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		World Water Day 2007 Home Water Scarcity A Honduras Dam One Size Doesn't Fit Saving the Yangtze IHA Software A New Era

Support Conservation   Help the Conservancy's work to preserve plants, animals and natural communities all over the world.   “What we're finding is that just because a solution works in one place, doesn't mean that it will work everywhere.” —  Maria Lemke, aquatic ecologist for The Nature Conservancy Go Deeper How Much Should a River Flow, Anyway? Find out how the Conservancy determines optimum river flows for nature and people. The Conservancy's Sustainable Waters Program Discovery how we're working to conserve freshwater ecosystems for  people and nature. The Great Rivers Partnership Explore this partnership to conserve the world's great river systems. The Great Lakes Program Learn about how the Conservancy and its partners are working to protect North America's largest source of freshwater. How You Can Conserve Water Nearly one-half of the United States' 3.6 million miles of rivers and streams are threatened or impaired. Check out these simple backyard ways you can protect our freshwater resources.

By Tracy Boutelle

For Maria Lemke’s daily “to do” list has the stuff everyone deals with: reports, appointments and conference calls.

Then there are the tasks that involve waders, stream gauges and sample jars.

“Science doesn’t wait for good weather,” said Lemke, an aquatic ecologist for The Nature Conservancy in Illinois. “When you have to chop through ice to get to the water, taking samples in the winter can be a little challenging.”

Armed with sturdy, waterproof boots and thick coveralls, Lemke is examining specific land-management techniques and their effects on the health of Illinois' Mackinaw River watershed.

This work is raising a critical question for the Conservancy and its partners: Are the billions of conservation dollars spent each year through federal and state programs and private efforts improving the health of our natural areas?

Every Landscape is Different

For example, one of the early Mackinaw projects looked at whether adding buffers around streams and grass waterways in easily eroded fields lowered the amount of sediment and nutrient that made its way into the region’s waters.

These practices have been found to be very effective in some agricultural lands. But they weren’t doing the job in the Mackinaw that biologists expected — and certainly not enough to improve the health of aquatic life in the river.

“Every landscape is unique. We use it different ways,” Lemke explains. “What we’re finding is that just because a solution works in one place, doesn’t mean that it will work everywhere.”

But why weren't the buffers enough in this case? After all, volumes of research demonstrate the importance of buffers: They reduce streambank erosion, provide habitat, stabilize banks and reduce surface runoff.

Because the Mackinaw is surrounded by some of the nation's most productive agricultural land, it's lands are heavily tiled — and large amounts of water were bypassing the buffers entirely through underground pipes.

That’s why the project now is exploring how effective wetlands could be at removing sediment and nutrients from water destined for the Mackinaw River.

A New Model for Measuring Conservation Impact

Based on the research collected here, scientists and land managers throughout the Conservancy started taking a closer look at the direct impact their actions — and the actions of others — are making.

As Lemke has shared her research with others, the project has quickly become a model within the organization for testing and evaluating conservation strategies.

Increasingly, the Conservancy is also calling on others to take a look at the impact their actions make. As the U.S. Congress looks to pass a 2007 Farm Bill, for example, the Conservancy wants lawmakers to include provisions for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to measure the performance of its programs.

Tracy Boutelle is a writer based in Illinois.

Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Tim Lindenbaum (Chinquapin Bluffs, a preserve along the Mackinaw River); Mark Godfrey (Maria Lemke)