Bow Creek
2025 Events
For more information on events contact Becky Ravenkamp, Lewis & Clark NRD Bow Creek Watershed Coordinator at bravenkamp@lcnrd.org or by calling 402-254-6758.
August 12th - Bus Tour to Green Cover Seed Field Day and Kipp Hinrichs Farm
Join other northeast Nebraska farmers at the Green Cover Field Day then visit a working farm converting from irrigated row crops to dryland forages. Learn the economics and theory behind the conversion, plus see how the process is going. Reserve your seat on the bus and at the field day now as space is limited at both! *Minimum number required to secure the 54-passenger bus. If the minimum is not met, smaller vehicles will be used.
August 25-27th - Dakotas Research and Education Farm Bus Tour
Blue Dasher Farm, Menoken Research & Education Farm, Dakota Lakes Research Farm and working farms in between. Farm tours will focus on crop rotation economics, using biology to help increase water and nutrient efficiency, and how our farm and ranch management can impact ecosystem biodiversity and function.
Early registration (until Aug 15!) cost per person, double occupancy, $250 includes bus fee, lunch meals, and lodging. Supper will be on your own.
The Bow Creek Watershed contains 392,574 acres in portions of Cedar, Dixon, and Knox Counties. A rich history extends back to before the days of Lewis and Clark. Clark’s journal entry on August 26, 1804 mentions Bow Creek, writing, “above the mouth of this creek a Chief of the Maha Nation displeased with the conduct of Black Bird, the main cheif, came to this place and built a town which was called by his name Petite Arc (or Little Bow)...we gathered great quantities of grapes and three types of plumbs, one yellow round, one ovel and one the common wild plumb.”
In 2019, the Lewis & Clark NRD updated their Water Quality Assessment Plan and added Bow Creek as a priority area based on Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy Basin Rotation water quality testing. The 2016 Basin Rotation water quality testing showed elevated levels of sediment, phosphorus, nitrates and E. coli in Bow Creek. Working with FYRA Engineering, models were created to show the potential to decrease nonpoint source pollutants in Bow Creek by increasing the adoption of best management practices (BMPs) in priority Bow Creek sub-watersheds.
Those best management practices include, but are not limited to:
- Nutrient Management
- Cover Crop
- No-till Management
- Land Use Change: CRP or Riparian Buffer Strips
- Grazing Management Plans
- Livestock Exclusion Plans with Alternative Water Sources and Fencing
- Septic System Upgrades
Through grants from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, these BMPs are eligible for additional practice implementation and education payments through the Bow Creek Watershed Project. Practices must be part of approved conservation contracts to be eligible. Details for implementation of BMPs will be planned with NRCS technical assistance and Bow Creek programs will then be applied for through the LCNRD office. For more information contact:
Bow Creek Watershed Coordinator
Becky Ravenkamp
Lewis & Clark NRD Office
608 N Robinson Ave., Hartington, NE 68739
Phone: 402-254-6758.
