Loudoun Soil & Water Conservation District

Spring is  here (hopefully) and it is time to start planting flower beds and gardens.  What better way to water your plants than with a rain barrel?  Rain barrels are an economical and practical way for homeowners to conserve water and save money. In addition, they reduce runoff as the water is collected before it picks up sediment and other contaminants that pollute our streams and rivers.  Our local creeks, streams and rivers drain to the Potomac River and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay.

The Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District will be offering a number of rain barrel workshops this spring.  Residents can come make a rain barrel to take home or purchase one already made.  Workshops scheduled for:

Tuesday, April 22, 6 p.m. at Lovettsville Community Center. Lovettsville Rain Barrel Registration Form

Tuesday, April 29, 6 p.m. and Wednesday, April 30, 6 p.m. at Tuscarora Creek Park in Leesburg. Leesburg Rain Barrel Registration Form

Wednesday, May 14, 6 p.m. and Thursday, May 15, 6 p.m. at Tuscarora Creek Park in Leesburg. Leesburg Rain Barrel Registration Form

Purcellville Workshop to be announced next week

The workshops are open to all Loudoun residents.  Find the date and location that works best for your schedule, complete the registration form and send in with your check made payable to Loudoun SWCD.  The cost of a make-your-own rain barrel is $60.00 (including tax)  and a pre-made barrel is $80.00 (including tax).  If you have any questions, please give us a call at (571) 918-4530.

If you are currently enrolled in grades 9 through 12 and are interested in learning more about our natural resources, and studying subjects such as aquatics, soils, forestry, watershed and water quality, wildlife, and environmental problems, you should consider spending a week, July 13-19, 2014 at Youth Conservation Camp.  Campers will learn about natural resources through field trips and activities, make new friends with other high school students who share your interest in the environment, and enjoy many recreational activities in the area.

The Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District is looking for two interested students in Loudoun County (must be residents of the County) who would like to participate.  The fee for camp, $550 will cover the students meals, lodging, activities and transportation while at camp.  Students are responsible for obtaining their own means of transportation to and from Virginia Tech for the beginning and end of camp, plus personal items.  The District will provide two partial scholarships of $400 each.  For an application form, 2014 Conservation Camp Application . Applications are due to the District office by April 25, 2014.  For more information, please contact Suzie Brown, Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District at suzie.brown@lswcd.org or by phone at (571) 918-4530, ext. 105.

(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 prior to VDOF closing their office in Loudoun).  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.

Through the VA Ag BMP Cost-Share Program, the Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District can offer an incentive payment for fence maintenance on fencing that protects streams and water bodies. The cost share rate is $1.00 per linear foot of stream bank protected. Click on the Agriculture tab, then CCI-SE-1 (Stream Exclusion) to read the details of the practice and then contact the LSWCD office at (571) 918-4530 or via email to see if you qualify.