Loudoun Soil & Water Conservation District

WHAT: The Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District, in partnership with the Loudoun County government, is hosting an informational workshop on a unique Riparian Buffer Planting project on February 26^th at the Loudoun County Government Center located at 1 Harrison Street in Leesburg, VA.

Private residential, industrial, commercial, and Home Owner Association (HOA) landowners in Loudoun are all eligible to apply for funds to plant buffers along perennial (year-round) streams and water bodies. An effective technique for improving water quality, this program reimburses landowners for planting materials and labor costs. Urban/Ag Conservationist Chris Van Vlack will brief workshop attendees about the project’s planting options and application deadlines. This project complements the existing agricultural buffer planting program offered through the state Agricultural BMP Cost Share Program. Funding is limited and anticipated to be highly competitive, so interested landowners are strongly encouraged to attend the workshop to enhance their application opportunities.

Last spring, a total of four acres of forested riparian buffers were planted by HOAs and private landowners.   These buffers help filter pollutants from stormwater runoff, which improves water quality for people and wildlife and makes streams, creeks, and rivers safer for recreation. Forested buffers can also reduce mowing costs and provide habitat for birds and other wildlife.

WHO:

Chris Van Vlack – Urban/Ag Conservationist, LSWCD

Jim Christian – Chairman, LSWCD

Evan Keto – Urban Forester, Loudoun County

Laura Edmonds – Environmental Review Team Leader, Loudoun County

WHERE: Loudoun County Government Center, Purcellville Room.

WHEN: Thursday, February 26 at 6:00 PM

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Working daily to promote the central role of conservation in improving the health and wealth of our communities, the Loudoun Soil & Water Conservation District touches the lives of every man, woman, and child in the County. Individuals interested in learning more about this or other important conservation practices should contact the LSWCD at (571) 918-4530.

The LSWCD office is closed today, but the District Board meeting is still scheduled for 4 p.m.  We will meet in the District office.

The Virginia Association of Conservation Districts Education Foundation is offering  four $1,000 scholarships to be given statewide this May to outstanding high school seniors applying for a freshman curriculum and/or current college freshmen.  If you know of someone who would be interested in applying for this scholarship, please complete the 2015 Scholarship Application Form and return to Loudoun SWCD by Friday, March 13, 2015.    The District Board will review the applications and select one applicant to be forwarded to the VASWCD Education Foundation for consideration.  For more information, please contact Guy Johnson at guy.johnson@lswcd.org  or by phone at: (571)918-4530,  ext. 109.

Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District Urban/Ag Conservationist Chris Van Vlack attended the August 27^th meeting of the Loudoun Winegrowers Association held at Two Twisted Posts Winery in Neersville to present on the state’s tax credit program for Integrated Pest Management. Over 30 vineyard owners and operators were in attendance at the meeting which also included presentations by Virginia Cooperative Extension and Browning Equipment.

The “WQ-10” Integrated Pest Management Practice as it is known in Virginia’s Agricultural Best Management Practices program provides a 25% tax credit on the expenses and time spent scouting for pests and disease. In addition to documented labor hours scouting, other eligible expenses include the cost of traps, sweep nets, and envirocasters (weather stations) that can aid in pest scouting.

Producers are eligible to apply for the program on the same field twice (one application per year, maximum of two years.) The program can also be used on crops other than grapes, including other fruit orchards, corn, alfalfa, and soybeans. More information on the practice can be found on the Department of Conservation and Recreations website at http://dswcapps.dcr.virginia.gov/htdocs/agbmpman/TaxCredit/WQ-10_2015.pdf.

For more information on the Loudoun Winegrowers Associations visit: http://www.loudounwinegrowers.org/

For more information or to sign up for the program, contact Loudoun SWCD at 571-918-4530, ext. 107 or chris.vanvlack@lswcd.org

In order to help farmers document conservation work already taking place on their farms and to implement further practices, Virginia has created a new program known as Resource Management Plans or RMP’s. Farmers who obtain an RMP and fully implement all of the conservation practices developed for their farm will then be given nine years of “safe harbor” from any additional water quality or other environmental regulations that might affect their operation.

