Volume 22, Issue 2 March/April 2019 CELEBRATE SOIL AND WATER STEWARDSHIP WEEK APRIL 28-MAY 5, 2019 CONVERSE COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT CCCD EXPRESS Soil is a dirty topic, but everyone needs to learn more about it! Soil is the foundation for many of the items we use in our daily life, such as food, clothing, clean water, and more. Healthy soil equals healthy food, which equals a healthy you. Don t treat your soil like dirt! The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and Converse County Conservation District (CCCD) encourage you to celebrate Stewardship Week with us! The Stewardship concept involves personal and social responsibility, including a duty to learn about and improve natural resources as we use them wisely, leaving a rich legacy for future generations. The 2019 Stewardship Week materials, with the theme Life in the Soil: Dig Deeper, are now available for FREE electronic download. CCCD is happy to print any of the materials you wish to use in your classroom, church, club activities or personal use. Visit our website to see a flyer of the materials available for this years Stewardship Week Celebration. 2019 POSTER CONTEST Converse County Conservation District is excited to be sponsoring the 2019 Poster Contest using the theme Life in the Soil: Dig Deeper. The Poster Contest is open to all public, private and homeschooled students in grades K 12. Awards, including monetary, and special recognition will be given to students with winning poster submissions. Local winners will be eligible for WACD s State Poster Contest and prizes. Submission deadline will be May 10, 2019. Visit www.conserveconverse.org for officials rules and guidelines for the contest. WWW.CONSERVECONVERSE.ORG
Southeast Wyoming SNOTEL Update This year s snow totals for the Laramie range have been slightly above average for most of the water year (Oct. 2017- Sept. 2018). It is still a little early to tell what this year s snowpack will bring for the irrigation season. The current reading for the Lower North Platte River basin is 118% of median. Last year at this time the Lower North Platte River basin was sitting at 75% of median. Based on historical data we still have our wetter months coming up (March thru May) which should increase the snowpack for the Lower North Platte River basin and the rest of Wyoming. There are a total of four SNOTEL sites located within the Lower North Platte River basin that record snow depth and snow water equivalency (SWE). Currently the Casper Mountain SNOTEL site is sitting at a snow depth of 40 inches with a SWE of 10.8 inches which is 83% of median. Reno Hill SNOTEL site has the highest snow depth at 44 inches with a SWE of 11.2 inches and is 110% of median. Laprele SNOTEL site currently has a snow depth of 38 inches with a SWE of 9.1 inches and is 108% of median. Lastly Windy Peak SNOTEL rounds out the four sites with a snow depth of 29 inches and a SWE of 6.9 inches which is 95% of median. State wide we are sitting just above average for snow pack across most of the basins. The state SWE is currently at 110% of median, with a high in the Lower North Platte River basin at 118% and a low in the Tongue River basin at 88% of median. ~Jake Hogan UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT of AGRICULTURE NON DISCRIMINATION POLICY The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.) Page 2 CCCD EXPRESS
Mark Your Calendar Well Water Testing Day is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, 2019. Watch the next newsletter for all the details! The 2019 seedling tree order period is quickly coming to a close. Several species have been sold out for quite some time so if you are considering ordering seedling trees to plant this spring, you are encouraged to call our office or visit our website for species availability. If you need assistance developing a planting plan or selecting species that will grow best with your soil type, contact us today. The deadline for placing orders is April 12, 2019. Join Converse County Weed & Pest for new or renewal applicator licenses for the use of restricted use pesticides We have the latest edition of Backyards & Barnyards. Stop into the office and get your copy today! Household Hazardous Waste and Pesticide Collection Day is scheduled for September 21st. Mark your calendars and start preparing today! Wyoming Resource Education Days will be held in Wheatland, WY on June 11th-14th. Converse County Conservation District has scholarships available! Contact us today for more information on WyRED and how to apply for a scholarship. VOLUME 22, ISSUE 2 Page 3
NEWS FROM THE NATRONA/CONVERSE COUNTY FARM SERVICE AGENCY USDA to Host 2018 Farm Bill Implementation Listening Session USDA is hosting a listening session for initial input on the 2018 Farm Bill. USDA is seeking public input on the changes to existing programs implemented by the Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Risk Management Agency. Each agency will take into account stakeholder input when making discretionary decisions on program implementation. The listening session will be held Feb. 26, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. in the Jefferson Auditorium in the South Building located at 14 th Street and Independence Ave. S.W. in Washington, D.C. The listening session is open to the public. Participants must register at farmers.gov/farmbill by February 22, 2019, to attend the listening session and are encouraged to provide written comments prior to the listening session. For those orally presenting comments at the listening session, written comments are encouraged to be submitted to regulations.gov by February 22, 2019. Additional written comments will be accepted through March 1, 2019. Comments received will be publicly available on www.regulations.gov. For more information on the listening session visit farmers.gov/farmbill. Sign in/sign up! Farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers have new online