By Cynthia Purcell
Special to The SUN
The San Juan Conservation District (SJCD) received funding in April 2013 from the Colorado State Conservation Board’s 2013 Natural Resources Matching Grants Program — $25,000 to implement the Conservation Helping Hand program in April 2013.
The program was designed to educate landowners about the importance of conservation through local workshops. The program also provided 50-percent cost share to landowners to implement conservation practices on their property that might otherwise not be considered prime candidates for cost sharing programs such as EQIP through Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Eleven local landowners participated in the program. Conservation practices such as irrigation management, grazing management and forestry management were implemented. Participants were reimbursed for 50 percent of the project cost up to an annual $3,500 limit (as approved by NRCS payment schedule). If the expenses exceeded NRCS standards, the landowner paid the difference.
The SJCD administered similar cost share programs the past six years that were all very successful. Please watch for information next February to apply for funding to install conservation practices on your property.
