Read an article on the Marais des Cygnes WRAPS Grant Livestock Project as featured in a special report prepared by the National Association of Conservation Districts titled "Our Land, Our Water.  Case Studies in Local Success"  available at http://nacdnet.org/resources/reports/our_land_our_water.pdf

 

What is WRAPS?  

Watershed Restoration And Protection Strategy, or WRAPS, is a process where local citizens identify water quality and water quantity issues within the watershed; and with guidance and technical assistance, citizens develop and implement a plan to address the needs to improve water quality. 

WRAPS includes four phases:

1.  Development

     -Organize leadership team

     - Identify local concerns

     - Compile information related to local watershed issues

2.  Assessment

     - Review current watershed conditions 

     - Develop expectations

     - Identify restoration/protection needs

     - Create watershed model

3.  Planning

     - Establish goals and actions needed to address the identified concerns

     - Develop cost estimates

4.  Implementation

     - Secure resources to achieve and implement plan

     - Monitor and document progress

     - Revise plan as needed

To learn more about WRAPS log onto www.kswraps.org

                                                                                                                                                

Since July 2006 the MdC WRAPS Grant Livestock Project has been working with livestock producers to install a variety of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to address water quality   issues related to livestock.  Demonstration projects have been installed throughout the MdC Basin, including Osage, Linn, Franklin, Anderson, Bourbon and Coffey Counties.

Projects installed include renovations to both confined and non-confined feeding sites;  livestock stream crossings; and alternate water supplies projects, several of which included solar pumping systems.   

Cost share payments made directly to the producers between June 2006 and May 2008 totaled  $82,649; with an additional $73,169 allocated for  projects still in progress. Funding is currently available for new projects to be complete between July 2008 and December 2009. 

Grant dollars are available to livestock producers within the Marais des Cygnes (MdC) Basin, which spans 13 counties in eastern Kansas. The funds are used as cost share assistance dollars for various water quality improvement projects directly related to livestock production. 

Best Management Practices (BMPs) related to livestock include relocation of feeding sites; alternative water supplies; sediment basins; grass buffer areas; riparian fencing; spring development; waste  collection, treatment and application.  These and other BMPs which create a water quality benefit may be considered for funding through the MdC WRAPS Grant Livestock Project.    

Producers who are interested in applying for funds through the MdC WRAPS Grant Livestock Project should contact their local conservation district or county extension agent. 

Project proposals are submitted to the MdC WRAPS Grant Livestock Project Ranking Committee monthly for review and possible approval. 

                                

           Why WRAPS targets livestock projects?

Livestock have a major effect on water quality of ponds and stream.  The impact can be reduced by minimizing the direct access livestock have to stream and pond for drinking.  Research indicated that if a watering tank is installed into a pasture with a stream, 80% of the drinking will move to the tank vs. the stream.  This change in behavior reduces the damage to the streambank, reduces direct feces and urine deposit to the stream and reduces the e-coli content of stream water. 

             

 

Additional BMP’s which reduce livestock impact on  stream water quality include riparian fences of streams or ponds, and grazing land management.

For more information contact Herschel George, K-State Extension Watershed Specialist for the MdC Basin at 913-294-6021 or hgeorge@ksu.edu

 

How can the MdC WRAPS Grant Livestock Project help your WRAPS Stakeholder Leadership Team meet their goals? View our presentation for more information on how the project is helping meet watershed goals in eastern Kansas.   

 

Are you looking for information on various styles of livestock water tanks available on the market? Are you looking for a distributor for livestock tanks?  Click here for a pdf file with information on tanks.

             

     

Marais des Cygnes WRAPS Grant Livestock Project Grant Committee Members

Aaron Dunbar, Franklin County                Bob Love, Bourbon County

Johncie Heise, Osage County               Larry Kinder, Linn County

Ona May Hunt, Anderson County             Vernon Bartlett, Miami County

Project Coordinator: Keri Harris

Marais des Cygnes Watershed Specialist: Herschel George

 

Sunrise Dairy Field Day Photos of Solar Water Pumping System for Livestock

 

 

The Marais des Cygnes (muhr-ee duh SEEN) basin covers 4,304 sq miles in east central and southeast portions of Kansas.  The Marais des Cygnes (MdC) River begins near Eskridge in Wabunsee County Kansas and flows southeast to join the Little Osage River in Bates County Missouri.  Below this junction the stream becomes the Osage River and continues east through Truman Lake and Lake of the Ozarks until it joins the Missouri River just south of Jefferson City Missouri. Prior to settlement the watershed provided clear, clean runoff to small lakes, bottomland hardwood forests and marshes, which attracted waterfowl and other wetland wildlife.  French trappers and traders provided the name Marais des Cygnes which translates to 'Marsh of the Swans', presumably in reference to the Trumpeter Swan, which was historically common in the Midwest. 

