A partner-driven, locally-led approach to conservation. 

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The SE Iowa Watershed Partnership is proud to be able to leverage an awarded $6.4 million in SE Iowa to focus on water quality improvements and acceleration for adoption of nutrient management and mitigation practices and systems. The project supports the goals of Iowa's Nutrient Reduction Strategy and will use RCPP flexibilities to offer a range of incentives to attract producer adoption. Project partners will tailor targeting plans for priority locations based on existing data and analyses. The geographic scope covers a 15-county region, which includes approximately 1.2 million acres of priority watersheds.

Associated Watershed Projects include:

• Cedar Creek Partnership WQI Project

• Lower Skunk River Water Quality and Soil Health WQI Project

• Mahaska County South Skunk and Cedar Creek Headwaters WQI Project 

• Soap Creek WMA

• South Central IA Cedar Creek WMA

• West Fork Crooked and Long Creek Water Quality and Soil Health WQI Project  

 
The county overlap allows the established Watershed Projects to expand their outreach and scale-up implementation into new areas by increasing the level of technical and financial assistance available. Coupled with a strong farmer-focused education and outreach program, we will partner together to inform and implement strategic practices that have the highest potential to reduce nutrient loads/runoff and enhance soil health. The SE Iowa Partnership will also continue to build on conservation programs to improve soil and water quality by emphasizing conservation practices in priority areas.

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Target practices under the SE Iowa Watershed Partnership: 

• Cover Crops

• Terraces

• WASCOBs

• Grade Stabilization Structures 

• Denitrifying Bioreactors 

• Saturated Buffers 

• Constructed Wetlands 

• Wetland Restoration (oxbows) 

• Streambank Stabilization (co-eng)

• Grade Stable Full Flow (co-eng)

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