Maquoketa River Watershed coordinator updates Linn County supervisors on cover-crop program, sensors and signage

Erin Erickson, watershed coordinator for the Maquoketa River Watershed Management Authority, provided an overview of recent projects and outreach funded across the nine-county watershed and answered supervisors’ questions.

Nut graf: The update highlighted several grant-funded efforts that support water-quality monitoring and on-farm practices—a cover-crop cost-share supported by a farmer-to-farmer grant, hydro and stream sensors funded through community-project and foundation grants, and a DNR sign program. County staff and residents may use the monitoring data to track stream and flood conditions.

What the coordinator reported - Geography and organization: The Maquoketa River Watershed Management Authority covers nine counties and currently has 34 members; the watershed program started work in 2017 and hired a coordinator in June 2021. - Cover-crop initiative: In 2023 the authority received a $250,000 farmer-to-farmer grant to create a cover-crop cost-share program in partnership with Practical Farmers of Iowa. The program offered $40 per acre cost share for qualifying, historically underserved farmers (first-time farmers, income-threshold eligible, minorities, veterans and women). In 2024 the program paid slightly more than $34,000 and supported about 1,149 acres of cover crops in participating counties. - Signage: A $30,000 DNR grant funded watershed boundary signs around the Maquoketa watershed; one sign pictured in Linn County marks entry to the watershed and additional signs identify unnamed tributaries. - Hydrologic and stream sensors: The University of Iowa Flood Center secured community-project funding (sponsored by Representatives Hinson and Miller-Meeks, as reported) to install hydro sensors across counties in the watershed; each county has at least one sensor and the data feed into the flood center’s site. A separate stream sensor on the Maquoketa River in Jackson County was supported by a $15,000 grant from the Cliff Family Foundation; that sensor uploads data every 15 minutes. - Outreach and events: The authority hosted field days (including one at a conservation farm of the year), film screenings and other outreach; Erickson said the authority sends a monthly email newsletter and partners with county soil-and-water districts. Erickson noted Linn County contributes $295 annually to the authority (as stated in the presentation).

Questions and use Erickson said monitoring data help answer public inquiries about water quality and stream conditions (for example, floatability). Supervisors thanked her for the presentation; one supervisor, who lives on the watershed’s edge, said they appreciate the outreach and work in the region.

Ending: Erickson said the authority’s board meets tomorrow in Monticello and invited county staff to share events for inclusion in the watershed newsletter.