Rathbun Land and Water Alliance members and partners include the following individuals, agencies and organizations:

Landowners in the
Rathbun Lake Watershed; Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Division of Soil Conservation; Iowa Department of Natural
Resources; Iowa State University; Iowa Watershed Improvement Review Board; Southern Iowa Development and Conservation Authority; US
Army Corps of Engineers; US Environmental Protection Agency; USDA Farm Service Agency; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service;
Appanoose, Clarke, Decatur, Lucas, Monroe, and Wayne Soil and Water Conservation Districts; Appanoose, Clarke, Decatur, Lucas, Monroe,
and Wayne Counties; Iowa Farm Bureau at the state and county levels; and Rathbun Regional Water Association.
September 2010
 Rathbun Land and Water Alliance 2011 Planned Activities
5th Annual Protect Rathbun Lake Meeting Continue information and education
September 15, 2010 outreach activities, which includes the following:
Allerton Centennial Building—Allerton, Iowa Exhibits and displays at selected events;
Electronic and print media;

Agenda
Welcome—Rathbun Land and Water Alliance President, John Glenn
Special Recognitions—Rathbun Lake Protectors
Steak Supper—Appanoose County Cattlemen Updated project
Protect Rathbun Lake Project Review—Project Staff website;
Featured Speaker—Wallaces Farmer Editor, Rod Swoboda

The installation of
additional roadside signs;
Featured Speaker—Rod Swoboda
Accelerate the application of BMP in 35 targeted subwatersheds show Rathbun Lake Protector
Program; and
above including:
Rod Swoboda is the editor of Wallaces Farmer, a monthly magazine that Informational fields days
covers Iowa agriculture and is based in Des Moines. 200,000 feet of terraces 14 structures and conferences.
The magazine has had only 10 editors in its 156 year history and three 3 debris basins 42 water & sediment basins
of them were named Henry Wallace. Rod has worked for the magazine Provide support to the forage and pasture
writing articles and taking photos, since 1976. research projects with Iowa State University

Rod began as a field editor and became editor in 2004. For many years
he was on the board of directors of the Wallace House Foundation in
Des Moines, which last year merged with the Henry A. Wallace Birth-
place Farm & Country Life Center near Greenfield.

The newly formed entity is known as the Wallace Centers of Iowa and Rod serves on its Continue monthly water monitoring
advisory board. Like the three Henry Wallaces and the other WF editors before him, Rod knows
the importance of soil and water conservation and gives it high priority for coverage in the
magazine. Landowner Recognition Program
The Rathbun Land and Water Alliance created the
Rod lives in Des Moines and he and his wife Eileen have two children, Frank and Catherine. Rathbun Lake Protectors Program to recognize the
actions by individuals or groups to protect
Rathbun Lake.

Each year, the Alliance invites our local Soil and

Water Conservation Districts to consider
nominating individuals in the Rathbun Lake
Watershed to be recognized for their contributions
Door prize drawings—Fill out and turn in an evaluation form for additional prize drawing. to the protection of Rathbun Lake.
 Rathbun Land and Water Alliance Board of Directors
Outreach Activities John Glenn, Alliance President, Rathbun Regional Water Association
Kim Francisco, Alliance Vice President, at-large member
Bruce George, Alliance Secretary/Treasurer, at-large member
Exhibits—Project exhibits were developed and displayed at various events during the past year including the Iowa Water Sharon Redinbaugh, Appanoose County SWCD
Conference in Ames, Utility Day at the Capital, the Iowa State Fair, and several trade shows throughout Jody McDanel, Appanoose County Board of Supervisors
the state. Kevin Luedtke, Lucas County SWCD
Posters were once again exhibited in the shower house display boxes at Rathbun Lake. Dennis Smith, Lucas County Board of Supervisors
John Sellers, Wayne County SWCD
Dennis Ryan, Monroe County Board of Supervisors
Ralph Alshouse, at-large member
Jerry O’Dell, Wayne County Board of Supervisors

• The Alliance’s Board of Directors consists of 11 members.

Media—In the last year, Rathbun Lake
Protectors Charles Argo and Jim Cory
have been featured on WHO Radio’s The
Big Show bringing the total number of
Protectors featured on the show to six.
• Seven of these members are appointed for three-year terms by the Appanoose, Wayne, and Lucas Soil and
Lucas County Rathbun Lake Protectors Randy and Signage—Installation of Water Conservation Districts and Board of Supervisors and Rathbun Regional Water Association.
Sandy Swartz and Travis and Anne Swartz were landowner recognition • These seven board members appoint the remaining four at-large board members.
featured in the June 2010 issue of Wallaces Farmer signs has begun through- • The at-large board members are appointed annually at the board of directors’ first meeting after the
and Appanoose County Protectors Chuck and out the Rathbun Lake beginning of the calendar year.
Connie Moore are featured in the September issue. Watershed. The signs • The board of directors also elects its officers annually at their first meeting after the beginning of the
identify landowners who calendar year.
have been selected as
Rathbun Lake SWCD District Conservationists
Protectors.
Appanoose —Margaret Cope Clarke—Dennis Schrodt Monroe– Margaret Cope
Decatur—Kevin Reynolds Lucas—Jeff Matthias Wayne—Mark Fehseke

