Annual Report. Person Soil and Water Conservation District Fiscal Year. Soil and Water...Yours for Life

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1 Person Soil and Water Conservation District 2015 Fiscal Year Annual Report We at the Person Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) take pride in presenting our 2015 Fiscal Year Annual Report. The SWCD works with local, state, and federal agencies to plan and direct programs for the conservation and development of our natural resources. These services include environmental education, conservation related technical assistance, and cost-sharing programs that promote soil conservation and water quality. This report highlights many of our accomplishments but by no means reflects all of our involvement within Person County. Board of Supervisors Person Soil and Water Conservation District Soil and Water...Yours for Life

2 Page 2 Person SWCD Supervisors: Bruce Whitfield, Chair Cal Berryhill Jr, Vice Chair Russell Horton, Secretary/Treasurer Ricky Carver Sr, Member John Gray, Member Person SWCD Team: Jim Pentecost, Soil Technician Nancy McCormick, Administrative Support Specialist & Education Coordinator Brent Bogue, NRCS District Conservationist Patti Kapp, ATAC Processing Assistant Organization Conservation Districts were originally created for the primary purpose of providing local direction to voluntary, incentive based conservation programs that assist landowners in protecting and conserving the state s natural resources. These include soil, water, wildlife, and unique plant and animal habitats. Districts are governmental subdivisions of the State of North Carolina formed under the provisions of NC General Statute, Chapter 139. Person County was originally part of the multi - county Dan River Conservation District organized on March 22, On June 13, 1960, Person County separated forming the Person Soil & Water Conservation District. The Person SWCD is governed by a five-member Board of Supervisors made up of three elected members and two members appointed by the NC Soil & Water Conservation Commission. Currently, the District has two full time employees, Jim Pentecost, the acting department head and technician, and Nancy McCormick, the administrative assistant and education coordinator. The Board of Supervisors generally meets the first Monday of each month and meetings are open to the public. Mission Statement Essentially, all life depends upon the soil... There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together. --- Charles E. Kellogg The mission of the Person Soil & Water Conservation District is to promote the conservation of soil, water and related natural resources in Person County through education, information, technical assistance, and management practices for the benefit of the environment, economy, and county citizens.

3 Agriculture Cost Share Program (ACSP) The Agriculture Cost-Share Program (ACSP) is a voluntary assistance program that provides technical and financial assistance to farmers and landowners enabling them to address water quality concerns. In many places, damage to our water resources comes from soil erosion, excessive fertilizer use, animal waste contamination, and improper use of agricultural chemicals. The ACSP offers a wide variety of best management practices (BMPs) that address these nonpoint sources of pollution. Person County was awarded $59,706 in financial assistance through the ACSP for fiscal year The District allocated 100% of this funding through 19 contracts. Approximately 59 acres of conservation area has been planned having an impact of tons of soil saved, a reduction of 3553 pounds of nitrogen and pounds of phosphorous. Below is the breakdown on the ACSP contracts written for FY acres of Grassed Waterways 2.55 acres of Diversions 1.69 acres of Field Borders acres of Cropland Conversion 1 Livestock Exclusion System Page 3 Grassed Waterway to reduce runoff and erosion. In addition to contracts, the District has provided general technical assistance of over 300 hours to 85 customers. Technical assistance includes items such as pond siting, field layout, and erosion control planning. Annual Spot Checks The District is required to conduct an annual spot check of 5% of all active ACSP contracts. Spot checks are done by staff and members of the Board of Supervisors. The purpose of the spot checks is to determine if installed BMPs are being maintained for their intended purpose. Ten contracts (approximately 8%) were chosen at random to be verified. All sites were found in compliance. Program Review Every 5 years the NC Division of Soil & Water under the authority of the NC Soil & Water Commission is required to conduct a program review of District operations. This review addresses the district s administration of cost share programs as well as the district s compliance with Commission rules, policies and procedures. The Person SWCD program review was conducted on October 24, The Division reported no issues directly related to District operations. The full report is available at the Person SWCD office.

4 Agricultural Water Resources Assistance Program (AgWRAP) Page 4 Agriculture Water Resources Assistance Program (AgWRAP) is a voluntary program similar to ACSP. The purposes of the AgWRAP are to: Identify opportunities to increase water use efficiency, availability and storage; Implement best management practices (BMPs) to conserve and protect water resources; Increase water use efficiency; and Increase water storage and availability for agricultural purposes. The Person SWCD was awarded $6655 in financial assistance funds for this program. These funds were allocated in one contract for the repair of an agricultural pond to remove excess sediment in order to increase water storage capacity. NRCS The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is a cooperating Federal Agency that is part of the Person SWCD team. The NRCS mission is Helping People Help the Land and is accomplished through technical and financial assistance. There are 5 main ways this is done: Conservation planning and technical consultation; Conservation implementation; Natural resource inventory and assessment; Natural resource technology transfer; and Financial assistance. The partnership between the District and NRCS is vital for both agencies to do their part in protecting the working lands. Brent & Jim discussing field layout options. For fiscal year 2015, the District and NRCS staff estimated they assisted over 150 clients through consultations that included technical assistance, sharing viable information, access to various maps, and general guidance to new and existing landowners and farmers. This summer the office provided training and guidance by hosting a NC State University student trainee through the NRCS Pathways program. Brent Bogue reported developing conservation plans and obligating contracts for 17 producers with funding of $76,384 in his work unit. Additionally, he reviewed plans with 24 producers covering approximately 2400 acres and processed 40 NRCS program applications including 5 CSP applications. No-till Drill In 2008 the Person SWCD received a no-till grass drill through a grant issued by the NC Foundation for Soil & Water Conservation. The drill is available to county citizens on a short term lease for the renovation and restoration of pasture, hayland, and/or wildlife land. The drill was rented 11 times covering a total of 128 acres; 48.6 of pasture, 42.2 of hayland, 37.2 of wildlife area. Truax No-Till Grass Drill