options to access U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs. Through USDA s new streamlined process, producers doing business as an individual can now register, track and manage their applications for farm programs on the secure and convenient www.farmers.gov. Producers doing business as an individual first need to sign up for the Level 2 eauthentication access. Currently USDA eauthentication does not have the mechanism to issue accounts to businesses, corporations, other entities or for anyone acting on behalf of another individual or entity. Step 1: Create and online account at www.eauth.usda.gov Step 2: Complete identity verification by either using the online self-service identity verification method or by completing the identity verification in-person at your USDA Service Center. Step 3: You re enrolled Step 4: Contact your local USDA Service Center to have your new Level 2 account linked with your USDA customer record Step 5: You re ready to Log In Or go to your local USDA Service Center and our supportive staff will help you sign up for Level 2 Access right in the office! They will get you online so you can create an online account at https://www.farmers.gov/sign-in. You ll complete identity verification right on the spot. You re enrolled! Users with a secure Level 2 eauthentication ID linked to their USDA customer record can apply for select USDA programs, view and print farm maps and farm records data. Enrolling is easy! Visit farmers.gov/sign-in to learn more. To locate a service center near you or use online services not requiring eauthentication access, visit www.farmers.gov. For technical assistance, call the eauthentication help desk at 1-800-457-3642. Page 4 CCCD EXPRESS
grasshoppers Early indications show that 2019 is going to bring another invasion of grasshoppers to Converse County. Converse County Weed and Pest and Converse County Conservation District are gearing up to help you! Converse County Weed and Pest (CCW&P) will be providing a costshare program of $1 per sprayed acre or $0.50 per protected acre (see example diagram below). They will be holding an informational workshop in early spring the date has yet to be determined. You may reach them at 358-2775 with any questions. Converse County Conservation District will be offering vouchers for Converse County small acreage landowners for chemical to aid in combating grasshoppers. Vouchers will be good for up to $200 worth of the proper product from CCW&P and will be offered for landowners owning less than 100 acres (rural or urban). Vouchers will be available starting in May. Further information will be provided in the May/June edition of this newsletter. A schematic of an aerial RAAT application with 50 percent coverage. For example only. Limited quantities available at the CCCD office for $13.00 each. VOLUME 22, ISSUE 2 Page 5
Helping you protect soil, water, air, wildlife and our way of life Presorted Standard US Converse County Conservation District 911 S. Windriver Drive Douglas, WY 82633 Phone: 307-624-3151 michelle.huntington@wy.nacdnet.net HOURS: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Board of Supervisors Stan Mitchem, Chairman Shelly Falkenburg, Vice Chairman Sharon Lovitt, Secretary/Treasurer Doug Horner, Member Susan Downs, Member Converse County Conservation District 911 S. Windriver Drive Douglas, WY 82633 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Postage Paid Douglas, WY Permit No. 13 District Staff Michelle Huntington, District Manager Melanie Morgan, District Technician NRCS Staff Tim Schroeder, District Conservationist Jake Hogan, Rangeland Mgmt. Specialist ATTEND A CCCD BOARD MEETING The Converse County Conservation District holds Board Meetings the third Thursday of each month starting at 4:30 p.m. We welcome your input, ideas, questions, and concerns regarding our projects and programs! Meetings are open to the public pursuant to Wyoming Statute 16-4-403. Conservation districts are local units of government established under state law to carry out natural resource management programs at the local level. Districts work with cooperating landowners and operators to help them manage and protect land and water resources on private and public lands in the United States. Converse County Conservation District (CCCD) is one of 34 conservation districts in the state of Wyoming and 3,000 conservation districts nationwide! CCCD is a consolidation of the three original districts located within the borders of Converse County. The Glenrock Soil Conservation District was chartered on April 22, 1947 and the LaPrele Soil Conservation District was chartered on June 3, 1947. The Converse County Conservation District (CCCD) was formed from a combination of the Upper Cheyenne River Soil Conservation District (June 5, 1951) & the LaPrele-Glenrock Soil and Water Conservation Districts (February 19, 1963) and was granted a state charter on October 23, 1979. Converse County Conservation District is celebrating 40 years this year! CCCD is governed by a locally elected, five member Board of Supervisors. There are 3 rural members, 1 urban member and one at large member. These supervisors serve voluntarily and no monetary compensation is received. CCCD continually strives to develop locally-driven solutions to natural resources concerns. We provide several cost-share programs to assist with on-the-ground implementation of soil, water, rangeland, forest, wildlife, and farm projects. Technical assistance is always available free of charge. The mission of the Converse County Conservation District is to provide leadership for the conservation of Converse County s soil and water, protect the agricultural resource base, promote the control of soil erosion, promote and protect the quality and quantity of water, promote wise use of natural resources, preserve and enhance wildlife habitat, protect the tax base and promote the health, safety and general welfare of the citizens through a responsible conservation ethic.