2022 IAWA Iowa Watershed Award Winners
Watershed Coordinator of the Year
Hunter Slifka
Watershed Project Coordinator for the Turkey River Headwaters & Chihak Creek
With Slifka’s dedication to water quality in his 62,000-acre watershed, cover crops have expanded from only 1,500 acres five years ago to 17,000 acres this past fall. This has a direct impact on water quality for his community and communities downstream. His work is also improving trout streams that feed into the Turkey River.
Impact Award - Private Sector
Ruth McCabe
Heartland Co-op Conservation Agronomist
In 2021 alone, McCabe’s work directly led to a wide variety of conservation practices: nearly 10,000 acres planted to cover crops, a 147-acre prairie restoration in north central Iowa, 44 water-cleaning edge of field practices called saturated buffers and bioreactors, and one wetland project.
Impact Award - Public Sector
Tracy Peterson
City of Ames Municipal Engineer
Peterson oversees a five-year, $6.3 million flood mitigation program that focuses on a section of the South Skunk River that used to flood frequently. That’s changing because of the project that includes strategies such as wetlands which help to clean Iowa’s water.