5 Environmental Education The Person SWCD Board of Supervisors understands the importance of educating citizens of all ages on the importance of conservation. Nancy McCormick serves as the Education Coordinator and is working hard to enhance the educational programs offered by the District. On May 12, 2015, Nancy enrolled in the NC Environmental Education Certification Program. During the certification program she will participate in numerous workshops and outdoor experiences in order to gain more knowledge to assist her in the District s educational programs. In addition to working on her EE Certification, Nancy is deeply involved with the NC Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts Area 3 Education committee. Page 5 Poster Contests Each year the District promotes a poster contest for 3rd, 4th, & 5th grades. The contest is open to all students residing in Person County. This year the theme was Wetlands Are Wonderful. Awards were given to 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place winners of each grade, as well as, the 1st place winner s teacher. Each 1st place winner is entered in our Area 3 contest and those winners are entered in the State contest. This year we had a 1st and 2nd place winner at our Area competition. While promoting the poster contest, district staff conducted several classroom presentations and accepted 215 poster entries. Class presentation on Wetlands given to 3rd graders at Oak Lane Elementary. Poster Contest Winners pictured from left to right. Holly Seate (BHCS), Mathew Holeman (Oak Lane), Ava Holland (Helena). Bryan Rodriguez (Oak Lane), Hannah Evans (BHCS), Payne Garrett (Helena). Not pictured: Nathan Scearce (BHCS), Alora Horton (BHCS), Joseph Anderson (BHCS).

6 Envirothon The Envirothon program is a competitive event for five member high school and middle school teams to compete in a natural resource knowledge and ecology field day against other high school and middle school teams. Resource subjects are soils, forestry, wildlife, aquatics and current environmental issues. Teams competing at Area competition must place in the top seven in order to advance to the State Envirothon. The District s Area 3 Envirothon was held at Elon University on March 12, The District sponsors teams at each level of competition. Person County was represented by 5 Teams at the area level: 3 High School FFA Teams from Person Senior High and 2 Middle School Teams from Roxboro Community School. Both middle school teams from Roxboro Community School advanced to the State Envirothon which was held at the Cedarock Park in Burlington on April 24th & 25th. The two teams placed 8th & 26th out of 43 middle school teams. Page 6 Resource Conservation Workshop The Person SWCD awarded the 2015 Resource Conservation Workshop (RCW) scholarship this year to Jonah Mayo, a rising sophomore from Roxboro Community School. The scholarship allows students the opportunity to attend the RCW held at NC State University in June. The RCW is a week long workshop geared toward future environmental professionals and involves study and hands on participation in a wide range of conservation topics. The primary objective of the workshop is to offer students the opportunity to learn about natural resources and their management in today s global environment. Additional awards and scholarships can be won and are presented to students under several awards programs. Jonah hopes to pursue a career in Forestry and has been invited to the August board meeting to share his experiences. Conservation Employee Training The staff of the Person SWCD attended the annual Conservation Employee Training (CET) in August. This years CET was held in Greenville, NC and was themed Call To Duty. Jim Pentecost and Nancy McCormick attended several training sessions with topics of Grassed Waterway Design, Basic Surveying, New Employee Orientation, and Wetland Teacher Activities.

7 Outreach Events 1. The Person SWCD participated in the County Services Day on October 4, The event was organized by the Public Library as a means to offer the public information about different county departments. Nancy McCormick represented the District and distributed information to citizens about the programs offered and had Wetlands Are Wonderful coloring books available for children. Page 7 2. On March 12, 2015 the District was invited to do a presentation at the Library. Jim Pentecost and Nancy McCormick gave a presentation focusing on water quality using the Enviroscape model. 3. Person County Schools requested the District participate in a teacher workshop held at Person High School on March 21, Jim Pentecost shared with teachers the importance of water quality and how they can incorporate this information in their classrooms. Farmland Preservation Plan Piedmont Conservation Council (PCC), was awarded a grant through the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund (ADFP) for Person County to develop a Farmland Preservation Plan (FPP) on August 15, Being a member of PCC and a contributor of $2000 to the FPP project, the District and their staff were asked to take a leadership role with organizing and overseeing the project. Staff has been heavily involved in creating a committee, organizing meetings, gathering input, and sharing information concerning the plan. PCC and the District have been working closely together to ensure the success of the project. The expected completion date of the project is April Quilt Trail Piedmont Conservation Council (PCC), was awarded the Underserved and Limited Resources Community Economic Development Grant (ULRC) for Person County to develop a Quilt Trail for the purpose of promoting tourism and agricultural heritage. The Quilt Trail is still in the planning process but District staff is working with PCC to ensure this project is successful. The Quilt Trail is expected to be completed by May 2016.

8 Thank You The Board of Supervisors and staff of Person Soil & Water Conservation District would like to extend their sincere appreciation to all landowners, agencies and groups who cooperate and assist the District in carrying out its conservation programs. Person County Board of Commissioners Person County Government NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Soil & Water Conservation NC Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts NC Foundation for Soil & Water Conservation National Association of Soil & Water Conservation District USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service USDA Farm Service Agency NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources NC Forest Service Person County Cooperative Extension Person County Board of Education Roxboro Community School Roxboro Christian Academy Bethel Hill Charter School Contact Us Person Soil & Water 304 S. Morgan St., Room 126 Roxboro, NC (336) ext. 3