MONROE — Producers and landowners can apply until Dec. 31 for cost sharing to install conservation practices in 2020 through the Green County Land and Water Conservation Department. Applications are available at the office located at 1627 4th Ave West, Monroe, or from our website at greencountylwcd.com. Scroll to the bottom and on the righthand side is a link to “Land and Water Management Cost Sharing.”
There are many kinds of conservation practices that can be cost shared. And most can be cost shared at 70%. The most common ones are grassed waterways, streambank protection and roof gutters. A grassed waterway is a practice that is in the concentrated flow area where the water most frequently runs and comes together. Sometimes the waterway has been in place for a long time and it needs to be reworked. Sometimes, due to heavy rains, a gully appears in an area that hasn’t had one in the past; this is a sign that there should be permanent grass protecting the soil from the water that runs over it. We would help design how big the waterway should be and oversee construction.
Streambank protection is a common practice to restore vertical and eroding streambanks. The LWCD can plan to slope the banks back and either just seed, or put in rock to armor the bank from erosion. This practice is usually more involved as a DNR permit is typically needed to do the work. The LWCD creates a plan for the work, helps secure permits and oversees construction.
Roof gutters are a fairly simple practice that keeps rainwater from entering a barnyard. If a roof discharges onto a lot, the lot gets “cleaned off” with every rain event, adding to the amount of manure that needs to be hauled or contributes to the runoff from the lot that pollutes our surface waters. Roof gutters keep clean water clean. They discharge the clean water in a safe place so it doesn’t make contact with a contamination source.
The cost sharing that is offered to farmers and landowners helps make their money go further. These practices all require a local contractor to do the work, keeping contractors in business, too. When everyone makes it a priority to do what they can to make sure the water leaving their property is the cleanest it can be, the effects will be seen — maybe by the landowner, but definitely by those farther down the watershed.
For more information, or to sign up for cost sharing a conservation practice, please contact Tonya Gratz with the Green County Land and Water Conservation Department at 608-325-4195, ext. 121.
