SWaMP Partnering with Lee County Forestry Stewardship Committee for Forestry Workshop
Wendy Seesock and Eric Reutebuch gave a presentation on SWaMP to the Lee County Forestry Stewardship Committee during their meeting at the Lee County Extension Office in Opelika. They distributed SWaMP brochures and the Saugahatchee publication to the group and discussed the formation of the SWaMP stakeholder group and the development of the Saugahatchee Watershed Management Plan. They emphasized that the main goal of SWaMP was to clean up the creek through outreach efforts and funding of on-the-ground BMPs that would reduce/intercept pollution flushing off the landscape. They showed the group a map of the watershed that indicated the amount of nonpoint source pollution in the form of phosphorus flushing into the Saugahatchee was three times higher in urban/suburban sub-watersheds than from rural, mostly forested (with some pastureland) sub-watersheds. Wendy emphasized that phosphorus, along with sediment, is the main pollutant of concern in the creek, and is the reason why the creek is listed as impaired by the state’s environmental management agency, ADEM.
Read more in Chuck Browne’s O-A News article
They then showed the group a poster illustrating SWaMP outreach efforts and some of the SWaMP-funded on-the-ground projects. Projects thus far include a stream restoration on the Saugahatchee in Auburn, a rain catchment system at an Opelika school, a constructed wetland at an Auburn subdivision, an education and stream restoration project at Opelika Middle School, and a stream restoration of a Saugahatchee tributary at Ashton Lakes subdivision.
They concluded with a discussion on organizing a forest management workshop in partnership with the Committee. The purpose of the workshop would be to educate owners of forest lands, forest harvesters, and others on proper forest management techniques and BMPs that mitigate nutrient and sediment nonpoint source pollution to streams and lakes.
The group has set the date for the workshop as April 9, 4:00-7:30 PM. Mathew Smidt, AU Forestry Extension Specialist Associate Professor, said that CEUs would be available for workshop attendees.
If you are a landowner in Lee County (or surrounding counties), this workshop is for you! Come and join us for the Forest Land Best Management Practices (BMP) Workshop (agenda attached) on April 9, 2009 at the Mary Olive Thomas Demonstration Forest, Auburn, Alabama.
Call the Lee County Extension Office at 334-749-3353 to register for the workshop and dinner by 4/6/09.
Click here for the workshop agenda