Bow Creek
3rd Annual Bow Creek Field Day
The 3rd Annual Bow Creek Field Day will be held in Crofton, NE on June 29th. Elaine Ingham, founder of the Soil Foodweb Inc., and regenerative farmer, Jimmy Emmons will be featured speakers. The day will include an introduction to the soil food web, how it provides all the essential nutrients for healthy crops, and how we can change management practices to develop the food web in our fields and pastures. Practical application strategies for improving the soil food web will be provided by regenerative producers including Jimmy Emmons. In addition to farming Jimmy has served as a USDA FPAC Liaison, the Oklahoma Association of Conservation District President, and as a board member for conservation non-profits and his local soil conservation district.
Registration is open for local and regional attendees. LCNRD residents can register at no cost using the promo code: Bowcreek, all other attendees will be charged $30 to cover meal costs. Walk-in registrations will be accepted, but pre-registration for meal planning is appreciated.
Register Here to reserve your space!
Compost and Microscopy Learning Lab
The Bow Creek Watershed Project will be hosting a compost and microscopy soil learning lab in Crofton, NE on June 30 and July 1. This two-day hands-on lab will be taught by Dr. Elaine Ingham. The focus will be on composting and evaluating the soil food web under the microscope. Identifying good composting materials and gauging the N and C of each material is important in making great compost. Dr. Elaine will walk you through the process of evaluating materials and building custom compost recipes. Working in groups compost piles will be made and sent home with a few lucky attendees. During the microscopy lessons attendees will be split into small groups and use microscopes to analyze soil and compost. Anyone with their own microscope or compost sample is encouraged to bring them along.
There is no charge for attendance for anyone living or working in the LCNRD area, use the promo code: Bowcreek at registration for the discount. For everyone else the lab fee is $60 to cover meal costs. Limited space available for the learning lab, preference will given to Bow Creek Watershed producers so pre-registration for the lab is required.
Click here to reserve your space now.
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.
