Developing and Disseminating an Educational Tool for Managing Tile-Treatment Wetlands in the Midwestern Agricultural Landscape

Commodities

Practices

North-Central SARE Research & Education funding is needed for the Wetlands Initiative's project titled "Developing and Disseminating an Educational Tool for Managing Tile-Treatment Wetlands in the Midwestern Agricultural Landscape". The primary goal of this work is to develop a comprehensive educational resource for Midwestern farmers on the operation and management of tile-treatment wetlands for water quality improvement (hereafter, "Smart Wetlands") on agricultural land, which often has broader applicability for other wetland practices. Farmer leaders in Illinois who have installed these wetlands for nutrient loss reduction, as well as ag outreach organizations in Illinois and adjoining states, have identified maintenance as an important gap in understanding about the practice.

With previous NCR-SARE funding (project #LNC22-465), the Wetlands Initiative increased ag-sector knowledge across seven-plus Illinois counties about Smart Wetlands as Farm Bill-eligible practices that provide important benefits. However, farmers are unfamiliar with appropriate management steps over time after wetlands' implementation, particularly given the perennial nature of the ecosystem. A new NCR-SARE award would support creating an operations and maintenance (O&M) resource that provides step-by-step guidance and ideal timing for wetland maintenance techniques such as treating invasive plants, addressing outlet and berm issues, and managing water levels.

An O&M field technician will work with five Illinois farmers with existing Smart Wetlands to fully document management steps and gather input in the field for the resource. Using this documentation and existing literature, TWI will draft a comprehensive O&M resource, made available as an interactive online guide and printed pocket summary version for field use. The landowner cooperators and an advisory team of ag conservation-focused nonprofits/agencies will review draft content and provide feedback to make it effective and accessible to the farmer audience. The completed educational products will be actively disseminated through a webinar launch and field events, presentations at forums, and sharing with agricultural outreach/education entities across multiple states.

Outcomes achieved over three years will include:

• 500 farmers, public/private advisers, and Midwestern ag-focused groups will gain knowledge on how to efficiently maintain wetlands constructed for water quality improvement over time.
• 20 initial farmers/landowners will have increased confidence in managing Smart Wetlands on their properties.
• At least 10 ag-focused conservation groups/agency staff in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana will disseminate the resource to their networks.

Ultimately, we anticipate this project will facilitate more-widespread, improved use of Smart Wetlands and other farm-based wetland practices for improved water quality, wildlife habitat, and other benefits for farming communities.

The primary objective of this project is to create and disseminate a comprehensive O&M resource (online and print versions) for farmers and farmland owners to manage tile-treatment wetlands and their surrounding buffers successfully. Our targeted audiences are farmers, public and private advisers, Midwestern ag-focused conservation groups. Importantly, though this guide focuses specifically on tile-treatment wetlands for water quality improvement, many of the O&M strategies and methods it will highlight are appropriate for other on-farm wetland practices in the Upper Midwest, yielding broader value and utility for the farm audience.

Over three years, TWI and our collaborators will achieve the following outcomes:

• Learning: At least 500 people in the project's targeted audiences will gain knowledge on how to efficiently maintain wetlands constructed for water quality improvement over time.
• Learning: 20 initial farmers and landowners will have increased confidence in managing Smart Wetlands within their annual rowcrop operations, with increased reach beyond the grant period. This will include our landowner cooperators and other farmers who will have an installed Smart Wetland by 2029, as well as new landowner prospects for a wetland identified via TWI's separate Smart Wetland technical assistance and outreach work. The resource will be shared with all these new prospects and implementers of the practice.
• Action: At least 10 ag-focused conservation group and agency staff in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana will disseminate this new educational resource to their networks.

We anticipate the following system-wide outcomes beyond the grant period:

• Farmers' management of Smart Wetlands (and other farm-based wetland practices) in the Upper Midwest will improve, ensuring the wetlands' primary benefits are sustained. TWI will continue to improve and update the O&M manual, incorporating feedback over time, so that it functions as a living document. Consequently, the manual will continue to support landowner actions and decisions about their wetland sites in future years.
• The project will ultimately facilitate increased adoption of Smart Wetlands across the Upper Midwest, as more farmers gain familiarity and become more confident and comfortable with how to integrate the practice into their operations.
• Over time, more-widespread use of Smart Wetlands and other farm-based wetland practices in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, and beyond will lead to improved water quality locally and for downstream states, increased wildlife habitat, and other benefits.