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| Landowners assistance program helps meet the goals of Senate Bill 1010 |
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| 05/24/2006 |
Published with permission of Marion Soil and Water Conservation District
Written by Scott Eden
| Jeff Butsch, of 4B Farms, applied for our Landowner Assistance Program (LAP) to receive cost-share assistance to implement a grass ditch project. He was motivated by reports of poor water quality in the Zollner Creek Basin, where he farms, that resulted from a voluntary water quality monitoring project that Marion Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) helped to conduct. He wanted to slow erosion on fields he farmed that bordered roadside ditches. Although, there weren’t enough funds to cover the project through LAP, the Marion SWCD board decided to fund 50% of the project with special projects funds. The board saw this project as an opportunity for showcasing good stewardship, creating long-term partnerships, and helping to meet the goals of Senate Bill 1010. |  | This project met criteria for the Natural Resources Conservation
Service’s Environmental Quality Incentive Program recommended practice for “Critical Area Plantings” to reduce pesticides in local waterways and slow soil loss. Slowing and filtering storm water along local roadways reduce pollutants. Signage and local education tours will inform the public and area growers about the benefits of vegetated ditches.
| | Marion County Public Works Department did a great deal of earthmoving and shaping with their heavy equipment at the start of the project and did additional maintenance work where grass seed had failed to germinate quickly enough to prevent erosion. Marion SWCD staff made several site visits, organized educational tours, and provided material costs and technical resources. Marion SWCD and the landowner provided funding of materials. Marion County costs were provided as in-kind match for the project funding. Marion SWCD is meeting with Marion County Public Works to implement additional vegetated roadside ditch projects at other locations. |  |
More SWCD success stories
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