Christian County Soil and Water Conservation District
Local Projects
The Finley River 319
The Finley 319 will consist of two parts. They are the Watershed Management Plan and the Nontraditional Agriculture Implementation Project. Both have specific goals independent of each other; however, they both will be used to improve the overall water quality within the Finley River Watershed. This is the first time that this type of project has been attempted within the state of Missouri so it has the potential to become a benchmark for the rest of the country.
The Watershed Management Plan will be a guideline for the improvement of water quality within the entire watershed over the long term. It will address many issues and concerns that will be established from a comprehensive group of stakeholders. The goal of the Watershed Management Plan is to provide a working document that will establish what issues should be addressed and how to address them with the entire watershed and its many members. The Watershed Management Plan is required to be produced before any implementation of cost-share practices can begin under the framework of this grant. It will consist of assessment and data collection of conditions within the watershed, development of a working evaluation plan to address targeted conditions and evaluation requirements to document results. It will be a standard used for addressing improvements to the watershed over the long term.
The Nontraditional Agricultural Implementation Project is designed to focus on landowners within the watershed that traditionally receive little or no opportunities to address issues on small acreage parcels of land. The grant will target 3-40 acre landowners where issues such as excessive sedimentation, nutrient loading and inadequate buffering of streams are problem areas. Education through workshops, field days, educational presentations, county fair participation, website development, public announcements, newsletters and news releases will be a major focus.A combination of education
efforts and financial incentives will be provided to landowners to achieve
reduction in sedimentation and nutrient loading and for improvement of
riparian
corridors.
This project, in collaboration with local partnerships, is critical for raising awareness of non-point source concerns and providing means for funding of conservation practices that limit the non-point source impact on water quality.
The Finley watershed area is over 172,000 acres and crosses six county line boundaries to include parts of Stone, Christian, Greene, Webster, Douglas, and Wright counties. Cooperation and partnerships have been established with all county SWCD’s involved, NRCS, MDC, DNR, M.U. Extension, and local groups like the James River Basin Partnership in Springfield to ensure the success of the project and provide many avenues for landowner understanding and involvement. For more information about the project contact your local Soil and Water Conservation Disrtict (SWCD).
Project Manager
Justin Jenkins
Christian County SWCD
1786 S 16th Ave Ozark, MO 65721
Phone: 417-581-2718 ext.3
Fax: 417-485-3863
E-mail: Justin Jenkins
"This project is designed to provide technical and financial assistance to an underserved group of landowners within the Finley River Watershed. Addressing the resource issues outlined here on an individual basis will help to improve the quality of the water within the watershed. Through information and education focused on reductions of sediment and nutrients within the watershed and by increasing riparian corridors along its streams it is our hope that this grant will provide the citizens of the watershed with an improved environmental outlook and a clean water resource.. This project will only succeed through the collaborative efforts of the public and all of the agencies involved. Together, we can make a difference."
Justin Jenkins
319 Grant
Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region VII, through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, has provided partial funding for this project under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act.