News Feature                                                            5/24/2007

Pelican River Watershed District Presents at 10th National Watershed Conference

National Watershed Coalition held the 10^th National Watershed Conference in La Crosse, Wisconsin, May 20- 23, 2997.  At this conference, Dennis Kral, President, and Tera Guetter, Administrator, both from Pelican River Watershed District (PRWD), made a presentation on how Public Law 83-566 was used to help them develop a water quality plan for the Upper Pelican River Watershed.  

The plan includes stream and wetland restoration, land treatment, and road improvements.  Once the components of the plan are installed, PRWD will have better control of the phosphorus levels within the Upper Pelican River Watershed. 

The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 83-566) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide technical and financial assistance to local organizations for planning and carrying out watershed projects.   The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Program is designed to bridge the gap between the on-farm conservation practices installed by individual landowners and the larger programs for development and flood protection of major river valleys.

PL-566 watershed projects will be formulated to "improve and protect water quality and other environmental concerns, flood damage reduction, and water conservation."  Potential projects serving these purposes and utilizing the ecosystem based planning approach will receive high priority. 

If you have questions about PL–566 or have a watershed problem that needs to be addressed, please contact John Beckwith, Water Resources Staff Leader, at (651) 602-7930 or John.Beckwith@mn.usda.gov

< Back to Home