Otter Tail River WRAPS
What is WRAPS?
W- watershed
R- restoration
A- and
P- protection
S- strategies
WRAPS is an acronym used in the water resource world, but knowing the acronym doesn't help much to understand what it is. It is a large document that attempts to outline all the water resource concerns using a multi-step approach. In the end, the document is intended to guide actions of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), Counties, Townships, and just about any other entity that would be interested in water quality. It's a long process, though. Let's walk through the steps:
Step 1: Monitor
- In-field data collection of fish and bugs
- In-field data collection of habitat for fish and bugs, including measuring the type of sediment in the stream
- In-field data collection of harmful chemicals and pollutants
- Gauge monitor of stream flows
- Computer modeling to estimate pollutants in areas we can't collect data
Step 2: Asses
- Determine if fish and bug populations indicate clean waters
- Determine if poor habitat is causing low fish and bug populations
- Calculate pollutant concentrations to determine if they could be negatively affect fish, bug, or human health
- Check water level fluctuations and flow rates for other causes of fish or bug stress
- Use the computer model to guess where other areas may have water quality issues
Step 3: Report
- Create a report evaluating all the potential impacts to fish and bug populations
- Create a report about the water that doesn't meet state water quality standards
- Create a report that outlines practices and changes to improve water quality and protect pristine waters
Step 4: Implementation
- Install practices that improve water quality
- Encourage management practices that reduce water quality impacts
- Coordinate with local, state, and federal agencies to target high priority waters
- Involve local landowners and producers
Where are we now?
We are almost finished with Step 3: Report! All the numbers have been crunched and the data conglomerated. It has been placed in a pretty little 120 page document (not including appendices). These 120 pages will tell us all we need to know about what waters are at risk, what waters need further protection, and what actions we should be doing. It uses and summarizes information from all the other reports created up until now. Stay tuned to see a copy of this document. It is just starting the review process with the state of MN and EPA. Thank you to all who have been involved so far!
Funding for this project was provided by the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment. For more information see this and this webpage
Implementation Plans
To improve water quality and protect natural resources East Otter Tail SWCD often needs to install projects. That is usually easier said, than done. Questions can include; which practices, where do we target practices, what cost share is available, what benefits will practices provide? To answer these questions and prioritize actions an implementation plan is created. These plans typically include answers to when, where, what, and how. These plans are important for grant applications, using funding efficiently, and fulfilling local, state, and/or federal requirements.
The link below will bring you to the East Otter Tail Google Drive with all the implementation plans available in the Otter Tail River Watershed. An abstract is provided in the description of each document.
Reports
Measuring success and challenges is important to provide better services and products in the future. Reports try to impartially review research, projects, or actions and identify positive and negative results. Often reports include the water quality results before, during, or after a project. In the Otter Tail River Watershed this usually means lake water quality. Lakes are generally judged using three criteria; 1- the clarity of the water (how deep can you see?) 2- the amount of phosphorus in the water (phosphorus is the main food for algae) and 3- the amount of algae in the water (which in turn affects the clarity). These three criteria are related to each other and will all usually increase or decrease because of good or poor management.
The link below will bring you to the East Otter Tail Google Drive with all the reports available in the Otter Tail River Watershed. An abstract is provided in the description of each document.
Water Planning Documents
Without a direction and goal, it can be very easy for any organization to lose focus and forget what is most important. Water Planning is the art of putting those priorities on paper, while using the most current science and accounting for public interest. These documents range from (relatively) short and simple to monstrous documents outlining every possible action in every sector of a region.
The link below will bring you to the East Otter Tail Google Drive with all the water planning documents available in the Otter Tail River Watershed. An abstract is provided in the description of each document.
News Releases
The East Otter Tail SWCD is no stranger to success! We want to share the good news everyone in the watershed is doing! News releases are an important vehicle to share that news and inform everyone what we are up to.
The link below will bring you to the East Otter Tail Google Drive with all the news releases available in the Otter Tail River Watershed. An abstract is provided in the description of each document.
