Pecatonica Pride Watershed Association will hold a Pop Up Field Day on Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Berg Farm, 1.5 miles south of Blanchardville.
Conservation professionals will be available to discuss river and stream bank restoration practices and cost-share funding sources. Local Water Action Volunteers will also talk about citizen science water quality monitoring efforts in the streams that feed into the Lower East Branch of the Pecatonica.
The event is free and open to the public. There will be a tour of Mike Berg’s Pecatonica River bank restoration that was undertaken in late 2019 and completed in early 2020. Because the riverbank restoration reduced the amount of soil and phosphorus that wash into the Pecatonica River upstream of Arygle every year, the village paid for part of the project in exchange for “credit” toward lowering phosphorus load totals from the municipal waste treatment plant.
Wisconsin’s Water Quality Trading program allows municipal waste treatment facilities to meet their required phosphorus discharge limits by paying farmers and landowners upstream to implement practices that reduce the overall amount of phosphorus released to the local watershed.
“My dad was a great conservationist and did a lot on this farm to protect the soil and water,” says Mike Berg, who owns 540 acres of cropland in eastern Lafayette County. “I’m just trying to do my part to make our farm better for the next generation.”
Lunch and drinks are provided. Organizers said there will be hay bale seating, so bring a lawn chair if preferred.
