Buckeye Basins Newsletter: Winter 2002-2003

Buckeye Basins is produced by the Ohio State University Extension, Community Based Watershed Management Team. It is compiled quarterly for watershed coordinators, Extension specialists, and natural resource professionals to include within their newsletters, programs or however they see fit.

In This Issue:

• Watershed Stewardship: We Can Make a Difference!
• 2003 Connecting Ohio's Watersheds Conference
• Sycamores, Streams and Wildlife
• Why Some Watershed Plans Can End Up On The Shelf
• EPA Jettisons Clinton Rule On Cleaning Up Waterways
• EPA and Agriculture Working Together to Improve America's Waters
• Watershed Success Story

Watershed Stewardship: We Can Make a Difference!

Dana Oleskiewicz, OSU Extension, Watershed Management Agent

We have always struggled to live on the land without destroying the natural resources that we rely on to survive. Years ago, native Indians hunted a territory until the game became scarce, at which time the tribe would simply move to more fruitful hunting grounds. We live in an age today where moving to more pristine land is not feasible and these areas are becoming more limited and threatened.

Water is a threatened natural resource. As our human population grows, we use the land more intensely, which can have a negative impact on the water that we need. We must be aware of these impacts and strive to minimize the results of our daily actions. Wise use of the land and water through effective stewardship can assure that clean water is available for future generations.

Protection of water resources can only occur with a change in human behavior. We can no longer conduct our land use with a "business as usual" approach. We must view water as limited and treat it as such. éWe need to gain the knowledge, proper attitude, and skills to make a difference as stewards of this wonderful earth.

Stewardship protects our land and water. Stewards of a watershed will 1) reduce soil erosion and water runoff from the land, 2) eliminate pollutants, and 3) take action within one's community.

Pollutants, such as sediment, chemicals, and nutrients, will find their way from the land into nearby waterways. To reduce soil erosion, the flow of water should be decreased and the soil kept in place on the ground. Behavior that diminishes the input of sediment and pollutants into our streams and lakes must be adopted by each of us, such as:

• Mulch gardens and exposed soil
• Direct downspouts to grassy areas so water can soak into the ground
• Minimize paved and impervious surfaces
• Maintain or plant vegetation along the banks of streams and lakes
• Minimize soil disturbance during construction and farming activities
• Practice sound pesticide and fertilizer use (less amounts and low or no phosphorus fertilizers)
• Use lawn chemicals correctly and sparingly
• Maintain your septic system
• Properly dispose of household hazardous wastes
• Reduce, reuse, and recycle
• Use biodegradable, low or no-phosphate soaps and detergents
• Dispose of motor oil and antifreeze at local service stations
• Conserve water use in the home and yard

Another vital piece of the stewardship puzzle is for each of us to take action in our community. This means to share your knowledge about watershed protection with your friends and neighbors. Educate them by setting the example and encourage them to be part of the solution. Be sure to vote for elected officials and legislation that protects our water quality.

Explore alternative building designs that minimize the impact to water quality from the construction of buildings, houses, and parking lots, and then advocate that information to key people such as county engineers and developers. Get involved in local land use decisions by attending zoning meetings and voice your opinion.

Participate in watershed-hosted events and become committed to watershed planning efforts. Become a member of your local watershed protection group and get active in their efforts to get the message out about watershed stewardship! Together, we can make a difference in protecting water resources.

Presentations, Workshops, and Posters Needed for the 2003 Connecting Ohio's Watersheds Conference

Have you helped develop a great way to involve local community members in watershed management?

Have you recently learned a great skill or technique for moving people from talking about watershed protection to taking action?

Have you found a better way to manage water quality data, fund watershed protection projects, involve stakeholders, or create effective watershed protection policies? ...

If you answered 'yes' to any of these questions and would like a chance to share your ideas with other professionals, then consider submitting an abstract to participate in the Connecting Ohio Watersheds/WMAO conference, June 3-4, 2003 in Columbus Ohio.  The conference committee is committed to offering participants a range of innovative ideas and approaches related to watershed plan implementation.

There are several options for participation:

• 20 minute presentations during a concurrent session
• Poster presentations
• Workshops-- 3-4 hour training session emphasizing hands onétechniques, tools, models or approaches
• Special concurrent sessions--2-hr sessions involving multiple presenters and organized to provide a more comprehensiveétreatment of a topic

This Conference is the result of a collaborative effort by the following organizations:

• Ohio State University Extension
• Water Managers Association of Ohio
• Ohio Department of Natural Resources
• Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
• Miami Conservancy District
• Ohio University (ILGARD)
• Ohio Farm Bureau
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• USDA CSREES/US EPA Region 5 Water Quality Coordination Project

The deadline for submitting abstracts is February 14, 2003.