                   Wikipedia Map 

The MdC basin includes four sub-watersheds; the Marmaton, Little Osage, Lower MdC, and Upper MdC.  The upper MdC is unique in that it includes Osage County, which is one of only two counties in the United States to have two federal reservoirs located within its boundaries; Pomona and Melvern.  The MdC basin has a third federal reservoir, Hillsdale, located in northwest Miami County.  The MdC basin is also home to the Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area which covers 7,600 ac in Linn County KS and focuses on wetland and waterfowl management.

Today the basin is characterized by increasing urban development expanding from the Kansas City metro area.  Despite the continued urban growth the basin maintains a robust agricultural industry.  Approx 50% of the basin is grassland which is used as grazing land for livestock; 29% of the basin is cropland; 16% is forest/woodland, 2.5% is wetlands, 1.5% is surface water, and 1% of the basin is urban. 

                                                                           

For more information on the Marais des Cygnes WRAPS Livestock Projects Grant email  wraps@fccdks.org or contact  one of the following partnering agencies:

Allen County Conservation District                            620-635-2901   Kelli Kramer, District Manager

Allen County K-State Research & Extension       620-365-2242 Kathy McEwan, County Coordinator

Anderson County Conservation District               785-448-6323 Debbie Davis, District Manger

Anderson County K-State Research & Extension 785-448-6826 Shannon Blocker, Agriculture Agent

Bourbon County Conservation District                 620-223-3170 Cheryl Bennett, District Manager

Bourbon County K-State Research & Extension 620-223-3720 Delta George, Agriculture Agent

Coffey County Conservation District 620-364-2182 Kisti Vogts, District Manager

Coffey County K-State Research & Extension 620-364-5313 Cade Rensink, Agriculture Agent

Crawford County Conservation District 620-724-8231 Diana Hartog, District Manager

Crawford County K-State Research & Extension 620-724-8233 Dean Stites, Agriculture Agent

Douglas County Conservation District 785-843-4260 SanDe Fishburn, District Manager

Douglas County K-State Research & Extension 785-843-7058 Bill Wood, Agriculture Agent

Franklin County Conservation District 785-242-1109 Keri Harris, District Manager

Franklin County K-State Research & Extension 785-229-3520 Darren Hibdon, County Director

Johnson County Conservation District 913-764-1931 Gayla Speer, District Manager

Johnson County K-State Research & Extension  913-764-6300 Dan Lekie, Agriculture Agent

Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment 785-532-7419 Dr. Bill Hargrove, Director

KDHE Bureau of Water, Municipal Programs Section 785-296-5537 Rance Walker

KDHE Livestock Waste Management Section NE District 785-842-4600

KDHE Livestock Waste Management Section SE District 620-431-2390

Kansas State Research & Extension Watershed Specialist Herschel George 785-229-3520 / 913-294-6021

Lake Region Resource Conservation & Development 785-242-2073 Rick Porter, Coordinator

Linn County Conservation District 913-795-2317 Karen Tuggle, District Manager

Linn County K-State Research & Extension 913-795-2829 County Agent

Lyon County Conservation District 620-343-2813 Debbe Schopper, District Manager

Lyon County K-State Research & Extension 620-341-3220 Brian Rees, Agriculture Agent

Melvern Lake Watershed Water Quality Project 785-640-2645 Paul Ingle, Project Coordinator

Miami County Conservation District 913-294-3451 Jenny Jasper, District Manager

Miami County K-State Research & Extension 913-294-4306  Mark Flory, County Agent

Osage County Conservation District 785-828-3458 Lori Kuykendall, District Manager

Osage County K-State Research & Extension 785-828-4438 Rod Schaub, Agriculture Agent

Wabaunsee County Conservation District 785-765-3836 Roxann Maike, District Manager

Wabaunsee County K-State Research & Extension785-765-3821 Matt Pfeifer, County Director

Natural Resources Conservation Service - Located in all 13 basin counties