1. South Dakota Conservation Speech
“How Does Your Watershed?”

2. At the Time: Or how to stop it. Dust Storms raged from Texas to ND.
Top soil buried houses, fences, cars.
High rates of pneumonia
Farmers lost everything
Exodus out of the plains- 30% population
Didn’t understand why this was happening…
Or how to stop it.

3. Farming Practices
Drought conditions w/farming practices caused dust storms
Farmers plowed up EVERYTHING
No tree lines or cover crops
Cover crop – crop planed to stop soil erosion
Markets crashed due to lack demand caused farmers to keep tilling up prairie grasses.

4. Why? This is Why

5. Created-
1933- Soil Scientist Hugh Hammond Bennett testified for soil and water conservation as a major dust storm blew into D.C.
Considered father of conservation districts
Wanted government programs to educate farmers and provide financial incentives to do the programs or practices.

6. What is Conservation-
Preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife.
Why does this help stop erosion?

7. Watershed?
Watershed- area of land where all of the water that falls in it and drains off of it goes to a common outlet. Watersheds can be as small as a footprint or large enough to encompass all the land that drains water into rivers that drain into Chesapeake Bay, where it enters the Atlantic Ocean

8. Why would we want to manage and protect watersheds?

9. Drought Economics
2002 Drought in SD is estimated to have economic impact of 1.8 Billion not including the $400 million in Federal Aid.
Worse conditions than the1930s
Rainfall was less-
Diersel 2002

10. Water rights appropriated by the DENR, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, cannot exceed the recharge rate of the groundwater.
Less than 3% of SD is irrigated
According to Cropmetrics

11. Major Players of Conservation in SD
Conservation Districts
NRCS- Natural Resource Conservation Service
Game Fish and Parks
SD Forestry
Sierra Club, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited
Why would these three organizations support conservation?

12. What type of people would have the biggest impact on conservation?

13. Farmers
Biologists
Conservationists
Forestry Department
Dept of Natural Resources
Each one of Us.

14. Thesis: “How Does Your Watershed?”
What is the Rhetorical Purpose?
Who is the audience this speech is designed for?
What is this thesis asking?

15. Why do watersheds matter?
SD cow to person ratio is 5:1
SD Ag is #1 industry with $20.7 Billion
1.7 million acres of National Forests-
Increase ag output by 50% in
Only 10% land available for crops
US has the most fertile soil.
100 year for 1 inch of top soil.
No water- leaves years of impact
Ranchers West River sold herds because no hay. No irrigation…

16. W/O Conservation Soil over exploited Streams and rivers polluted
Wildlife gone due to overfishing and hunting and habitat loss.
Habitat loss is #1 threat towards specie problems. (hunting is $66 billion)
Over use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers have are found in drinking water. Run off from fields…

17. What do Conservation Districts do?
Plant Tree lines
Work as natural wind break preventing blowing snow, snow, and wildlife haven.
Education-
Proper farming techniques
Proper fertilizer
Pine beetle Research (US Forestry)
Research into best farming practices
No till farming
Cover crops
Conservation Reserve Program
Taking marginal lands out of production and planting grass.

18. What are they doing? Ex- restoring wetlands Why are sloughs good?
Ex- Enrolling land in the Conservation Reserve Program
Planting Buffer Strips
Riparian buffers
Wells for pastures
Cleaning Lakes of sediments
River management
EVEN if it means losing some short term profit.

19. Other Groups- can include
Game Fish and Parks-
Invasive species
Carb, zebra mussels, water fleas. How do they affect the Watershed? Water intakes, quality of drinking water.
US Forestry Department Programs
NRCS
SD Department of Ag
Google SD Conservation Districts’ projects.

20. Ways to approach the speech-
Leave space between each one to write actions
What can Farmers do?
What can Sportsmen/women do?
What can city folk do?
What can the government do?
Why should I or You care?

21. DO YOUR RESEARCH!
Take a stand point that water management is important for conservation.
Our aquifers are strained- many places they face serious crisis- CA, TX, even Rosholt SD- 15 miles of pipes.
NE faces chemicals in their water.
Think Richmond Lake – it wasn’t always green
Think our city supply.

22. Assignment- “How Does Your Watershed?” 4-5 min speech
Your thesis is that. Then you need an interpretation.
Intro- 45 seconds
Needs 3 pts.
Carry a THEME throughout that you set up in intro and preview. Should relate to your intro.
4 sources.
Go general to specific.
We need to reverse the trend to drain every prairie pot hole. For example the S. Brown has….

23. Ex-
Today we will first drop the plow in to turn over ways water manage affects us all. Second, head into town for the local coffee hour to get an education on programs available.
Finally, sow some ways why our actions will protect our state for future generations.
Emily Meier
Joanna Geffre
McKayla Carda

24. BRAIN STORM Research programs of the different departments.
Keep it South Dakota- and farming.
Some great stories you can tie in come from the Iowa. Example for 1.2 billion 60% of Iowa land could plant cover crops. Reducing the nutrient load significantly.
The water treatment last winter was 545 million gallons. What does that mean?