2023 - CREP Outreach and Implementation Continuation (Nobles SWCD)
Annie Felix-Gerth
(k) $1,771,000 the first year and $3,829,000 the second year are to purchase and restore permanent conservation sites via easements or contracts to treat and store water on the land for water quality improvement purposes and related technical assistance. This work may be done in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture with a first-priority use to accomplish a conservation reserve enhancement program, or equivalent, in the state. Up to $280,000 is for deposit in a monitoring and enforcement account. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2028.
Grant funds were used as proposed in the work plan, ensuring staff capacity to provide technical and administrative assistance to deliver the MN CREP. 60 hours were spent providing technical and administrative assistance. 6 landowners were contacted regarding CREP. Worked on CREP tasks such as working with walk in customers and promoting CREP, searching for priority areas in Nobles county that would benefit from CREP, meeting on site with landowners, ranking land to see if it would meet the criteria for CREP, and ran payment estimates for landowners. Funds were not fully spent due to mid-grant staff turnover.
LOCAL LEVERAGED FUNDS