Iowa Watershed Award Winners

Sophia Campbell’s work as the Yellow River Headwaters Project Coordinator in Winneshiek County is credited to her ability to gain producers’ trust and lead effectively. Her project’s successes include: More than 20 miles of stream protected from livestock access and 60% of local livestock producers participating, over 3 miles of streambank stabilization, and increasing cover crops from .5% of row crop acres in the watershed to well over 10% of acres. For Campbell, who moved to the area in 2019 seeking opportunities, this kind of work is her dream job.

Marty Lenss started nonprofit, Wings2Water after a troubling experience at the lake. He took his family to go swimming; when his kids jumped in, they disappeared under the murky water, something he wasn’t used to after he grew up in the clear waters of Minnesota lakes.

Wings2Water allows airport customers to round up for conservation and it has raised over $300,000 for local water quality projects. He’s recruiting other airports nationwide to join him. 

Iowa Cover Crop is a Jefferson based cover crop business with 20+ dealers statewide who are spreading conservation by spreading cover crop seeds! In 2024, the business sold over 16 million pounds of seed. It’s hard to perfectly equate that to acres, but it’s somewhere in the ballpark of over a quarter million acres. In addition to their business impact, ICC has invested in the next generation of conservation leaders through “children in conservation days,” FFA test plots, and hands-on school partnerships.

Ogle’s work revolves around livestock-friendly conservation. Through the Iowa Working Lands Project, she helps farmers build plans that bring livestock back to the landscape in a way that promotes water quality and soil health. That includes integrating cover crops, small grains, and rotational grazing. It’s not just her joy for conservation that’s contagious. Ogle’s project has been so successful it’s expanded into Page, Cherokee, Woodbury, Ida, Adams, Guthrie, and Carroll Counties.   

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For Kevin Cooper, water quality practices aren’t just a textbook topic – they’re a part of his life that he shares with his students and community. That combo of education, engagement, and enthusiasm is why Cooper was named the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance (IAWA) 2024 Individual Impact Award winner. Whether in the field or the classroom, Cooper often combines his own experiences and knowledge with that of subject-matter experts, all for the benefit of his students. 

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Since 2001, the Iowa Oxbows team has worked with more than 100 landowners to restore more than 140 oxbows on private land. In 2023-24, 10 multi-purpose oxbow restorations were completed with support from the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship’s Water Quality Initiative (WQI). Between 2022-2024, the team restored more than 30 oxbows in partnership with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service..

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In his role as at the Iowa DNR, one of Josh Balk’s main focuses has been the Dry Run Creek Watershed Improvement Project in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area. To address the stream’s impairment from stormwater runoff and stream sedimentation, Balk and his peers have focused on streamside work and community engagement – both of which are bearing fruit after years of hard work.

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Charlie Schafer’s leadership at Agri Drain, Ecosystems Services Exchange (ESE), and several ag conservation organizations has helped scale up and push forward efforts to improve water quality in Iowa and across the U.S. He has invested significant resources into improved agricultural drainage management practices, which form an essential part of the overall water quality improvement picture.

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In the past year, Stevenson has organized, lead, and participated in more than 40 outreach events with a diverse audience of farmers, businesses, members of the public, watershed management authorities, and government officials. In her position at the City, Stevenson has played a key role in large-scale water quality efforts, including the Cedar River Source Water Partnership (CRSWP).

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With Slifka’s dedication to water quality in his 62,000-acre watershed, cover crops have expanded from only 1,500 acres five years ago to 17,000 acres this past fall. This has a direct impact on water quality for his community and communities downstream. His work is also improving trout streams that feed into the Turkey River.

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In 2021 alone, McCabe’s work directly led to a wide variety of conservation practices: nearly 10,000 acres planted to cover crops, a 147-acre prairie restoration in north central Iowa, 44 water-cleaning edge of field practices called saturated buffers and bioreactors, and one wetland project.

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Peterson oversees a five-year, $6.3 million flood mitigation program that focuses on a section of the South Skunk River that used to flood frequently. That’s changing because of the project that includes strategies such as wetlands which help to clean Iowa’s water.

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