SPICER -- With a comprehensive plan to finish and get approved by the state, watershed rules to write, water quality data that needs to be tabulated and studied, Julie Klocker has plenty of work do to.
The new full-time administrator for the Middle Fork Crow River Watershed District is enthusiastic about joining the new watershed, educating volunteers and citizens and helping improve water quality. She was hired by the watershed board of managers on Sept. 28 and is working at the district's Spicer office.
"Watershed districts are a unique unit of government," she said, noting that the Middle Fork watershed, which was approved by the state Board of Soil and Water Resources in April 2005, is essentially a "start-up" un-it of government. The watershed includes a 275-square-mile area in Kandiyohi, Stearns and Meeker counties.
Klocker brings a broad range of experience to the position. She was a water quality educator for the University of Minnesota Extension Service and, most recently, worked in a similar position for the Sauk River Watershed District.
The district is fortunate to have Klocker as its administrator, according to Robert Hodapp, president of the watershed board. "She has proven capabilities to obtain grant funding and to forge partnerships that make watershed-wide projects happen," he said.
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The Middle Fork watershed will both coordinate with and support the efforts of a base of volunteers dedicated to improving water quality, active land management programs and an active Soil and Water Conservation District, she said. The waters of the watershed, both the Middle Fork Crow River itself and the lakes along the river, need attention.
"Green Lake is a gem," she said. "The other lakes are also significant resources that need improvement."
Diamond Lake is listed as an impaired body of water by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Nest Lake will probably be listed as impaired next year. The formation of the watershed and Klocker's hiring will likely move forward the required Total Maximum Daily Load studies of the lakes, which are planned for 2013 or later.
The studies are the "key that opens the door" to funding -- from the state and federal governments -- to work on improving water quality, Klocker said.
The river itself presents a number of challenges, it is highly modified, has many dams and runs as a judicial ditch in the eastern portion of the watershed.
Klocker hopes to foster discussion by -- and education for -- a wide range of citizens from farmers to fishermen to lake cabin owners.
"I want to make sure that everyone understands their role in water quality," she said.
The next step for the watershed district is to finish its comprehensive plan. The district is hosting an open house for public input on the plan from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Spicer office. The expectation is to submit the plan for approval by the state Board of Soil and Water Resources yet this year.
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Another key step is tabulating existing data from water quality tests taken by volunteers, the Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The comprehensive plan will outline when, where and what the watershed will monitor waters for in the future.
"We need to make sure the data we gather is meaningful," Klocker said, noting that she expects to have training for volunteers who want to be involved in sampling.
The watershed will find out later this month if it will receive grant and loan money from the MCPA and from the state Board of Soil and Water Resources to set up education programs and work to institute best management practices on farmland within the watershed.
