By Riley Buley
District Administrator
Fillmore SWCD
The Root River One Watershed One Plan (RR1W1P) is a 10-year planning document developed by 13 Local Governmental Units aimed at implementing conservation Best Management Practices (BMPs) in the watershed to improve land conservation and water quality. The RR1W1P was one of the first pilot programs of its kind to be started in the state, and plan partners are eager to announce that 487 BMPs have been installed through the first-half of the plan. The most common BMPs implemented in the Root River Plan area are grassed waterways and swales, cover crops, and grade stabilization structures. In total, state calculators estimate that 11,349 tons/year of sediment, 4,947 lbs/year nitrogen and 12,949 lbs/year of phosphorus have been prevented from entering the Mississippi River from these installed BMPs.
In addition to these BMPs, area agencies and collaborators have also installed the following in the RR1W1P Plan Area from 2017 to 2022:
Easements (BWSR) Agricultural BMP Loan
Program (MDA) Minnesota
Agricultural Water Quality Certification
Program
(MDA) Conservation
Stewardship
Program (NRCS) Environmental Quality
Incentives
Program (NRCS)
Acres
Feet 2,140 10,070 2,220
48,200 2,390
3,850 18,640
89,360
Further update of project plans from 2022 onwards will be available in the new-future as Local Governmental Units prepare to draft the next 10-year planning document for the RR1W1P.
Thank you to all area residents who have participated in the RR1W1P program thus far. For questions please contact Fillmore SWCD at 507-887-0240.
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