Lower Cedar Watershed presenters seek funding to extend coordinator, tout cover-crop and buffer work

Alyssa Comer, an environmental specialist with the East Central Iowa Council of Governments, and Emery Davis, conservation agronomist and watershed coordinator with Heartland Cooperative, briefed the Louisa County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 28 about work in the Lower Cedar Watershed and requested continued county partnership.

Comer said the Lower Cedar Watershed covers roughly 700,000 acres across seven counties, includes 33 prioritized subwatersheds and was formed in 2018 with a focus on water quality and flood issues. She said the group completed a watershed plan in 2022 with a grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and that the WMA contracted with Heartland Cooperative to fund a watershed coordinator position in 2022. That contract runs through June 2026, and Comer said the WMA is seeking funding to continue the coordinator role.

Comer and Davis said the watershed has seen adoption of conservation practices among farmers: Davis reported the group supported about 35,000 acres of cover crops over the past two years among producers he has worked with and that the program runs field days, demonstrations and outreach. He described structural practices installed in the watershed—about 40 saturated buffers already and plans for roughly 40 more—that treat tile water to remove nitrate before it enters streams. Davis also described wood-chip bioreactors that can remove roughly half of nitrates from tile water; he said bioreactors typically require wood-chip replacement at about 15 years.

Comer said the WMA is applying for a Water Quality Initiative (WQI) grant to support the watershed coordinator for three more years; she did not specify the grant source beyond naming the WQI program. Davis said state funding is currently available for structural practice installation and encouraged landowners to contact the WMA about projects. Presenters took no formal action at the meeting; they requested ongoing partnership and noted that continued funding would support project outreach and installation.