The Commonwealth is currently in the process of certifying RMP developers who will be able to write plans for producers. Locally, Loudoun SWCD will serve as the review authority for plans developed for farmers in the county. After a Loudoun farmer obtains a plan, it will be presented to the Loudoun Technical Review Committee for approval. Once that approval is obtained, the farmer is free to implement all the needed practices within the plan.

Loudoun SWCD also has cost share available through the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Program that can help pay for the development of the RMP plan up to $10.00 per acre planned to a total maximum of $6,500.00 per plan. The District also continues to have cost share available that can help with the construction of conservation practices like stream fencing, cover crops, and water systems that might be included as required components in a farmers RMP.

More information including a list of certified plan developers can be found at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_and_water/rmp.shtml .

For more information on RMP plan development cost share check out http://dswcapps.dcr.virginia.gov/htdocs/agbmpman/BMPs/RMP-1_2015.pdf .

Leesburg Today (Revised article): http://www.leesburgtoday.com/business/state-rolls-out-new-farm-resources-management-plan/article_8dbe8952-2ec8-11e4-81ad-0019bb2963f4.html

Still have questions, call Loudoun SWCD at 571-918-4530.

(l to r) Jeff Smith, Facilities & Grounds Manager; Wendy Taylor, General Manager; Kevin Turner, Board President – South Riding Proprietary; Chris Van Vlack, Conservation Technician, LSWCD; Supervisor Matt Letourneau, Dulles District; James Christian, Chairman and Chris Simmons, Vice Chairman-LSWCD.

August 13, representatives from the South Riding community, Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District, Loudoun County Government, and Dulles Supervisor Matt Letourneau gathered to celebrate the successful completion of three acres of riparian tree planting in South Riding.

The funding that Loudoun SWCD utilized to assist South Riding in planting their three acres of riparian buffer originated with the Loudoun Board of Supervisors.  The District received $70,000 to plant 10 acres of riparian area that was not eligible for planting through our state agricultural cost share program.

After the county decided not to pursue the enactment of the Chesapeake Bay Act Local Ordinance, the Board was looking for some voluntary measures that could help achieve some water quality improvements.

The Board of Supervisors  required as a condition of receiving the funds for planting that the sites planted have a Declaration of Restriction placed on them and recorded at the courthouse, insuring that the area planted would be protected from clearing.

The District worked closely with Dana Malone and Laura Edmonds from Loudoun County Government as well as Virginia Dept of Forestry Forester Bryant Bays.  Dana and Bryant created an extensive list of species that interested HOA’s and landowners could draw from to design their plantings.  The only requirement was that there be a variety of species and that there were some canopy and some understory trees included in the plantings.

In 2012 approximately six acres were planted at three sites utilizing the funds.  These sites included Exeter in Leesburg, Four Seasons condominiums in Ashburn, and Eco Village in Taylorstown.  The remaining funds were used this year to plant the three acres in South Riding, and an additional one acre on a private landowner’s property in Waterford.

All of 2012’s planting sites have been inspected and have passed their 75% survival requirement.  Although no funds remain to pursue further non-agricultural riparian planting projects currently, Loudoun SWCD stands ready to continue to the program if Loudoun County chooses to continue the program.

The Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District, in partnership with the Loudoun County government hosted an informational workshop on a unique riparian buffer planting project on Tuesday, January 29, 2013, at the Loudoun County Government Center,in Leesburg.

Private residential, industrial, commercial, and Homeowner Association (HOA) landowners in Loudoun are all eligible to apply for funds to plant buffers along perennial (year-round) streams and water bodies. An effective technique for improving water quality, this program reimburses landowners for planting materials and labor costs. Conservation Technician Chris Van Vlack will brief workshop attendees about the project’s planting options and application deadlines. This project complements the existing agricultural buffer planting program offered through the state Agricultural Best Management Practice (BMP) Cost-Share Program. Funding is limited and anticipated to be highly competitive, so interested landowners are strongly encouraged to attend the workshop to enhance their application opportunities.

Last spring, a total of six acres of forested riparian buffers were planted through the program in Loudoun by HOAs. These buffers help filter pollutants from stormwater runoff, which improves water quality for humans and wildlife and makes streams, creeks, and rivers safer for recreation. Forested buffers can also reduce mowing costs and provide habitat for birds and other wildlife.

