District Activities:
“As the Indiana State Fair cele-brates the Year of Trees during the fair’s 12-day run, this is a perfect time to recognize Hoosier farmers for the conservation practices they implement day-in and day-out to protect our valuable natural resources,” said Jim Droege, president of the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the award sponsor. Thirty-seven of the 65 farmers honored were present for a ceremony today.
“Farmers use many conservation practices to reduce soil erosion on cropland and protect water quality,” Droege said. “Trees also play an important role in the conservation Best Management Practice tool kit as riparian forest buffers to improve water quality, providing critical wildlife habitat areas, and certainly by providing oxygen for all of us. One acre of young trees supplies enough oxygen to keep 18 people alive.
“Perhaps trees’ most important role for farmers and all of us is holding soil in place, providing a key soil erosion prevention tool,” Droege added.
Supervisors discussed their accomplishments of the previous year and Phil Brown was elected as supervisor. Charlie Adams wrapped things up with a humorous and inspriring message.
District Receives Clean Water Indiana Grants
The District agrees that this project will reduce the effort needed to clean streams and ditch banks and will impact soil and water resources by keeping nutrients and pesticides out of streams and ditches and by helping to reduce stream and ditch bank erosion, as well as many other benefits.
This project will also consist of targeted mailings, displays, brochures and radio broadcastings.
The district also received a grant to help host a Nutrient Management Field Day with a follow up meeting where attendees can design a personal Nutrient Management Plan on their laptop computers. The event will be co-hosted with the Purdue Extension Pulaski/Starke Counties and will be held at Purdue University Agronomy Farms. Attendees will also receive PARP, CCA or CCH credits for attending the workshop. More information on this workshop will be available at a later date.
Students rafted a three-mile section of the Tippecanoe River as it flowed through Tippecanoe River State Park in Pulaski County. They were assigned to raft teams for the voyage and worked as a team throughout the day.
The day began with an interactive lesson on watersheds. Students were then fitted with life jackets and grabbed a paddle for the downstream adventure.
Raft instructors, assigned to each raft, shared information about the river and its watershed while on the river. Plants were identified, soils were discussed, potential problems and conservation practices were pointed out, and everyone was watchful for birds and animals.
Stops were also made along the river, where students learned about forested riparian areas, river otters and freshwater mussel species. They conducted chemical water tests and completed a biological assessment of the river based on macro-invertibrates that they netted.
This program is offered to area high school students every year in September. For additional information, or to be put on the mailing list for next year’s trip, contact the district office.
Knox team #1
Knox team #2
New Structure to Better Serve Indiana Landowners
The new teams call for a flexible regional workforce of federal, state and local employees working together, putting more conservation practices on the land. Through these teams, we combine our workloads, eliminate duplication of effort, and strengthen our impact. This streamlined structure gives our Partnership the flexibility to adapt as workloads and funding programs shift. This allows us to maintain the highest level of effectiveness at all times and expedite service to Indiana landowners.
The Indiana State Department of Agriclture, Division of Soil Conservation Resource Specialists' roles and responsibilities have changed due to this shift in structure. They will now focus on Conservation Implementation Team assignments and no longer serve as central contacts in their offices. Instead, Starke County landowners should first contact the Starke County SWCD office when inquiring about services.
Landowners will reap the rewards of the Partnership's shift in conservation service. By increasing our effectiveness, we will be able to increase our service, bringing more conservation to the land and federal dollars to Indiana.
Approximately 450 students and adults were rotated to stations on pond study, pond dipping, the water cycle, recycling, wildlife, sandhill cranes and landuse.
