iowa. The project recommends using ISU's system of buffers, wetlands and stabilized streambanks as a model.

The ISU team continues to study how buffers improve water quality, how wildlife use the areas and whether there are alternative methods to stabilize streambanks. They also are assessing the economics of buffer establishment.

The Bear Creek Watershed Project is managed by ISU's Department of Forestry through the Agroecology Issue Team of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Funding has come from the Leopold Center, USDA, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Pheasants Forever.

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