5:30 p.m. Bus departs State Office Building, St. Paul to Pipestone (4 hours)

Historic Calumet Inn

104 W. Main Street

Pipestone, MN 56164

507-825-5871

7:00 p.m. Pick up Sen. Frederickson at Traverse de Sioux Historical Site, call his cell phone (507-327-0233) when bus departs St. Paul

Meet Sen. Vickerman at Pipestone Airport

Shuttle Info: 15 passenger van

7:30 a.m. Hot Breakfast provided

8:15 a.m. Depart hotel

Directions: to be inserted

8:30 a.m. Arrive Holland Water Treatment Plant

• Drinking water wells affected by land use affects, mitigation available, nitrate removal, water treatment.
• General Overview of Water Quality Issues in SW
• Public Water Supply Challenges Facing Many MN Communities and Implications

LCMR 1999 Project (Improving Agricultural Systems Overlying Sensitive Aquifers in SW MN)

• Phytofiltration concepts and Simulation Results
• Accelerating Management Changes and Finding Meaningful Solutions
• Overview of the Nitrate Removal Treatment Plant

Contacts:

9:30 a.m. Bus group departs for Pipestone

9:45 a.m. Both bus and plan groups meet at Pipestone Airport

Rural MN Energy Task Force background issues and projects: David Benson, Jim Nichols, Dan Juhl, Kas brothers, Kevin Anderson

Local individual farms that developed wind power. Wind turbines on private farm lands; contracts, lease issues, revenue, maintenance and operation, training, environmental conflicts, and their waste to energy plans

Contacts:

Annette Bair, 507-836-8547, RDC.

Dan Juhl, 507-562-1280

11:30 a.m. Depart to Lake Shetek

12:30 p.m. Arrive

Contact: Bruce Eliason, DNR Park Manager, 507-763-3256

Lunch Contact information: Key Largo Restaurant, Heidi, 507-763-3400, fax=507-763-1527. Initial order 33 subs 2 vegie -- need to confirm #s Tues., Sept. 23.

Pick up Bruce and Bill Bolin, retired park naturalist and local historian, at park office, proceed through park to boat launch.

Board Whyknot Cruise Boat for lunch.

• Bruce Eliason, Park Manager,
• John Muller, President of the Friends of Lake Shetek State Park Association, welcome and introductions
• Dave Leuthe, DNR Regional Hydrologist (507) 359-6050,
• Chris Hansen, Murray County Environmental Services Director 507-836-6148, ext. 166.

Discussion of phosphorus and lake water quality, impact of urban development, lake management planning, septic/sewer system improvements and area septic treatment alternatives.

1:30 p.m. Return to park and board bus.

Drive through beach and picnic area, campground, and shop maintenance area on the way to Zuya Group Center. Discuss park operations and maintenance issues.

Stop at Zuya Group Center and get off the bus for continued discussion of park operations.

2:15 p.m. Board bus, drive by Shetek Monument on the way out of the park.

2:30 p.m. Depart Lake Shetek State Park (Tabor Hoek, BWSR, and Carrie Netzke, Area II River Basin, get on the bus and narrate soil and water tour stops)

From Lake Shetek State Park travel Co. Road 17 and 45 to NE corner of Murray County to see two retention structures called Van Hecke. Window stop. Recent Bonding $.

South into Cottonwood County and turn east on Co. Road 10. Stop at retention site just off of 10 in Sec. 2 Storden Twsp. window stop - retention project at 2:45. Funded by recent bonding $.

• Carrie Netzke, Area II River Basin Joint Powers Board, watershed improvement.
• Jane Starz, Brown County Parks Director, 507-233-6640, park development and use.
• [Tabor Hoek is sending name of another person.]

3:30 p.m. Depart

Directions: Mound Creek to Jeffers - need to get directions

4:00 p.m. Arrive Jeffers Petroglyph Historic Site (check elevations)

Contact: Tom Sanders 507.628.5591

Directions: Jeffers to Sandy Point – Directions coming from Randy Markl

4:45 p.m. Depart for Sandy Point County Park on Heron Lake

(3 DNR staff and Gyles Randall, Mark Pietz, and Jan Voit will get on bus; pass by Red Rock Quarry

• Jan Voit – Heron Lake Watershed District, activities and incentives
• Randy Markl - Water Level Mgmt, Rough Fish Mgmt, Sedimentation & Buffer Strips, and Heron Lake Presentation
• Gyles Randall
• Mark Pietz - Ag Drainage

1) Describe drainage and the basic premise for draining Agricultural land.

