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Kalamazoo
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NEWS RELEASE JANUARY 20, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Don Bonnette (616) 327-1258
Kalamazoo Area "Watershed Steward Awards" Announced
On Thursday, January 10, 2000, the Kalamazoo Conservation District, the Forum of Greater Kalamazoo, the Kalamazoo County Drain Commission, and other watershed partners announced five (5) winners of the 1999 Watershed Steward Award. Ms. Carolyn Fitz and Mr. Mark Kieser received Stewardship Awards in the individual contribution category, the Sustainable Community Watershed Committee received an award in the community-group category, the Kalamazoo County Road Commission received an award in the governmental category and Schupan & Sons, Inc. received an award as a private business.
"The Watershed Steward Award was created through a union of the River Partners Program, the Davis Creek Watershed Steering Committee, and the Kalamazoo Conservation District" said Bill Reed, Interim Director of the Forum of Greater Kalamazoo. "These awards were created to recognize outstanding individual, community-group, governmental agency and business efforts in watershed protection, and to publicize the positive benefits that result from water quality protection in the greater Kalamazoo area." Jim Coury of the Potowatomi Resource Conservation & Development District and who Chairs the River Partners’ Nonpoint Source Pollution Advisory Committee said, "The recipients of these awards exemplify the broad partnerships necessary for effective watershed management. These awards recognize local successes in watershed protection, increase public awareness, and will encourage more partnerships in watershed protection."
The Watershed Steward Awards were presented during a 7:00 p.m. public ceremony on January 20th in the Offices of the Kalamazoo Conservation District (KCD), 1911 W. Centre, Portage. Mr, Larry Leach, Vice-Chair of the KCD, presented the awards during the District’s Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting included the public’s election of new officers for expired terms among the five KCD Directors. Dave Alling, Board Chairman of the KCD has said "the Conservation District, as a local organization established for the promotion of soil and water conservation in Kalamazoo County, is particularly honored to participate in this second annual, recognition of local leadership in watershed protection."
The Davis Creek Watershed Project is a partnership between the Kalamazoo Conservation District, The Forum of Greater Kalamazoo, and a dozen other watershed partners. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality provides substantial funding to the Davis Creek Project through a federal clean water grant. If you would like more information on the project or would like to become involved, please contact Marc Elliott at (616)-337-7382.
1999 Watershed Steward Awards
The Kalamazoo Conservation District, in cooperation with the Rivers Partners Program of the Forum of Greater Kalamazoo is pleased to announce the 2nd Annual recipients of the Kalamazoo area "Watershed Steward Awards." The 1999 Watershed Steward Awards are bestowed in partnership with the Kalamazoo Conservation District, the Kalamazoo County Drain Commission, and other supporters of the Forum’s River Partners Program. This community-based, annual award was created to recognize outstanding individual or organizational efforts in watershed protection, education and partnership in the Kalamazoo Area. The five recipients of this year’s award were announced January 20, 2000 during the annual meeting of the Kalamazoo Conservation District.
In the category of Individual Contribution, two individuals received awards for 1999. Mr. Mark Kieser (Kalamazoo) was recognized for his leadership on the Davis Creek Watershed Steering Committee, the Water Quality Trading Demonstration Project, and other efforts to improve water quality throughout Kalamazoo County and the Kalamazoo Watershed. Mark has consistently been at the forefront of watershed protection in the Kalamazoo Area. Ms. Carolyn Fitz (Kalamazoo) also received an individual award for her efforts at the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center. There she helped dramatically increase the understanding of the importance of the concept of stream flow as it relates to water quality to high school students. These are youth leaders who will, one day, have an impact on local and national watershed decisions in the future. Carolyn has also exposed students to careers in the environmental field through hands-on projects in the Kalamazoo River and several local tributaries.
In the category of Community Group Contribution, the Sustainable Community Watershed Committee (Kalamazoo) was recognized for their willingness to contribute sorely needing funding and for their entirely cooperative and collaborative efforts in watershed protection. Since the Committee’s founding in 1995 at the Kalamazoo Foundation, they have been a critical supporting component to many local watershed initiatives. Some of the projects which the Committee has contributed to include the Davis Creek Watershed Project, the Four-Townships Water Resources Council, and water quality monitoring projects of both the Kalamazoo Conservation District and the environmental studies program of Western Michigan University. The Sustainable Community Watershed Committee has also annually hosted an invaluable, local Watershed Conference since its inception.
In the category of Business Contribution, Schupan & Sons, Inc., (Kalamazoo) was recognized for their installation of an improved (non traditional) storm water drainage design at their new facility off Covington Road. Working with city representatives and volunteers from the Davis Creek Watershed Steering Committee, Schupan scraped their initial drainage design, and installed a system of "Best Management Practices" which reduced the amount of storm water runoff which would otherwise be piped through city sewers, directly into Davis Creek. The development was also seeded with a mixture of warm season grasses and legumes as a natural conservation measure which was designed by Jim Coury. Jim is with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and is also an active supporter of the River Partners Program.
In the category of Governmental Contribution, the Kalamazoo County Road Commission (Kalamazoo) was recognized for their efforts to increase public awareness of watersheds and watershed protection through their participation on the Davis Creek Watershed Steering Committee. KCRC is installing watershed awareness signs at select locations along their roadway right-of-way to inform people we all live in watersheds. Equally important, the KCRC’s voluntary installation of a $25,000 two-stage storm water control structure to help protect Davis Creek has become a significant component of the overall Davis Creek Watershed Project.
The nomination process and selection criteria
for the Annual Watershed Stewardship Awards was developed through
work group of the Nonpoint Source Pollution Advisory Committee.
The 1999 nominations were judged by an independent and diversely
represented award selection committee. The selection committee
included Kathy Buckham, (Executive Director, Kalamazoo
Conservation District) Gary Cramer (Member, Kalamazoo Council of
Governments, William French (Member, Environmental Committee of
the Kalamazoo County Chamber of Commerce), Richard Kleiman (Drain
Commissioner, Kalamazoo County) and Bill Reed (Interim Director
of the Forum for Greater Kalamazoo).
Selecting the Watershed Steward Award recipients for 1999 was by
no means an easy task for this year’s review committee. Many
noteworthy organizations and individuals had been nominated from
throughout the County. In addition to the five named 1999 Award
winners, nine (9) notable award nominees are also recognized.
These include Liz Howard, Larry DeLong, Tom Dunn as members of an
ad hoc group moving towards cooperative, voluntary reductions of
phosphorous loadings into the Kalamazoo River. Dick Skalski and
Christopher Barnes were each recognized for their leadership in
the areas of municipal storm water runoff and river trailways.
The City of Portage, Kalamazoo Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited
and Chateau Acres were also recognized of their efforts in
(respectively) urban drainage management, stream restoration and
stream bank erosion control.
For more information about the Davis Creek Watershed Project, or other initiatives of the River Partners Program, please contact Marc Elliott at (616)-337-7382.
Davis Creek Watershed
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