The Friends of the Maple River (FOMR) will hold their August meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 4, at the Shiawassee Conservation District Office located at 1900 South Morrice Road in Owosso. The District Conservation Office is located at the junction of Highway M-52 and Morrice Road, approximately 2 miles south of highway M-21 in Owosso. The entrance to the office parking area is on Morrice Road, just north of the junction of M-52 and Morrice Road. The meeting will start at 6 p.m.

The featured discussion at the meeting will be two stage agricultural drains, with presentations by staff from the Shiawassee Conservation District and Shiawassee County Drain Commission Office. The discussions will outline extensive research results that show two stage ditches have greater conservation benefits than standard trapezoidal shaped ditches currently being used. Two stage ditches remove nitrates and phosphorus at up to nine times faster than regular ditches. Two stage ditches also greatly reduce erosion and siltation that now occurs during rain events along our present drainage ditch system. Even during low flow, two stage ditches support a greater variety of macro-invertebrates and fish species.

There will also be a short Friends of the Maple River business meeting with discussions by FOMR standing committees, and an update about the recently approved 319 Upper Maple River Watershed Management Plan.

Following the formal meeting, there will be a field trip to view the Shiawassee County experimental two stage drainage ditch project just northwest of Owosso (located on the north side of West North Street about 3/4 mile west of Chipman street and west of the Bently Elementary school.)

If you want additional information about the meeting or about the Friends of The Maple River, please contact the organization’s President Jon Morrison at 989-224-5160 or log onto the FOMR web site at friendsofthema pleriver.org, or you may address a communication to: The Friends of the Maple River, PO Box 332, St Johns, MI 48879.