- Surface and subsurface

- Many poorly drained soils in Southern Minnesota

2) History of Drainage

- Surface and subsurface

3) Reasons crop producers install artificial drainage to remove excess soil water, which in turn

• Allows earlier more timely field operations in the spring
• Reduces soil compaction and increases traffic ability
• Allows uninterrupted fields operations and crop growth
• Allows earlier planting and better utilization of
• Fertilizers
• Allows conservation tillage practices to be used
• Results in higher crop yields and profits
• Reduces risk for the farmer
• Improves land value -- a capital investment
• Fulfills a "feed-the-world" philosophy in the Ag. Sector

4) Negative consequences of drainage

* Transport of dissolved constituents, i.e., nitrates, Pathogens,

- Downstream effects

- Hypoxia

* Changes the hydrology of the landscape

- Coupled with corn and soybean agriculture

- connectedness

- Stream energy and flooding?

* Changes the ecology of the landscape

- Reduces ecological diversity -- both flora and fauna

• Little Swan water level management, pass through Windom- Des Moines River at bridge – observe sedimentation – discuss CREP and watershed treatments see wet spot along road – protected by farm program – tile all around
• Arrive at fish barrier – get out to view/ discuss fish management, cross Des Moines River
• Duck Lake drive by - DOT mitigation site and Diemer’s tile pump station
• Heron Meadows – Large filter strip along flood way – abandoned tile pump, clean sediment from flood waters
• Jack Creek and large drainage system pump, dikes, buffers, sediment management, instream sediment: Jan Voit, HLWD, activities and cost-share program
• Okabena Creek - Worthington Wastewater, flood width
• Pietz’s farm intersection on tar road - Ag Drainage discussion – on bus in-route

6:30 p.m. Sandy Point Co Park on Heron Lake– unload and discuss lake vegetation changes

Supper and presentation about Heron Lake

Dinner Information: The meal will be brats and burgers, baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw, spring salad, lemonade, coffee, and apple crisp. Hi-Lo Club, Nadine Malchow (507-662--5992)

8:15 p.m. Arrive in St. James for Overnight

Super 8 Motel

1210 Heckman Court

St. James, MN 56081

(507) 375-4708

7:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast or "HappyChef" next to Hotel (check elevations)

Linda Meschke, BERBI, 507 238 5449 will lead this portion

Topics: BERBI, inventories, septic pollution, point and non point source runoff, feedlot runoff, techniques employed or planned to mitigate run off, CREP,

8:40 Discussion on 3^rd Crops, Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Solutions

9:30 travel to LaSalle

9:45 Stop briefly [do not get off the bus] at LaSalle to discuss unsewered community issues, enroute Gary Wyatt - recreation trail connecting with Mankato and points west. At La Salle is where Jesse James hid in the banks of the Watonwan River after robbing the bank at Northfield.

Enroute to 7 Mile creek, Andrew Arends, Area DNR Forestry on DNR involvement with CREP

Directions: Park is on both sides of the road, but go to the west side, turn left off Highway 169 and proceed to the second picnic shelter which provides the best overview of the park.

11:00 a.m. Arrive Seven Mile Creek Park

• Bill Geary, County Park Board Chairman, 570-931-2530, ext. 115 - welcome, history of land acquisition and facility development
• Bob Bruns, County Auditor & Park Board Member, 507-931-6800, ext. 300 - - funding sources for matching grants, ongoing maintenance, present and future development needs
• Kevin Kuehner, County Watershed Director, 507-934-4140, cell 507-381-9440 - regional academic use as an educational facility, park’s attraction as with the Minnesota River Birding Trail
• Owen Baird, DNR Fisheries - Seven Mile Creek is a designated Trout Stream and regional significance of the Park
• John Gatzske, Park Supervisor other uses (weddings, company picnics, etc.) and maintenance and improvements done with donated labor

11:30 p.m. Depart

11:45 p.m. Arrive in St. Peter (Lunch stop) (check elevations)

12:30 p.m. Depart

12:45 p.m. Arrive Traverse de Sioux Historical Site, Dave Kelliher, MHS,

Site Phone: 507-697-6321

drop off Sen. Frederickson & Sen. Vickerman

1:30 p.m. Depart

3:00 p.m. Arrive St. Paul, State Office Building