Nearly 1000 conservation leaders from across the nation gathered Feb. 8-12 in Salt Lake City for the National Association of Conservation Districts’ 79th Annual Meeting. The conference focused on the theme “Bee The Change: Reaching New Summits in Conservation”, and the future of districts and natural resource conservation took center stage. General sessions and breakouts featured an exciting line-up on how partnerships with SWCDs impact the locally-led conservation efforts regarding our nation’s soil, water, air, and other precious natural resources, including a talk by Clermont SWCD.
John McManus presented during a breakout session on the Williamsburg Off-Channel Wetland Treatment System project (see photo at right). It was a great honor to showcase this unique nutrient removal system in Clermont County on the national stage. Clermont SWCD enjoyed showcasing the efforts that are occurring within the county to address environmental concerns, and our collaboration with other agencies, businesses, and landowners to address the needs of the county and its residents.
This May, Clermont SWCD was honored to partner with the OKI Regional Council of Governments and Taking Root to distribute 275 free trees to landowners in the Bethel area. The distribution was made possible by funding received through an Urban Forestry grant provided by the Ohio Division of Forestry.
As many know, Bethel and Tate Township have experienced significant tree loss due to the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB), and our goal with this project was to begin to help the community re-establish the tree canopy.
This fall, we will be distributing another 325 trees; all will be non-ALB host species and distributed in 5-7 gallon containers. Dates TBD – Landowners can watch our web site and Facebook page for details.
*New Location Alert: All remaining sessions are now at Clingman Park
Sessions are every first Wednesday 6:00-8:00 pm. Below are the workshops for the year. Registration is for each individual session. Go to https://www.clermontparks.org/registration-forms/landowner-conservation-series/ to register, read session descriptions, and find location details!
Check out this video highlighting the Williamsburg Wetland! Designed to remove pollutants and provide quality habitat, the wetland is functioning as intended and absorbing excess water during storm events. Thanks to the many project partners, especially the Clermont Co. Office of Public Information and Ohio EPA for their assistance producing this fun and educational video.
By Clermont County Office of Environmental Quality
Every year nearly 8 million tons of leaves end up buried in landfills across the United States. Due to a lack of oxygen, those leaves are unable to decompose quickly and instead release methane gas. However, when fallen leaves are left in your yard they can decompose faster and leave behind organic matter that greatly enhances soil health. Leaves are full of nutrients that will make your lawn thrive, including potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. While ditches, driveway culverts, and storm drains still need to be kept clear of leaves and other debris to prevent flooding, wildlife and lawn experts agree that when it comes to your lawn it is usually better to skip the raking and bagging and leave those leaves in place!
Chopping up blankets of leaves with a lawn mower may be necessary to thin out the material and break the leaves down quickly. This is important because thick layers of leaves left on your lawn blocks out the sunlight which is needed for photosynthesis. Excess leaves can be raked around trees and shrubs in 3 – 6 inch deep piles or into a landscape bed or garden and used for mulch. Combining fallen leaves with grass clippings and other organic green material can also produce nutrient-rich compost.
Visit the Adams-Clermont Solid Waste District’s website at www.OEQ.net to learn more about home composting and other yard waste disposal options in Clermont County.
Buttonbush is a great option for stream buffers and is a favorite of butterflies. Photo from U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
The “Be the Change for Clean Water” article describes how a buffer of native plants along a stream helps prevent bank erosion, filters pollutants, cools the stream, and provides habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. Several of the species we are offering as part of our annual plant sale work well as stream buffers. In particular, buttonbush will work very well along the stream edge. Other plants will fare well higher up on the bank including:
For questions on what plants would work best in your stream bank buffer, contact Clermont SWCD at 513-732-7075 for assistance.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Ohio Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is accepting applications from landowners interested in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) to build on existing conservation efforts to increase operational efficiencies and environmental benefits as well as reduce overall input costs.
This year, Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding is providing additional financial opportunities for select conservation practices and enhancements to increase direct climate mitigation benefits. The deadline to receive fiscal year 2023 funding for both CSP-Classic and CSP-IRA is April 7, 2023.
