Stakeholders meeting of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA)
On November 9th and 10th, IFB staff participated in a meeting of stakeholders of the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association (UMRBA). The UMRBA is the Governor-established forum for interstate water resource planning and management on the Upper Mississippi River, representing its member states of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. UMRBA’s purpose is to facilitate dialogue and cooperative action regarding water and related land resource issues in the region. This year’s workshop focused specifically on multi-benefit conservation practices and included stakeholders from a variety of sectors who shared information about outreach, financial opportunities, and research.
During the UMRBA meeting, Raelynn Parmely was able to present on IFB’s numerous nutrient programs and outreach efforts, including many efforts you have read about in this newsletter. In many ways, IFB as an organization is uniquely situated to serve as a catalyst among farmer members, working to connect them to resources and experts that can provide information and tools necessary to voluntarily implement nutrient reduction practices. IFB’s outreach efforts do not go unnoticed by stakeholders across the state and region, and we have you the members to thank for continuing to support our work and remain engaged on these issues. Please contact Raelynn Parmely at rparmely@ilfb.org if you have any questions about the UMRBA meeting.
At the same time last week, the Woodchip Bioreactor Partnership (The Partnership) came together to install their fifth woodchip bioreactor near Lake Springfield in Sangamon County. The Partnership is a five-year collaboration between IFB, the Illinois Land Improvement Contractor’s Association, Inc. (ILICA), the University of Illinois, and NRCS. The purpose of this partnership is to design and install one woodchip bioreactor every year, as well as to support water quality monitoring and research of the practice at each site. The partners have installed bioreactors across Bureau, Henry, and McDonough counties with the fifth being installed in Sangamon County. The partners are making arrangements for a field day and additional outreach in 2023 and are also making plans to continue the partnership for another five years. We will continue to update you all as The Partnership makes plans for the future.
You can learn more about the Sangamon County bioreactor installation and other information about The Partnership by listening to this podcast update from Ryan Arch (Executive Director, ILICA) and Raelynn Parmely, or by emailing Raelynn with any of your questions.
Woodchips are loaded into a woodchip bioreactor near the south side of Lake Springfield on November 10th, 2022.This bioreactor is the fifth installed through the Woodchip Bioreactor Partnership, of which IFB is a leading member.