Spring 2008

[ BACK ]

Bear Creek Timeline

1990 - Leopold Center creates multi-disciplinary Agroecology Issue Team that would oversee small-scale buffer systems in the Bear Creek watershed; first plantings on Ron Risdal's farm near Roland in Story County

1998 - Iowa-based Trees Forever leads effort to form Iowa Buffer Initiative, which results in a 28 percent increase in sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program; U.S. Department of Agriculture makes Bear Creek a National Riparian Buffer Research and Demonstration Area; Iowa Association of Naturalists and Iowa Conservation Education Council give Ada Hayden Conservation Education Award to issue team

1999 - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency selects Bear Creek as a National Restoration Demonstration Watershed, one of 12 areas in its Clean Water Action Plan

2000 - Bear Creek receives Soil Conservation Award from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – Division of Soil Conservation and the Iowa State Soil Conservation Committee

2003 - Issue team members receive Journal of Soil and Water Conservation's Best Research Award for paper, "Sediment and nutrient removal in an established multi-species riparian buffer"; Agroecology Issue Team receives the College of Agriculture Team Award

2004 - Trees Forever presents its President’s Award, citing Iowa State University for research at Bear Creek, partnership with landowners and urban forestry collaborations

2005 - White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation recognizes issue team members for outstanding leadership and personal stewardship in achieving results thorough cooperative extension

2008 - Issue team members’ 2003 paper selected by Journal of Soil and Water Conservation as best research paper in five years (Lee, Kye-Han, T.M. Isenhart, and R.C. Schultz. 2003. Sediment and nutrient removal in an established multi-species riparian buffer. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 58(1):1-8.)