Now that the Shell Rock River Watershed Advisory board completed its work and has disbanded, clean-water advocates hope the cooperative spirit and work ethic that motivated the committee will keep people interested in implementing its recommendations.

Friday, June 15, 2001

Now that the Shell Rock River Watershed Advisory board completed its work and has disbanded, clean-water advocates hope the cooperative spirit and work ethic that motivated the committee will keep people interested in implementing its recommendations.

The Freeborn County Water Planning Advisory Committee will ask the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners to keep water advocates active by establishing a permanent lakes management advisory committee, said Chairman Dick Hoffman. The group would act as a subcommittee the county’s water planning committee, developing lake management plans for area lakes.

Committee members agree: The Shell Rock River Watershed Advisory Committee was a success.

&uot;I thought the process was well done,&uot; said Dave Peterson, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources representative to the advisory board. &uot;We had good people sticking around. We had sides all the way through, but they were talking to each other.&uot;

The group was formed to develop recommendations for the Shell Rock River Watershed. The process was part of a deal with the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) reached last year to avoid a state-appointed board that would govern the watershed.

At first, members complained that the government was making them go through the planning process, Peterson said. They didn’t trust each other and didn’t listen to other points of view. Entire meetings were conducted without consensus on issues, and votes were cast and recast concerning the board’s composition.

Some members started to wonder out loud if the advisory board would be able to accomplish anything.

But after months of arguing over who got to talk and for how long, board members started to realize they had to work together to get anything done, Peterson said. The groups gained respect for each other during the process.

Many diverse ideas and opinions came together the last three or four weeks, said Tom Tubbs, representing the Lake Chapeau Habitat Committee.

&uot;Once we started thinking and talking as 27 people concerned with the big picture, we knew we had to listen to everyone else’s concerns and also follow the directive given by BWSR,&uot; Tubbs said.

&uot;I was pleasantly surprised that they were not as antagonistic towards each other in the end as they were in the beginning,&uot; said advisory board member Bill Bryson, representing the Lakes Coalition.

Groups were surprised to learn how much city and county governments already do to protect the watershed, said Environmental Services Director Randy Tuchtenhagen. They were also surprised by the federal and state conservation programs implemented by the Freeborn County Soil and Water Conservation District and the backlog of conservation projects the overburdened offices have, Hoffman said.

&uot;I would say that the people that sat on the advisory committee learned a great deal about the total Shell Rock River Watershed,&uot; Tubbs said. &uot;They appreciate the watershed, and they want to be able to contribute the knowledge that we’ve gained in the future.&uot;

&uot;Because it’s our water, that’s why we live here.&uot;

The advisory board’s recommendation had to include everyone’s concerns, no matter how disparate they seemed, Peterson said. Some groups underwent complete reversals of positions on hot-button issues like dredging, Tuchtenhagen said.

&uot;This forced all people to consider all these elements,&uot; Peterson said. &uot;That is why I was impressed.&uot;

The result was a comprehensive – and very ambitious – watershed management plan, Hoffman said. Now the county has to figure out a way to fund and implement the plan.

&uot;All we could do is make recommendations for what we felt had to be done on Albert Lea Lake,&uot; Tubbs said. &uot;It’s up to the county now.&uot;

&uot;The staff is going to implement everything possible, but some of these are going to be literally impossible to do right now,&uot; Hoffman said.

BWSR doesn’t expect the county to clean up the water immediately, but do want some assurance that it is committed to cleaning it up, Peterson said.

&uot;How are you going to position yourself to get these things done?&uot; he asked. &uot;It’s an aggressive time line.&uot;

But Bryson said he is also apprehensive about the plan’s implementation.

&uot;We did have an open discussion, but I don’t see that we’re that much better off then we were before,&uot; Bryson said. &uot;It’s long-term management and stewardship. This has got to be a long-term plan we are going to maintain for 50 years at least.&uot;