Watershed stakeholders agreed that it is very important that all schools include water quality education in their curriculums. They requested that teachers include Higginsville City Lake and the watershed concept in their lesson plans. It is important to make water quality education available to both urban and rural residents, farmers, landowners, and local government employees and officials. In order to minimize environmental quality risks it is important that crop production, and agriculture in general, provide adequate financial returns. Maintaining and improving the natural resources in the watershed is consistent with optimum net agricultural return.
Farmers can learn a great deal from each other.
Small meetings and demonstration tours that encourage interaction can be valuable. Larger meetings and demonstration farms can use the expertise of University, private industry, and government officials from Missouri and other states with similar environmental challenges. Over 9,000 people depend on Higginsville City Lake and watershed for their drinking water. All watershed stakeholders should be aware of their drinking water quality, impacts of watershed use, and methods to maintain and improve their water quality. Local sponsorship is generally most appreciated and most effective at recruiting wide local interest.