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Taking Steps For Cleaner Water On SD Grazing Lands

Aug 31, 2015
By David Kringen
SDSU Extension Water Resources Field Specialist
 
 
What exactly is a riparian area? A riparian area is simply the transitional zone between land and water environments. A healthy riparian area is extremely important to water quality as it will reduce sediment, nutrients, pesticides, and other materials in surface and shallow subsurface runoff. Examples of riparian areas include floodplains, streambanks, lakeshores, and wetlands.
 
Livestock overgrazing in riparian areas can have negative impacts and may accelerate erosion and sedimentation, change stream flow, increase nutrient and fecal coliform bacteria loading (such as Escherichia coli), and destroy aquatic habitats. While total exclusion is typically the preferred option for streambank protection, it may not always be the best solution in every situation.
 
A relatively new program called Seasonal Riparian Area Management (SRAM) allows producers an opportunity to set aside grassland acres along certain stream segments in order to improve water quality while still keeping those acres in production. The SRAM program is essentially a deferred grazing plan for those portions of a pasture that lie within a 100-year floodplain of a stream. The program is currently only available to producers within the Big Sioux Watershed Project (see Figure 1) but may soon be opened to other watershed projects within the state. Program highlights include:
 
  • Pasture acres within the 100-year floodplain of a stream eligible for SRAM enrollment (20 foot minimum);
  • Choice of 10 or 15 year contract;
  • Rental rates for enrolled acres determined through the Big Sioux Watershed Project, with payment to be made in-full during the 1st year of participation (currently $60 per acre);
  • No grazing allowed on enrolled acres from April 1st – September 30th; however, those acres can be hayed after June 1st if a minimum vegetative cover of 4 to 6 inches is maintained;
  • Acres under contract can be fall grazed after September 30th if a minimum vegetative cover of 4 to 6 inches is maintained. However, an alternative water source is required to draw attention off the stream;
  • Technical and financial assistance for conservation planning, fencing, alternative water development, cattle crossings, etc. available through the Big Sioux River Watershed Project.
The SRAM program is different from other buffer initiatives such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in that landowners are still able to utilize the grass near the streams for hay after June 1st. The allowance for fall grazing after September 30th is also a major difference between the two programs.
 
 
Figure 1. Big Sioux River Watershed
 
Currently, many portions of the Big Sioux River and its tributaries do not support the Beneficial Use designation for Limited Contact Recreation due to fecal coliform bacteria and/or E. coli. The State of SD standard for E. coli is 1,178 colonies per 100 mL (single sample) and 630 colonies per 100 mL (mean). Figure 2 shows how E. coli concentrations were reduced through the SRAM program from water quality samples taken in Skunk Creek in 2014 and 2015. Trends show that sample concentrations are higher than the 630 per 100 mL mean standard upstream of the SRAM targeted zone but fall below the standard downstream of the zone.
 
As of August 2015, the SRAM program had enrolled roughly 790 acres within the Big Sioux watershed, with the majority of those acres along Skunk Creek, a tributary to the Big Sioux River. According to officials, the hope is to enroll an additional 1,700 acres in an attempt to improve water quality on the Big Sioux and its tributaries north of Sioux Falls by 2020. For more information on the SRAM program, contact Barry Berg, Watershed Coordinator with the SD Association of Conservation Districts at 605.759.2650.