2024 Iowa watershed award winners

Watershed Coordinator of the Year: Erin Ogle, Taylor SWCD

In her role as Project Coordinator for the Taylor Soil & Water Conservation District, Erin Ogle promotes better water quality while strengthening the local community. Ogle helps farmers add cover crops, small grains, and rotational grazing practices – and her project is expanding into surrounding counties.

“Dollars are coming in for livestock businesses, and they’re staying local for things like vet bills, seed, lime fertilizer, fencing stores, sale barns, and bankers…and when people can be successful here, they raise their families here, supporting local school systems and other businesses.”

                                                                                                      – Erin Ogle

Individual Impact: Kevin Cooper, Nevada High School teacher & farmer

For Nevada High School Vocational Ag teacher, FFA Advisor and part-time farmer Kevin Cooper, water quality practices aren’t just a textbook topic – they’re a part of his life that he shares with his students and community.

Cooper not only teaches his students about water quality practices like cover crops and buffer strips – he practices what he preaches on his own farm.

Through conservation, Cooper has positively impacted 220 acres of farmland – the impact of the water and soil health-centered education his students carry forward may be immeasurable.

Team Impact: Iowa’s Oxbow Stewards

A statewide team of more than a dozen water quality and habitat experts is breathing new life into old, cut off river segments called oxbows. Each oxbow presents a wealth of water quality and habitat potential – that’s where Iowa’s Oxbow Stewards come into play.

“All types of oxbow restorations – those that receive water directly from field drainage tile and those that don’t – reduce nitrate concentrations in the water, which has improved water quality for people and wildlife throughout Iowa and beyond.”                                                                                                                                                   – Darrick Weissenfluh, USFWS / IOS team