Category: <span>District Services</span>
Restore Soil and Water Conservation District Funding to FY 2024 Levels
Illinois’ 97 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) experienced a substantial funding shortfall in the FY 2025 state budget. SWCD operations funding was reduced by $4 million from $8.5 million in FY 24 to $4.5 million in FY 25. The shortfall will lead to the loss of trained and qualified Soil and Water Conservation District employees which will take years of training to replace. Without sufficient funding, employees, much like unprotected soil, will erode away.
Piatt County SWCD will be collecting signatures in support of restoring FY 25 SWCD operations funding to level funding based on FY 24 funded appropriations.
Stop by our office at 1209 Bear Lane, Monticello IL to sign a paper copy of the petition in support of restoring funding, OR fill out the online petition using this survey website: www.surveymonkey.com/r/FundSWCDs
The SWCD Partners for Conservation (PFC) program has funding available for the 2023 fiscal year left and is looking for Piatt County residents interested in implementing conservation projects with 75% PCSWCD cost-share!
Projects that are still eligible for 2023 PFC cost-share assistance include: Pollinator planting conservation cover, well decommissioning, mulching for erosion control, and rain gardens to control runoff.
Cover cropping, no/strip-till, terraces, grassed waterways, denitrifying bioreactors, subsurface drainage, and other conservation programs are still included in the PFC cost-share program, but are more likely to be completed and paid out in fiscal year 2024 or beyond.
For more informaion, contact PCSWCD Resource Conservationist Bri Sosa Gates at 217-762-2146 ext. 115 or Brianne.Gates@il.nacdnet.net
Congratulations to Mark Clodfelter for submitting the winning photo in our plat book photo contest! Thank you Mark for this beautiful photo of sunflowers in Piatt County, and thank you to everyone who participated! We had so many wonderful photos it was hard to choose just one.
Look out for our new 2024 plat books featuring Mark’s photo on the cover available this July!
The first electronics recycling event is coming up at the end of this month! On January 31st, 2024 from 9:00 – 11:30 am (or until truck is full) the Piatt County SWCD will be collecting electronic items from Piatt County residents free* of charge for recycling.
*$25.00 fee for large consoles or projection TVs
No batteries. No ‘white goods‘: refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, dishwashers, hot water heaters, etc.
Limit 10 items per vehicle. Limit 3 TVs or computer monitors per vehicle.
Visit the ‘Electronics Recycling’ tab under District Sales & Services above for more information and more recycling dates through the year.
The Soil and Water Conservation District is hosting a Plat Book photo contest!
Submit your best Piatt County countryside photo by March 31st, 2024 to Julie.Chumbley@il.nacdnet.net and Brianne.Gates@il.nacdnet.net.
The winner, selected by the Board of Directors at the April board meeting, will have their photo featured on the cover of the 2024 Plat Book. Photos 400 DPI or higher in PDF, TIFF, or JPEG preferred.