2018 - SWCD Local Capacity Services (Lake of the Woods SWCD)
Provides grants to Soil and Water Conservation Districts that focuses on increasing capacity to address four resource concern areas?Soil Erosion, Riparian Zone Management, Water Storage and Treatment, and Excess Nutrients.
Annie Felix-Gerth
SWCD Local Capacity Services 2018 - [SWCD Local Capacity Services 2018] $11,000,000 the first year and $11,000,000 the second year are for payments to soil and water conservation districts for the purposes of Minnesota Statutes, sections 103C.321 and 103C.331. From this appropriation, each soil and water conservation district shall receive an increase in its base funding of $100,000 per year. Money remaining after the base increase is available for matching grants to soil and water conservation districts based on county allocations to soil and water conservation districts. The board and other agencies may reduce the amount of grants to a county by an amount equal to any reduction in the county's allocation to a soil and water conservation district from the county's previous year allocation when the board determines that the reduction was disproportionate.
The grant targets four resource concern areas - Soil Erosion, Riparian Zone Management, Water Storage and Treatment, and Excess Nutrients - and supports increased capacity by funding expenses in the following categories: Staffing, Cost Share/Incentives, Technology/Capital Equipment, and Operations.
Work was completed as per the approved work plan and included funds being used to target water storage and treatment. Activities and expenditures included administration/coordination; work on development of the Lake of the Woods (LOW) One Watershed One Plan work/implementation plan; program development as part of the LOW One Watershed One Plan (1W1P) this includes the cover crop initiative, the forest management plan, the Warroad River storage projects and other initiatives; time spent on efforts of the LOW 1W1P which relate directly to programs including the forest management plan cost share program, Warroad Watershed District storage projects; conservation cover crop program which includes learning to utilize the PTMapp and training for job approval authority for cover crops; support effectiveness monitoring in the Bostic Watershed as part of the Clean Water Fund (CWF) grant to stabilize a 2.5 mile of drainage ditch which empties directly into Bostic Creek; staff were able to accomplish the following county-wide culvert inventory (data migration of over 4,200 wells), creation of maps to identify over 100 mapping discrepancies of county drainage systems as part of efforts to more actively manage and maintain drainages, training on the county well location (located over 1,000 wells) process as part of the MN Geologic Survey, training on sidewater inlets, attended 3 day BWSR Academy; assist with local rain garden maintenance, oversee the Keep it Clean shoreline cleanup, attend Tech Talks hosted by BWSR, assist county Public Works Department (PWD) with ditch inventory and inspection as part of LOW One Watershed One Plan. Also hired a seasonal Conservation Corps of MN assistant to help with field work, education and outreach, and daily operations of the SWCD.
LOCAL LEVERAGED FUNDS