General conference information: http://ohiowatersheds.osu.edu/conference/index.html

Sycamores, Streams and Wildlife

Randy Sanders, Ohio Department of Natural Resources

What do wood ducks, smallmouth bass, freshwater mussels, and streamside landowners have in common? They all do best where mature American sycamores (Platanus occidentalis) grow. Why? Because sycamores provide preferred nesting sites, cool deep pools, stable stream channels, and less bank erosion. And their massive roots and towering white trunks also provide Ohioans cleaner drinking water and scenic views of stream valleys during the winter months.

Our native sycamore has the largest circumference and leaves of any hardwood tree in North America. Early writings of the Ohio country leave little doubt of the natural occurrence and huge size of the sycamores growing on our stream banks and floodplains.

"The banks of this stream (Muskingum River) were thickly clothed with large sycamore trees whose lofty tops and pendant branches leaned over the shores, obscured the outlet (mouth) so much, that a boat in the middle of the Ohio (River), on a cloudy day, might pass without observing it all and that the roots of the trees acted as so many ligatures and fillets of net-work in protecting the earth from the wash of waters." (Fishes of Ohio, M.B. Trautman).

"It seems that the lower Scioto valley in that early day was a celebrated "big tree" region and the giant "Scioto Sycamore" was located on the farm of one Ø Abram Miller. It was a forked hollow tree measuring 21 feet in diameter and 60 feet in circumference at its base and 42 feet in circumference at the height of five feet. On June 5, 1808, a party of 14 persons mounted on horseback attempted to advance into the cavity. Thirteen men rode into the hollow, the fourteenth did not enter, his horse being skittish, but there was room enough for two more (The Natural Vegetation of Ohio in Pioneer Days, R. B. Gordon; History of Scioto County; The Navigator, Cramer & Spears 1824)."

Stream Benefits

Sycamores benefit streams in many ways. During the summer months, their naturally leaning trunks and large leaves provide an abundance of shade, which results in cooler water temperatures, higher dissolved oxygen levels, and less nuisance algae. During the autumn and winter months, their leaves become an important link in the stream food chain.

The deep pools they help form will also make fishing better for smallmouth bass and other sport fish! Sycamores improve the scenic qualities a stream has to offer from the dense overhanging canopy during the summer to the distant view of a wintertime stream valley filled with towering white giants. And what landowner wouldn't be proud to take friends down to the creek to show off the largest and oldest tree in the neighborhood that's in his or her backyard?

Wildlife Benefits

From the tips of their leaves to their mighty roots, sycamore trees are beneficial to many wildlife species in a variety of ways. More than 1,000 aquatic species (fish, mussels, and insects) are directly benefited by the way sycamores improve a stream's habitat and water quality.

During floods, their trunks create eddies, which provide important fish resting areas from strong currents. They increase the diversity of stream habitats by stabilizing islands and gravel bars and create deep pools and undercut banks, which are important habitats for fish during summer droughts. Even their branches, bark, and trunks after falling into streams create woody debris that increases the diversity of habitat, provides cover and food, and helps reduce downstream flooding.

Mature sycamore trees also provide important habitat for many terrestrial species as well. Their great height, open canopy, strong limbs, and numerous cavities provide preferred nesting sites for great blue herons, wood ducks, bald eagles, yellow-crowned night-herons, ospreys, great-crested flycatchers, and many woodpeckers.

When it comes to supporting a 2,000-pound bald eagle nest, sycamores are one of the best! And for wood ducks, hollow cavities overhanging a stream allow for a safer landing as their young fall from the nest. Yellow-throated warblers, formerly known as the sycamore warbler, also favor riparian sycamores throughout Southern and Central Ohio. Their cavities are often used as den sites by raccoons and other mammals.

Landowner Benefits

When it comes to protecting streamside property, landowners should view sycamores as one of their favorite plants. Why? Because they are one of the few plant species that can hold a naturally meandering stream channel together during seasonal floods and frequent high flows. Their massive roots and ability to grow next to a stream's low water level make sycamores one of the best natural plants to prevent stream bank erosion.

