Pope SWCD PROMOTES SOIL AND WATER STEWARDSHIP WEEK

The Pope Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) wants to remind you that each of us has a connection to natural resources. The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) is celebrating the 61st year of Stewardship Week April 24 – May 1, 2016. The 2016 Stewardship Week hinges around the theme “We All Need Trees.” Trees provide us with a multitude of benefits and services including, but not limited to: clean air and water, healthy soil, shade, wood products, fuel, and jobs.

Holly Kovarik acts as the District Manager for Pope SWCD. The District was formed in 1969 to assist people in Pope County with technical assistance for conservation of land and water through project implementation. During Stewardship Week, Pope SWCD has provided materials to 25 churches and has presented this year’s poster contest theme to three schools within the County.

“Educating the public about the importance of trees in our daily lives is an essential part of what NACD advocates for through natural resource conservation and is the essence of this year’s Stewardship theme,” said NACD President Lee McDaniel. “Trees and forests are critical to providing clean air and water, healthy soil, abundant wildlife habitat, and valuable products we use every day.”

Your local conservation district can assist you in learning more about trees and the species native to your area of the country. They can also provide insight on tree planting, care and maintenance as well as information for how to protect tress from invasive species. Districts have a long-standing history of working with state and private forest owners in helping promote and safeguard our nation’s forested lands.

Pope SWCD is a member of NACD which oversees the Stewardship Week program. Stewardship Week is one of the largest national annual programs to promote conservation. NACD represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, which were established to encourage resource conservation across the country.

Pope SWCD encourages you to participate in conservation activities through the entire year. For information about Stewardship Week and conservation, contact Holly Kovarik at (320) 634-5327 or holly.kovarik@mn.nacdnet.net.

https://popeswcd.org/2016/04/4676/

DOWNLOAD BROCHURE | Pope SWCD would like to invite contractors to a workshop on March 10th, 2016 at the Pope County Courthouse Community Room.  The workshop will begin at 8:30 a.m. to around Noon.  Topics will include: state and local funding and program requirements, federal program and funding requirements, county ordinance requirements, and implementation of conservation best management practices.  All contractors working in Pope County are encouraged to attend.

Engineering staff will be in attendance and will be able to answer questions on design and construction installation of these best management practices.  This training will only be held once every two years and is a partnership effort between the Pope Soil and Water Conservation District, Pope County Land and Resource Management Office, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.  Information provided will be helpful for contractors to understand program and project requirements as well as permitting.

Please pre-register by calling 320-634-5327.  We look forward to your attendance and discussing the conservation work that is currently being planned by agencies for the next couple of years within Pope County.

Download Postcard | Irrigators mark your calendars to attend an Irrigator’s Clinic to be held at the Lakeside Steak and Chophouse in Glenwood, MN on December 16, 2015. This event will be of interest to anyone who is actively engaged in irrigation on ag lands.

A great line-up of speakers has committed to participating in the event representing: Irrigators Association of Minnesota, University of Minnesota, Board of Water and Soil Resources, Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) and Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

Our groundwater has become a topic discussed more frequently and there has been considerable debate about its sustainability. In the past two years pilot groundwater management areas are discussing quantity and quality concerns related to groundwater. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has been working on an update to the appropriation water permit process and soil and water conservation districts and other agencies and landowners have been a part of that process locally in the Bonanza Valley Groundwater Management Pilot Area. We are pleased to be able to share some of this more recent information with landowners and especially landowners that use irrigation.

There are several other great topics to be addressed during the day including; irrigation technology, an irrigator panel, the state buffer program, water appropriation permitting with thresholds, the MN Ag Water Quality Certification Program, irrigation related programs, projects and incentives, and nutrient management on irrigated soils. The event begins at 8 AM with registration and concludes at 2:45 PM. Lunch will be provided. Pre-registration is requested by sending $10 to Holly Kovarik, Pope SWCD, 1680 Franklin Street North, Glenwood, MN 56334 by December 11, 2015. For more information contact the SWCD’s in Douglas, Kandiyohi, Pope or Stearns counties.

SWCDs fill the crucial niche of providing land and water conservation services to owners of private lands. Minnesota has 89 Soil and Water Conservation Districts. For more information on the Pope Soil and Water Conservation District, please call 320-634-5327 or visit our website.