Spotlight Stories
Explore IAWA’s original reporting on the latest conservation news
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Watershed by watershed progress
Posted onIowa’s landscape is divided into about 1,600 watersheds that span about 22,000 acres apiece. It’s in these individual watersheds that progress is being made toward keeping nutrients on the land and out of water. Local people, acting as one community with a myriad of support from experts and a thorough watershed plan makes the…
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Complex Nitrogen Cycle Made Simple and Brings Multiple Benefits
Posted onRaising Better Crops and Minimizing Our Impact on the Environment Space aliens turning a telescope to Earth might think it’s a static blue ball. We know better. Earth is driven by dynamic cycles. Some are long, as the geologic ones with glaciers that grind rock into dust over centuries. Much shorter weather cycles bring life-giving…
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Delegation to Represent Iowa’s Collaboration at National Summit
Posted onNational Attention at One Water Summit 2016: How Iowa is Improving Its Water Quality “Iowa’s collaborative approach to improving water quality has received national attention,” says Sean McMahon, executive director of the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance (IAWA). He also said, “We are fostering strong partnerships among the public and private sectors; urban and rural communities;…
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Iowa Alliances Improve Farmer Profitability and Water Quality
Posted onCity Municipalities and Rural Interests Working Toward Same Goal While drinking water in the U. S. is among the safest in the world, elevated levels of nitrate, coupled with increasingly strong weather events and a persistent low oxygen “dead zone” in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, has the attention of businesses, governments and non-government organizations.…
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Urban and Rural Leaders Work Together Toward Water Quality | IAWA
Posted onFrom Urban and Rural Partnerships to Tenants and Farmers, the Keys to Improving Water Quality Lie in Collaborative Efforts Members of the leadership team of Iowa’s Water Future Task Force who are looking for solutions to improving water quality had the opportunity to see and discuss what farmers are doing during a tour hosted by…
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New State Conservationist Well-Known for Collaboration | IAWA
Posted onKurt Simon, Iowa State Conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service The Des Moines River flows through downtown, just a block away from Kurt Simon’s new office on the sixth floor of the Neal Smith Federal Building. Recently named Iowa state conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation…
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Pork Producers Dive Into and Do More with Water Quality Work
Posted onCommitted to Additional Education and Research to Improve Nutrient Management Livestock Farmers Face Challenges Al Wulfekuhle is the Iowa Pork Producer Association President. He knows the challenges that livestock farmers face. As a result, he has terraces, grassed waterways, field boarders and a wetland on his crop land. Some pork producers in Iowa see the…
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Cities and Farmers Share Challenge of Reducing Nutrients
Posted onDemand for Conservation Practices from Producers Jonathan Gano is the public works director for the city of Des Moines. He also may be helping a few farmers build bioreactors to remove nitrates leaving their fields. “Two of the key raw materials involved in bioreactors are wood chips and a hole in the ground,” he says.…
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Iowa Delegation to Represent Collaboration at National Summit
Posted onAccelerating the Adoption of Integrated, Sustainable and Inclusive Approaches to Water Management and Water Quality by Kaitlin Little For three days in June, some of the top minds in the nation will join together to discuss urban-rural collaboration towards “One Water” management and 16 Iowa leaders will participate. The One Water Summit, sponsored by the…