Quoting from The Fishes of Ohio, "’the roots of the trees acted as so many ligatures and fillets of net-work in protecting the earth’" Riparian sycamores create a chain of benefits that affect the world around them. From natural stream channels to wildlife, to humans, their benefits are so far reaching; landowners are encouraged to protect these mighty giants along rivers and creeks for future generations to enjoy.

Sycamore Facts

• Distribution: Only Ohio tree found in all 88 counties.
• Preferred habitat: Streambanks, islands, and floodplains.
• Size: Grows to a larger diameter (greater than 10 feet) than any other hardwood in North America. Mature trees range from 80 to 140 feet tall. Grows the largest leaf of any native Ohio tree (greater than 10 inches wide).
• Age: A long-lived tree species. A living tree (22 feet circumference and a little more than 7 feet in diameter) cut down in southeastern Indiana in 1970 was 430 years old.
• Seeds: Produces the most seeds between 50 and 200 years of age. A large "sycamore ball" has about 800 seeds.
• Ohio's current State Champion Sycamore (ODNR Big Tree Program) located in the Grand River watershed (Ashtabula County, Austinburg Twp.) is 29 feet 3 inches in circumference (4.5 feet above the ground), 119 feet high, and has an average crown of 93.5 feet. Their massive roots help provide stable stream banks and channels, consume large amounts of nutrients and water, and filter out sediments and other surface pollutants.

Randy Sanders is a program administrator for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Fish Management and Research Group.

Why Some Watershed Plans Can End Up On the Shelf

Jerry Iles, OSU Extension, Watershed Management Agent

(Part three of a four part series)

In the first two installments of this series I covered eight reasons watershed plans may fail. Believe it or not research points to a few more common mistakes made in constructing a successful watershed plan. These reasons are from "Crafting Better Watershed Plans" Consider these when writing or reviewing your watershed plan.

Reason Number Nine

Plan failed to critically assess the adequacy of existing local programs

"Few plans seriously considered the complex management process of how to get the proposed management measures implemented across the watershed over the next several decades. In particular, little attention was paid to critically evaluating the management capability of existing local government to handle future watershed development decisions, whether it be funding, staffing, organization, enabling ordinances, regulations or the development process review." How will the watershed plan objectives be incorporated into hundreds of future individual development decisions?

Reason Number Ten

Key stakeholders are not involved in developing the management plan

"The purpose of the watershed management process is to allow stakeholders a legitimate and early opportunity to participate in the development of the plan. Stakeholder involvement provides the foundation to obtain the feedback, consensus, and support needed in the implementation. Yet it is often the case that most local watershed plans only ask for feedback at the end of the study, if at all.

Important stakeholders, such as developers, environmentalists, property owners, non-governmental organizations, and local, state, and federal agencies, are often not included. Each of these parties will be affected in some way by the sub - watershed plan, and if they are not satisfied with their opportunity to participate in it, they will likely turn their considerable energies to defeating it. If stakeholders are not provided a meaningful role in the watershed management process, needless controversy will inevitably result".

In the final installment of this series I'll discuss what efforts can be made to insure an effective watershed plan will be crafted for your local watershed.

EPA Jettisons Clinton Rule On Cleaning Up Waterways

By Eric Pianin, Washington Post Staff Writer - Saturday, December 21, 2002; Page A02

The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday formally withdrew a Clinton administration rule that imposed federal oversight on states' efforts to clean up "impaired water bodies," a designation that applies to about 300,000 miles of rivers and shorelines and 5 million acres of lakes.

The rule -- promulgated in July 2000 and designed to revamp a key Clean Water Act program -- was supported by many environmentalists concerned that the states weren't doing enough. But it has been criticized by farm groups, timber firms, and municipalities that fear they could face onerous new restrictions on polluted runoff, and it was rendered moot after Congress voted to bar the EPA from implementing the rule.

The Bush administration is considering an alternative approach to reduce federal oversight and instead "trust states" to clean up more than 20,000 dirty rivers, lakes and estuaries. The new approach would spell out the management process by which states would identify and list polluted bodies of water and develop new quality standards for achieving the "highest attainable" uses of those waterways.

That approach would reflect EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman's emphasis on flexibility and environmental results over command-and-control federal regulations. However, in announcing the withdrawal of the Clinton rule, Whitman said her agency would continue to enforce the law while deciding whether to make significant regulatory changes.

"EPA and states will continue to cooperate to identify impaired waters and set protective standards for those waters," Whitman said.

Environmentalists urged the administration to stick with the law and seek improvements, rather than adopt a more lenient, permissive policy toward the states.

