Secretary Naig acknowledges Soil, Water Conservation Week

     Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, on Monday highlighted Soil and Water Conservation Week, which is running from April 29 to May 6, and encouraged Iowans to consider things they can do to help protect our state’s soil and improve water quality.

     Naig will be participating in events across Iowa to highlight the important conservation practices placed on Iowa’s landscape and bring attention to the ongoing work by farmers, landowners and urban residents to protect the state’s soil and water resources.

     “Soil and Water Conservation Week is an opportunity to celebrate the progress that has been made and renew our commitment to working together to do even more to protect our state’s soil and water,” Naig said. “Iowans both on the farm and in our towns take being good stewards of the land very seriously. This week is a chance to celebrate all the conservation work being done across the state.”

     On Monday, April 30, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds and Naig were scheduled to participate in a ribbon cutting for a storm water wetland in Ankeny. The wetland, located on the north side of 36th Street in Ankeny, was built to manage and clean urban storm water prior to entry into Fourmile Creek. Reynolds also planned to sign a proclamation recognizing Soil and Water Conservation Week during the event.

     On Tuesday, May 1, Iowa Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Julie Kenney was scheduld to participate in a celebration of the Farm to River Partnership in Lake City. The Farm to River Partnership recently received continued funding to support greater adoption of conservation practices that reduce nitrates entering water bodies. Specific goals of the Farm to River Partnership include installation of 15 bioreactors, 15 saturated buffers, two wetlands and 11,500 new acres of cover crops.

     On Wednesday, May 2, Naig will tour efforts led by Hungry Canyons Alliance to address the issues of stream channel erosion and degradation to help protect area infrastructure. The Alliance works in a 23-county area of the deep loess soils region of western Iowa.

     Iowa Soil and Water Conservation Week is in coordination with the National Stewardship Week, sponsored by the National Association of Conservation Districts. This year’s Stewardship Week theme is “Watersheds: Our Water, Our Home.”

     More information about the activities being held during Soil and Water Conservation Week in Iowa can be found at www.iowaagriculture.gov/conservationweek.asp.