Welcome to the St. Joseph County Conservation District blog. We are a locally-led agency dedicated to preserving the natural resources that sustain our community and economy. Our mission is to assist land owners, though responsive and cost effective programs, in the wise management of the natural resources of St. Joseph County towards the pursuit of a healthy environment today and for future generations.
To accomplish this goal we partner with many differant organizations and stakeholders to educate and provide programs. Our biggest programs include irrigation management through uniformity evaluations and irrigation scheduling, river cleanups and no till drill rentals.
We partner with Branch County Conservation District to provide farmers the option of being varified in the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP). MAEAP provides a way for farmers to voluntarily prevent or minimize pollution risks that could occur on their farms. Mike Censke, MAEAP Technician, is always willing to meet with an interested producer to assist them with verifications. Another partnership with Branch County is through the Prairie River Watershed (PRW) Management Plan. This is a 319 grant issued through the MDEQ used to assess the condition of the watershed and create a management plan that will be used in the future to implement best conservation practices in key areas of the watershed. The plan is expected to be completed and submitted to MDEQ in March 2013 by Rachel Smith, PRW Coordinator.
Other partners that we work with throughout the year include; Michigan State University Extension, Friends of the St. Joe River, Three Rivers Chamber of Commerce, St. Joseph County Conservation & Sportsmen’s Club to name a few. During the summer numerous local business assist us through sponsorships to mainatin the river cleanup program.
Now that you know a little bit about what the Conservation District is all about hope you follow the blog and keep updated on what we are working on, in and around, our communities to help sustain our natural resources.
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