"There are ways the current program could be strengthened, but the administration proposal doesn't strengthen the program; it delays and weakens it," said Nancy Stoner of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

EPA and Agriculture Working Together to Improve America's Waters

December 16, 2002

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christie Whitman has announced that the agency is working with the agricultural community to control water pollution from the nation's largest livestock operations while keeping American agriculture viable. In a news conference, Whitman, joined by Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, announced a final rule that will require all large Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) to obtain permits that will ensure they protect America's waters from wastewater and manure. The rule will control runoff from agricultural feeding operations, preventing billions of pounds of pollutants from entering America's waters.

"This new rule is an historic step forward in our efforts to make America's waters cleaner and purer," said EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. "It will help reduce what has been a growing problem Ø the fact that animal waste generated by Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations poses an increasing threat to the health of America's waters. EPA looks forward to continuing to work with USDA and with the agricultural community to ensure that the goal we all share -- cleaner, purer water -- is being advanced by our efforts."

"The new rule is unique in that it comes after unprecedented cooperation between EPA and USDA to find a way to help producers meet their own and society's goals for environmental quality and profitability," said Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman. "USDA stands ready to provide assistance in an incentive-based approach combining information and education, research and technology transfer, direct technical assistance and financial assistance through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and other farm bill programs."

Today's announcement finalizes a rule that will replace 25-year old technology requirements and permitting regulations that did not address today's environmental needs and did not keep pace with growth in the industry. Effective manure management practices required by this rule will maximize the use of manure as a resource for agriculture while reducing adverse impacts on the environment.

The new rule applies to about 15,500 livestock operations across the country. Under the new rule all large CAFOs will be required to apply for a permit, submit an annual report, and develop and follow a plan for handling manure and wastewater. In addition, the rule moves efforts to protect the environment forward by: placing controls on land application of manure and wastewater, covering all major animal agriculture sectors, and increasing public access to information through CAFO annual reports. The rule also eliminates current permitting exemptions and expands coverage over types of animals in three important ways: the rule eliminates the exemption that excuses CAFOs from applying for permits if they only discharge during large storms; second, the rule eliminates the exemption for operations that raise chickens with dry manure handling systems; and third, the rule extends coverage to immature swine and immature dairy cows.

Currently about 4,500 operations are covered by permits. Because of the new rule, EPA expects that up to 11,000 additional facilities will be required to apply for permits by 2006.

This rule will enhance protection of the nation's waters from nutrient over-enrichment and eutrophication which causes algal blooms, fish kills and the expansion of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. The rule will also reduce pathogens in drinking water and improve coastal water quality. The amount of phosphorus released into the environment will be reduced by 56 million pounds, while nitrogen releases will be slashed by more than 100 million pounds. In addition, over two billion pounds of sediments and nearly one million pounds of metals will not be released.

The new rule will affect large livestock operations including those with hundreds of thousands of hogs, cattle, and poultry. Large CAFOs are defined in the rule as operations raising more than 1,000 cattle, 700 dairy cows, 2,500 swine, 10,000 sheep, 125,000 chickens, 82,000 laying hens, and 55,000 turkeys in confinement. Approximately 500 million tons of manure are generated annually by an estimated 238,000 livestock operations. From 1982 to 1997 these large livestock operations have grown by 51 percent, with some of the largest facilities having capacities exceeding a million animals. Since 1978 the number of animals per confined animal operation has increased significantly. The largest per operation increases have been: layers (176%), broilers (148%), swine (134%), turkeys (129%), dairy (93%), and beef cattle (56%).

To help these livestock operations meet the rule's requirements, Congress increased funding for land and water conservation programs in the 2002 Farm Bill by $20.9 billion, bringing total funding for these programs to $51 billion over the next decade. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) was authorized at $200 million in 2002 and will ultimately go up to $1.3 billion in 2007; 60 percent of those funds must go to livestock operations. New technology is also being perfected to aid farmers in meeting this new rule.

States are being given significant flexibility to find geographically appropriate means of implementing the CAFO rule. For example, states retain the authority to determine the type of permit -- general or individual -- to be issued to a given operation. This enables States to develop permits that take into account the size, location, and environmental risks that may be posed by an operation. States will also have substantial flexibility to tailor nutrient management plans for CAFOs, and may authorize alternative performance standards for existing and new CAFOs that will help promote the use of innovative technologies.

For more information visit: http://www.epa.gov/npdes/caforule.

Watershed Success Story

http://www.cleanwater.gov/success/rabbit.html