Pike County SWCD secures four Clean Water Indiana Grants

2014 provided to be another recording breaking year for the Pike County SWCD. The District learned in the late fall of 2014 that they had secured four Clean Water Indiana (CWI) Grants funded by Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) and the State Soil Conservation Board to be used for conservation efforts in our county.  

The ISDA received 33 CWI grant applications representing 68 Soil & Water Conservation Districts across Indiana. Those 32 grants totaled over $2.1 million and ranged in a variety of innovative conservation ideas from the hiring of field staff to cost share programs to fund livestock conservation practices. Of those 32 grants only 10 were funded due to budget restraints. Those 10 grants were awarded a total of $579,000 with each grant not exceeding $75,000 for three years. Of those 10 CWI grants awarded, the Pike County Soil & Water Conservation District is a part of four of them – the ONLY District in Indiana to accomplish this!

The Clean Water Indiana (CWI) Program was established to provide financial assistance to landowners and conservation groups through grant funding to the 92 SWCD’s in Indiana. The financial assistance supports the implementation of conservation practices which will reduce nonpoint sources of water pollution through education, technical assistance, training, and cost sharing programs. The CWI fund is administered by the Division of Soil Conservation under the direction of the State Soil Conservation Board.

For 2014, the State Soil Conservation Board (SSCB) voted to hold a grant program similar to the 2012 and 2013 CWI grant programs, focusing on multi-district, multi-year grants. The focus for this round of grant funding includes:

• Cost Share Incentives/On Farm Demonstrations

• Increase Direct Technical/Professional Assistance to Land users

• Adult Education

Grants will be three years in length, beginning on January 1, 2014. The grant money can only be spent on the focus points for this round of CWI money. Districts found that these grants are not "one size fits all", however, SWCDs were encouraged to "think outside the box" and submit creative and innovative ideas within the guidance provided. Another requirement of the grant was that applications must be at least a two county project.

Through various meetings and discussions that the Pike Co. SWCD District Administrator attended, Pike County applied for a total of six CWI grants with partnering Districts. While Pike was not the submitting District for the grants awarded, the District will still see a share in grant money come to our county. The projects that were written in a joint effort and funded are:

*  Gibson/Pike Continuous Cooperative Partnership – a grant that brought in over $44,750 for three years on cover crop and no till conservation practices between the two counties with  the Gibson Co. SWCD being lead on this grant.

*  Tri County Conservation Initiative – a partnership between the Knox, Pike & Daviess SWCD’s to continue to fund a part time soil technician position between the three counties. This  technician has been working between the three counties for over three years now and each county has seen a tremendous improvement in soil & water conservation practices.

*  Southwest Indiana Cover Crop Program – the Fabulous Five struck gold again with anther grant to fund a cover crop & no till cost share program starting in the fall of 2014. Gibson, Pike, Posey, Warrick and Vanderburgh SWCD’s will each receive $10,000 a piece to cover three years of this program.

*  Warrick/Pike Joint County Conservation Technician/Education Cooperative – a newly formed partnership with Warrick County SWCD is giving the Pike SWCD another chance to gain more staffing in the form of another soil technician. Warrick SWCD will be the home base for this position but time will be split evenly allowing for more conservation efforts to be established in a quicker time frame. This technician will also start to implement educational projects in both counties schools starting with an Ag in the Classroom project and possible a Farm Fair for county elementary’s.

The Pike County SWCD is already thrilled with the potential that 2014 holds for us. In the picture to the left, a local farmer takes advantage of the cost share program hosted by the SWCD and no-tills his beans into a stand of annual rye grass.  Over 1500 acres have been planted in cover crops to date in Pike County.  With the overwhelming response to our programs, the SWCD continuously looks to secure grants to help improve our natural resources and looks forward to serving the residents of Pike County more so than ever before in the history of the District.

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