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Nature and Extent of High Priority Problems <br />Conservation project installation assistance programs are divided into two general <br />categories: agricultural and urban. <br />Agricultural Problems <br />High priority erosion problems are defined as: "Erosion from wind and/or water <br />occurring on Class I -IV soil in excess of 2T tons/acre/year of any soil within 300 feet of a <br />stream or 1,000 feet of a water basin designated as a protected water or wetland by the <br />DNR." Areas meeting this description are all located in the northwest part of Anoka <br />County. Wind erosion is also a problem that is accounted for in this analysis. <br />High priority sedimentation problems are defined as: "All areas within 300 feet of a <br />stream or 1,000 feet of a lake where the erosion rate exceeds 3T tons/acre/year and <br />where the Conservation District can show that sedimentation delivery for a watershed <br />out -letting to these waters exceeds 2T tons/acre/year. The lake or stream must be <br />classified by the DNR as a Protected Water." <br />High priority feedlots are defined as: "Those feedlots where the pollution rating (from the <br />Ag. Waste Model) is greater than or equal to one and is discharging pollutants to DNR <br />designated protected waters or wetlands; to shallow soils overlying fractured bedrock; <br />or within 150 feet of a water well." Feedlots, when improperly located with respect to <br />water resources, and improperly managed to prevent runoff from entering a lake or a <br />stream, can downgrade water quality. There is very little available information on Anoka <br />County feedlots and the information that is available is outdated and no longer reliable. <br />Agricultural Conservation Measures Needed <br />Maintaining and improving soil health in agricultural areas is a focus of the Natural <br />Resources Conservation Service. The basic approach is to maintain vegetative cover all <br />of the time, keep living plants on the landscape for as long as possible, allow a diversity <br />of vegetation to grow, increase organic matter, and minimize soil disturbance. <br />Management efforts that achieve these tenets will result in healthy, more productive <br />soils that are less prone to soil loss through wind and water erosion. <br />Practices being used to control water erosion are: cover crops, conservation tillage, <br />grassed waterways, contour farming, strip -cropping, diversions, terraces, water and <br />sediment control basins, and critical area plantings. <br />Practices used to control wind erosion are: conservation tillage, field windbreaks, wind <br />strip -cropping, and permanent vegetative cover. <br />Practices used to control feedlot pollution are: waste management systems, waste <br />storage ponds, waste storage structures, waste utilization plans and diversions. <br />Urban Problems <br />With a limited agricultural constituency, ACD has noted significant erosion problems <br />associated with urban and urbanizing land uses. Streambank erosion has been <br />accelerated by more dramatic bounces in stream elevations that last for a longer <br />duration. Lakeshore erosion has been accelerated due to the practice of maintaining a <br />page 48 Anoka Conservation District Comprehensive Plan October 2014 <br />