October 27, 2005

Academy helps Hoosiers wade through watershed issues

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Water is everywhere. Perhaps it's that very abundance of water that makes it easy to forget that pollutants from every home, business and person eventually find their way into a watershed.

"People don't think about it until there are concerns about drinking water, they can't swim in the water or the fish are too contaminated to eat," said Brent Ladd, a water quality specialist for the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service.

Across Indiana groups of citizens are banding together to protect their local watersheds and improve the quality of their water. Purdue Extension has a program that can help them called the Watershed Leadership Academy.

"In the last 10 to 15 years, the Environmental Protection Agency has really shifted to supporting community-based watershed management programs," Ladd said. "The problem is that these groups band together but they have trouble wading through the regulations and relationships involved in managing a watershed."

Purdue Extension and a host of collaborating organizations formed the academy to teach water management leaders how to engage communities in successful watershed planning.

"This is a hands-on program," Ladd said. "When people are done with this academy they'll know how to actually plan for a watershed."

The program includes both Web-based distance learning and face-to-face class sessions. Students work on their own and with their peers on class assignments and projects. Each participant also will complete a project on a topic of special interest.

"A student can bring a problem specific to their watershed into the academy and we'll work on a solution during the classes," Ladd said.

Participants are required to complete a minimum of 10 lesson modules and attend three face-to-face class meetings. Graduates of the Indiana Watershed Leadership Academy earn a professional certificate in watershed management.

Enrollment in the academy is limited to 25 people, and the application deadline is Nov. 15. The academy begins Jan. 9 and ends in June. Tuition is $250 and includes meals and lodging for the face-to-face sessions.

Academy participants will be contacted with details about face-to-face sessions. Applications forms, a brochure and detailed information about the academy are available on the program Web site.

Ladd said program components include stakeholder involvement, strategic planning, problem finding, using technology and tools, developing contingency plans, calculating load reductions, and drainage policy.

"Drainage policy is a big issue in Indiana because lots of homes and fields occupy land that was once wetlands," Ladd said. "Watershed managers have to answer the question of 'How do you do this in a way that's not degrading the watershed?'"

Indiana's watershed academy is modeled after the successful Ohio Watershed Academy. Don Emmert, a water quality educator in the Tippecanoe County Soil and Water Conservation District, attended Ohio's academy.

"Watershed coordinators wear many hats and must know how to talk to people with diverse backgrounds," Emmert said. "Learning how to do this is just one of the facets of this academy. This program will take watershed education to the next level and provide students with accessible resources."

Not all the people who participate in the academy are involved in conservation groups, Ladd said. Among those he said would benefit from the program are watershed coordinators; citizen volunteers; community officials; conservation agency representatives; school teachers; and members of land trusts, lake associations and local environmental organizations.

"Watershed management groups are very diverse," Ladd said. "Many don't think they're a watershed group, but they're actually doing that work. This program builds connections between the groups that hold the keys to water quality."

Writer: Kay Hagen (765) 494-6682, kjh@purdue.edu

Sources: Brent Ladd, (765) 496-6331, laddb@purdue.edu

Don Emmert, (765) 474-9992, don.emmert@in.nacdnet.net

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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