The Pigeon-Highland Watershed Steering Committee was established in 1999 to address water quality concerns in the 393 square-mile watershed. In partnership with Four Rivers RC&D, the steering committee received grants from IDEM to hire a full-time coordinator. During the span of the first two grants, many best management practices were installed-primarily on agricultural land- to reduce sediment and nutrient loadings to the streams of the watershed. In addition, thousands of students- from elementary to university level- were exposed to water quality information, including hands-on activities. Numerous newspaper articles were published- heightening the public's awareness of why water quality matters. The "crowning touch" of this committee's work was the development-and subsequent approval by IDEM- of a watershed management plan. At one point, this was the only approved plan in the state! The first grant for implementation of the watershed management plan in the headwaters of Pigeon Creek in Gibson Co was just completed in February 2009. This grant funded best management practices (bmp) 75% to 25% landowner. Total bmp's installed included 36 Nutrient Management Plans (NMP), 15 Water & Sediment Control Basins (WASCOB) and 8 acres of switch grass planting.