College Students Get Hands-On Conservation

l. to r. Keith Rowe, NRCS Project Engineer and Rob Rhyan, NRCS Inspector; Jack Cline; Dr. Roy Palmer; Lee Coen and Russ Tippett with Hocking College; and Mark Abdella, Contractor

Students from Hocking College near Athens, Ohio, and NRCS conservationists recently wrapped-up the Lake Snowden dam rehabilitation project. On hand for the dedication of the dam were USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, Mack Gray and Hocking College Vice-President of Administration, Dr. Roy Palmer. “There is a great need for recreational activities in rural communities,” Gray said. “This multi-purpose project not only provides drinking water and flood control, but also enhances the rural communities surrounding Lake Snowden by providing recreational opportunities.”

work underway on the Lake Snowden earthen dam rehabilitation project

This project was a unique effort between the NRCS and the Hocking College’s Environmental Restoration Associate Degree students and instructors. “Both parties benefited from this joint project,” said NRCS Acting State Conservationist, John Wilson. “Hocking students were able to gain hands-on experience working on a real world project, under the supervision of their instructors and NRCS engineers and NRCS was able to improve the dam that had been classified as a “high hazard” by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Visit the NRCS Ohio Web site.

Currently there are 78 flood control dams like the Lake Snowden dam in Ohio and over half of these dams need rehabilitation. For information about the small watershed rehabilitation program in the State, go to the NRCS Ohio web site.

Your contact is Christina Coulon, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 614-255-2471, or chris.coulon@oh.usda.gov.