Protect Rathbun Lake Project Staff

Marty Braster—Rathbun Regional Tyler Jacobsen—Rathbun Regional Water
Water Association, Environmental Association, GIS Specialist
Management Specialist
tjacobsen@rrwa.net
mbraster@rrwa.net 641.647.2416
641.647.2416

Velvet Buckingham—Iowa Department Kathleen Chester—Rathbun Land and Water

of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Alliance Education and Outreach Coordinator
Division of Soil Conservation, Protect
Rathbun Lake Project Coordinator chester@sirisonline.com
641.203.0946
velvet.buckingham@ia.nacdnet.net
641.872.1350

Alex Billings—Iowa Department of Jeff Pfeifer—Iowa Department of Agriculture

Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and Land Stewardship, Division of Soil
Division of Soil Conservation, Protect Conservation, Protect Rathbun Lake Project
Rathbun Lake Project Coordinator Technician
The Rathbun Land and Water Alliance Annual Meeting—Once a year the Alliance invites Rathbun Lake Watershed landowners to alex.billings@ia.nacdnet.net jeff.pfeifer@ia.nacdnet.net
gather to learn about Protect Rathbun Lake activities and to recognize those who have been selected as Rathbun Lake Protectors. 641.774.2512 641.774.2512
 Goals—Objectives—Accomplishments
The Rathbun Land and Water Alliance’s primary
goal is to reduce sediment and phosphorus delivery
to Rathbun Lake.
The primary objective is to apply BMPs on priority land in targeted
sub-watersheds.
Partner Support
Partners’ Strong Support Allows Expansion of Protect Rathbun Lake Project—The Iowa Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s Division of Soil Conservation (DSC), and Iowa Watershed
Improvement Review Board (WIRB) have approved the Alliance’s proposal to significantly expand the Protect Rathbun Lake Project.
These Alliance partners will provide more than $1.5 million to initiate Rathbun Lake protection efforts in five additional targeted
sub-watersheds. This expansion of the Protect Rathbun Lake Project will bring the total number of targeted sub-watersheds in which
project activities are underway to 35 of the 61 sub-watersheds in the Rathbun Lake watershed.

The five targeted sub-watersheds in which Protect Rathbun Lake project activities will be initiated are South Fork Chariton River #1
(Wayne County), Upper West Jackson Creek (Wayne County), Upper Jackson Creek (Wayne County), Lost Branch (Lucas and
Wayne Counties), and Chariton River #6 (Lucas County). The number of acres of priority land, row crop use of land previously
enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, and landowner interest led to the targeting of these five sub-watersheds.

The Alliance uses GIS to identify land in the Financial support from the DNR, DSC, and WIRB will be used
watershed which is the principal source of sediment for technical assistance and to cost share the application of best
and phosphorus, called priority land. Seventeen management practices (BMPs) for priority land with
percent of the priority land delivers 73 percent of landowners. The Natural Resources Conservation Service will
the sediment and phosphorus to Rathbun Lake. continue to provide technical and cost share assistance to
landowners working with the Protect Rathbun Lake Project.

This expansion of the Protect Rathbun Lake project into five

additional targeted sub-watersheds will lead to the installation
of BMPs for more than 6,800 acres. These practices will reduce
the annual delivery of sediment and phosphorus to Rathbun
More than 247
Lake and the lake’s tributaries by an estimated 10,200 tons of
landowners have
sediment and 34,000 pounds of phosphorus. Financial support
worked with Alliance
provided by Alliance partners will ensure that the Protect
to apply BMPS to
Rathbun Lake Project team of field staff will be able to continue to provide one-on-one, on-farm technical assistance for landowners.
achieve the results
below.

Cumulative (FFY ‘04- June

30, 2010)
Summary of BMPs installed and load reductions achieved in the 30 targeted sub-watersheds Achieving Our Goal
Sediment
Gross Erosion Delivery Phosphorus
Units Reduction Tons/ Reduction Delivery
Practice Installed Acres Benefited Yr. Tons/ yr. Reduction Lbs./Yr.
Terraces 865,774 ft. 8313 10,591 13,977 64,842
Water & Sediment Basins 180 no. 546 677 1138 5422
Grade Stabilization Structures 89 no. 2783 1697 4439 17684
Sediment Basin 10 no. 2175 723 5746 19,682
Livestock Exclusion 8 ac. 8 84 32 158
Pasture & Hayland Seeding 1044 ac. 1044 4403 1565 8271
Grassed Waterways 37.8 ac. 549 468 461 2333
CRP buffer / filter strips 92.7 ac. 110 591 192 1079
Fence 13,022 ft.
Heavy Use Protection Areas 10 no.
Pipeline 3160 ft.
Tanks 7 no.
Brush Management 280 ac.
Nutrient Management 159.7 ac.
TOTALS 15,528 ac. 19,234 t/y 27,550 t/y 119,471 lbs/y