Through CSP, agricultural producers and forest landowners earn payments for actively managing, maintaining, and expanding conservation activities like cover crops, ecologically-based pest management, buffer strips, and pollinator and beneficial insect habitat – all while maintaining active agriculture and forestry production on their land.
Learn more about the CSP-Classic and CSP-IRA application process and eligible land use resource concerns on the Ohio NRCS Conservation Stewardship Program webpage. Landowners in Clermont County who are interested in signing up or learning about other technical and financial assistance available through NRCS should contact Christina Gates, District Conservationist, at christina.gates@usda.gov or (513) 732-2181 ext. 3.
By: Susie Steffensen
There are a number of definitions for sustainability and ways to achieve it. For example, one definition is, “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” Another, as it applies to nature is, “The quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.” For both of these definitions, steps taken now will determine the quality of life for future generations.
There are factors that play into the world’s ability to be sustainable, such as population growth…. energy usage….waste production… agricultural practices and deforestation…plastic use. Addressing these factors and implementing practices that reduce their effects on the environment is the goal, and everyone can do a little something to achieve this goal.
Recycling and reducing the use of single use plastic addresses the need to reduce waste. Turning down the thermostat, turning off lights, and reducing the hot water heater to 120° are ways to reduce energy consumption. Implementing best management practices such as precision agriculture, cover crops, and grassed waterways will improve water quality and help prevent erosion.
So if you are already taking action to help sustainability, thank you! Picking up litter, stopping erosion on your property, allowing weeds to grow in your yard… these things are so beneficial and don’t cost a thing. It might mean rearranging your priorities, but anything that benefits our natural world will benefit you in the long run.
For more information follow us on Facebook, as we will be posting additional ideas on ways to practice sustainable living.
Full detention structure in field waterway
Clermont SWCD, along with the Clermont Office of Environmental Quality and the US EPA Office of Research and Development were awarded the top government storm water project of the year at the 2019 Ohio Storm Water Conference in Sharonville, OH. Our project was funded by a USDA Conservation Innovation Grant and was installed in 2015. This project was funded to research innovative solutions by developing new strategies to support conservation efforts. The project involved the installation of an urban storm water detention basin into an agricultural setting. This project is currently being researched to determine effectiveness of agricultural nutrient removal.
Submerged treatment bed for nutrient removal
The need to address agricultural runoff is important because of the water quality degradation and algal blooms that are occurring around the world. Nutrients leaving agricultural fields are a contributing factor to water quality problems. The soils that we have in our county are very unique to Ohio and an “outside the box” approach was needed because current management practices do not always apply in our area.
The partnership to make this project successful includes many county, state and federal agencies, landowners, and the private industry. This project speaks to the great success of everyone working together for a viable solution.
If you own property that borders a stream and have concerns with the banks eroding and/or water quality, there are some relatively simple measures that you can take to alleviate the problems. Sometimes the impact is too great, and steps are needed to provide armoring or protection, but if the erosion is not too severe, riparian buffers may be the answer to your worries.
Property owners that mow or weed right to the stream are setting themselves up for erosion problems. Turf grass has very shallow roots which do a poor job of holding soil in place. As a result, there is very little under the ground holding the soil in place, and it can be more easily washed away during high stream flows. When natural vegetation is allowed to grow along a stream’s banks, the benefits are amazing. When trees, shrubs and native grasses become established along a stream, it is referred to as a riparian buffer. These plants have deep root systems which do a very good job of holding soil in place.
Buffers also provide many other benefits. They shade and cool to the stream, which helps promote a healthy and diverse fish community. Buffers are very effective at filtering pollutants such as lawn fertilizers, animal waste, and pesticides. They also provide wildlife corridors and habitat.
Clermont SWCD suggests a buffer width of 25 feet for small streams, and increasing the width as the drainage area and stream gets bigger. However, any buffer width is better than none at all. The greater the width, the more positive impacts there will be for the stream. Some plant species that will work well in a stream buffer zone include sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), willows (Salix sp.), red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), and grasses such as meadow sage (Salvia pratensis) and different varieties of rushes (Juncus sp.)
If you have any questions or would like any guidance in establishing your own riparian buffer, contact us at 513-732-7075, or by email at jhahn@clermontcountyohio.gov.