Presenters at the workshop include Chris Van Vlack, Conservation Technician, LSWCD; Jim Christian, Chairman, LSWCD; Dana Malone, Urban Forester, Loudoun County; and Laura Edmonds, Environmental Review Team Leader, Loudoun County.

The deadline for applications is March 1, 2013.   Applications should be submitted to Loudoun SWCD, Attn: Chris Van Vlack, 30 Catoctin Circle, SE., Suite H, Leesburg, VA 20175.  For more information, please contact Chris at (571) 918-4530, ext. 107.

If you have been “sitting on the fence” about installing fencing to keep your animals out of a stream, pond, or wetland, a new allocation of funding from the Commonwealth of Virginia now allows Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District to fund up to 100 percent of the costs.  The new program covers the total cost for fencing keeping livestock out of streams (up to $4.44 a foot for fencing meeting District specifications).  When installing stream fencing, farmers and landowners also are eligible for 100 percent funding to install a water system (up to $3.00 per foot of pipeline, and $3600 per trough meeting District specifications.)

These new funds cover the additional 25% not covered by the Virginia Ag BMP Programs 75% cost share and are available on a first come first serve basis until the funds are exhausted.  This program will no doubt be very popular state-wide, so contact Loudoun SWCD now to arrange for a farm visit to see if your property qualifies.  Stream fencing helps protect water quality while the installation of a spring or well-fed watering system provides your animals with clean source of drinking water and helps better distribute grazing in your pastures.

If you’ve ever considered protecting your streams and ponds and installing a permanent frost-free watering system, now is the time!

If you are looking to build a barn, enter into open space or agricultural land use taxation, or just want to get some ideas managing your farm, LSWCD has a new revised Conservation Farm Plan which is now more tailored to specific different types of farming operations in Loudoun.  Farm plans are required by Loudoun County for the building of barns, entering the Land-Use Tax Program,  as well as for grazing livestock on parcels under five acres.  Small acreage grazing plans are developed by the District and Loudoun Cooperative Extension to help landowners manage livestock on small properties.  Contact LSWCD at (571) 918-4530 to schedule an appointment to create a farm plan for your operation.

Fences makes more than good neighbors.  With help from their local Soil and Water Conservation District, Virginia farmers are discovering that fencing the streams on their property makes for healthier, moer profitable cattle–as well as cleaner local waterways.  Excluding livestock from streams helps keep their banks from eroding and decreases the amount of sediment that they carry.  It also eliminates the bacteria associated with livestock waste that cause illness in both humans and animals.

“Improved herd health, lower vet bills, and quicker weight gain are definite economic benefits of streamside livestock exclusion,” said Chris Van Vlack, Conservation Specialist of Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District.

In addition, stream fencing prevents leg injuries that cattle and horses may suffer on muddy banks and eliminates the possibility that cows will calve by the water, where newborns are more likely to suffer hypothermia and death.

Farm productivity increases, too. Studies have shown that when farmers provide clean water instead of letting their cattle drink from streams, animals gain more weight, more quickly and horse owners see decreases in hoof problems.

Funding from the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program is available to offset the costs of installing fences and alternative watering systems. In the 2012 program year, that means 75 percent of the cost of all eligible components, along with a 25 percent tax credit. Funds are also available for maintaining existing fences that are along water bodies and streams. Also, farmers can enhance the economic benefits of stream fencing by creating wooded buffers, which can also qualify for cost share funding.

In addition, Loudoun County has provided Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District with assistance to supply stream exclusion and water system cost share funding to horse and other livestock owners who do not qualify for the state program due to having farms under five acres, or not deriving income from their operation.

Streamside livestock exclusion is one of five sets of priority agricultural best management practices promoted by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, which administers the Virginia Agricultural Best Management Practices Cost-Share Program. The Commonwealth’s 47 Soil and Water Conservation Districts administer the Virginia Cost-Share Program at the local level.

District staff can help farmers apply for many different cost-share funding programs to help implement streamside livestock exclusion best management practices. They also can identify other conservation programs for which agricultural operations of all kinds can qualify.  For more information, contact the District staff at (571) 918-4530.