Making a Difference
2014 – 2015
Natural Resources Program Focus Team
Watershed Specialists
Grand
Challenges
K-State Research and
Extension: providing
education you can
trust to help people,
businesses, and
communities solve
problems, develop
skills, and build a
better future.
Situation
The K-State Watershed Specialist program began in 2000, as a partnership with the Kansas
Department of Health and Environment and other agricultural groups. This partnership
assigned specialists to high-priority watersheds. The specialists work closely with local
Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) groups as service providers and
coordinators to develop and implement plans to improve surface water quality and to meet
state water quality standards.
What We Did
The K-State watershed specialist team provided a broad array of educational services. The
figures below reflect annual averages over the past 5 years.
• On-farm consultations: 266 consultations and technical assistance responses helped
develop water-quality plans and obtain financial assistance.
• Education and awareness: 323 events reaching 18,200 people, plus 56 presentations and
displays, 12 radio and television interviews, and 14 news articles.
Dan Devlin
KCARE Director
785-532-0393
ddevlin@k-state.edu
Charles Barden
Professor
785-532-1444
cbarden@k-state.edu
Chuck Otte
Agriculture and Natural
Resources Agent
785-238-4161
cotte@k-state.edu
• Water monitoring: more than 450 water samples have been collected and analyzed for
pollutant information by two WRAPS groups.
Outcomes
Best management practice (BMP) Implementation: 172 cropland BMPs, affected more than
29,700 acres. Specifically:
• Atrazine herbicide-related BMPs on 22,030 acres.
• Terraces constructed or reconstructed: 74,800 linear feet.
• Conservation crop rotation on more than 3,000 acres.
• No-till plantings on almost 1,200 acres
Best management practice implementation: 76 livestock BMPs affecting 6,920 animal units
and 1,335 acres. Specifically:
• Livestock waste management and storage systems for 20 operations.
• Alternative watering facilities at 24 locations.
• Eight pipeline BMPs, with 38,200 feet of pipeline.
• Fencing BMPs at nine locations with 10,360 feet of fence.
Pollutant Load Reductions
Load reductions for implemented BMPs, calculated by the Kansas Department of Health and
Environment and K-State Research and Extension were:
Kansas State University
Agricultural Experiment
Station and Cooperative
Extension Service
K-State Research and Extension
is an equal opportunity
provider and employer.
• Nitrogen: 373,315 pounds per year;
• Phosphorus: 138,970 pounds per year;
• Sediment: 12,220 tons per year;
• Atrazine: 1,229 pounds active ingredient per year.