Cost Share Program - The Grundy County Soil and Water Conservation District offers a cost share program to help establish conservation practices on lands in Grundy County. Our cost share program is funded by the Partners for Conservation Program. The following are some examples of what we can help fund:
- Erosion and Sediment Control Projects - Grassed Waterways, Filter Strips, Cover Crops, Pollinator Habitat, Grade Stabilization Structures, and several others. Call or stop in the office for more information.
- Special Projects - Rain Gardens, Stream Crossings, Windbreaks, and others
- Water Well Decommissioning - Abandoned, unused wells should be sealed properly in order to protect the groundwater from potential contamination. This program offers landowners the opportunity to seal the well properly and receive some cost share funding to do this.
- Streambank Stabilization Restoration Program - This program offers landowners the chance to address issues with streambank erosion and degradation. We will provide cost share assistance to address the matter with vegetative and/or stone structures to correct the problem.
Natural Resources Inventory Form (NRI)
NRI reports provide Natural Resource information to officials of the local governing body and other decision makers. The report intends to present the most current natural resource information available in an understandable format. It contains a description of the present conditions and resources available and their potential impact on each other. This information may be useful when undertaking land use decisions concerning variations, amendments or relief of local zoning ordinances, proposed subdivision of vacant or agricultural lands, and the subsequent development of these lands.
This report is required under 94 ACT ILL Complied Statues, Chapter 70 Paragraph 405/1 ET SEQ and ILL Revised statutes, Chapter 5 Paragraph 106 ET SEQ. The natural resource information is gathered from standardized data, on-site investigations, and information furnished by the petitioner. The conclusions of the NRI in no way indicate the impossibility of a certain land use, however, it should alert the reader to possible problems that may occur if the capabilities of the land are ignored.
NRI reports can be requested by completing the application linked above and submitting it along with all the required documents and payments to the District.
S.T.A.R. Program
The Saving Tomorrow's Agriculture Resource (S.T.A.R.) was created by the Stewardship Committee of Champaign County Soil & Water Conservation District as a FREE tool to assist farm operators and land owners in evaluating their nutrient and soil loss management practices in individual fields.
The purpose of S.T.A.R. is to motivate those making cropping decisions to use the best management practices that will meet the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy goals. To meet those goals farmer's need to reduce the nitrogen and phosphorus losses by applying nitrogen when the plants need it and preventing soil losses by reducing tillage.
S.T.A.R. evaluation system assigns points for cropping, tillage, nutrient application and soil conservation activity used on individual fields. The total points are used in a scale to determine a rating of 1 to 5 STARS for each individual field. Those point values were determined by the S.T.A.R. Science Committee based on their analysis of recommended practices contribution to the goals of the NLRS.
The potential benefits of using the program involve:
If you are interested in participating in the S.T.A.R. program, you simply need to complete a Field Form below for each field you would like to have rated. You are welcome to complete one form for ALL of your fields to be evaluated. The cost is the same.....FREE!
starfreetool.com
The purpose of S.T.A.R. is to motivate those making cropping decisions to use the best management practices that will meet the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy goals. To meet those goals farmer's need to reduce the nitrogen and phosphorus losses by applying nitrogen when the plants need it and preventing soil losses by reducing tillage.
S.T.A.R. evaluation system assigns points for cropping, tillage, nutrient application and soil conservation activity used on individual fields. The total points are used in a scale to determine a rating of 1 to 5 STARS for each individual field. Those point values were determined by the S.T.A.R. Science Committee based on their analysis of recommended practices contribution to the goals of the NLRS.
The potential benefits of using the program involve:
- Decreased nutrient loss
- Increased net farm income
- Reduce crop insurance premiums
- Gain new farms to lease as the land owners can evaluate tenants' contributions to conservation
- Assist in securing local conservation cost share (when available)
- Assist producers in obtaining documentation to support potential water quality issues
- Assist producers to obtain potential market incentives for sustainable cropping practices.
For more information and answers to frequently asked questions please visit Champaign County's SWCD website. http://www.ccswcd.com/
If you are interested in participating in the S.T.A.R. program, you simply need to complete a Field Form below for each field you would like to have rated. You are welcome to complete one form for ALL of your fields to be evaluated. The cost is the same.....FREE!
starfreetool.com