Robert F. Flider, Director

Bureau of Land and Water Resources

State Fairgrounds P.O. Box 19281 Springfield, IL 62794-9281 217/782-6297 TDD 217/524-6858 Fax 217/557-0993

NOVEMBER 2013 – BLWR REPORT

SWCD EMPLOYEE WINTER TRAINING – December 3 and 4, 2013

A DRAFT preliminary program agenda has been developed for the December 3 and 4, 2013 Winter Training meeting to be held at the Northfield Center in Springfield. The ISWCDEA will post registration information on their website (www.iswcdea.org). Winter Training is sponsored by the Department of Agriculture and the ISWCDEA, which jointly plan the agenda. As usual, ISWCDEA has developed an excellent program for this training meeting. We encourage all SWCD employees to attend all or a part of this annual event. While this training is designed primarily for SWCD employees, SWCD Directors and NRCS employees are also welcome. Please make sure all staff and Directors are made aware of this training.

FY 2014 DISTRICT ALLOCATIONS

The Bureau has been authorized to release some of the FY 2014 funding to Districts. We have processed the vouchers and are entering them into the system for payment. The first installment will be paying for one half of the annual employee health insurance, all of the workman’s comp insurance and one half of the District operations. There will not be any cost share funds for conservation practices sent out until the next installment.

SSRP TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE

The stream specialists are available to conduct investigations needed for submitting FY14 SSRP cost-share applications. There will be two application deadlines this year. The first will be March 1, 2014, and if sufficient funds are available, the second will be June 1, 2014. Project applications that were previously submitted, but not approved for cost-share, will need to be re-submitted to be considered for this year’s funding. Please contact the specialist assigned to your district for technical assistance.

Chris Haring 815-985-6372

Rob Meats 217-257-3954

Wayne Kinney 618-830-6318

COVER CROP INITIATIVE

Attachment

With the exception of a couple of plots that were planted after wheat or corn fields harvested for silage, the 14 Cover Crop Demonstration plots were aerial seeded in August and early September. Germination in the aerial seeded plots was delayed in most cases by 4-6 weeks due to the lack moisture. Although most plots did not get the normal growth that would be expected, the plots are turning green and should continue to grow now that there has been adequate rainfall over the last month. Within a week all of the signs at the plots (see attachment) will have been installed.

PARTNERS FOR CONSERVATION FUND SPENDING PROGRESS

(Statewide)

Deadlines: FY 2012 CPP account December 28, 2013

FY 2013 CPP account November 8, 2014

ELECTION MATERIALS - REMINDER

The Election Materials for the 2014 elections are now on DARTS. You can find them in the References Section under a folder entitled ELECTION MATERIALS. If you have any questions or concerns about the forms, please contact Carrie Tisckos.

Please use the election forms on DARTS so all District forms will be consistent. Be sure to get your annual meeting information in early! DO NOT USE OLD FORMS.

ENERGY PROJECTS

With the ever increasing demand by the general public for readily available energy (fuel, electricity, etc.), there are many energy related projects (pipelines, electric transmission lines, wind farms) planned or under construction across the U.S. and Illinois is getting its fair share. Examples include the Rock Island Clean Line Electric Transmission Line Project, the Ameren Illinois Rivers Electric Transmission Line Project, the Commonwealth Edison Grand Prairie Gateway Electric Transmission Line Project, the Eastern Gulf Pipeline Project and the Explorer Pipeline Project. The Department takes an active role in these projects and negotiates an Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreement (AIMA) with these utility companies to ensure that impacts to agriculture are held to a minimum and the affected area is properly restored. If you’re not familiar with our AIMAs, feel free to look at our construction standards and policies contained on the Department’s website. These standards and policies form the basis for the AIMAs. Within the AIMAs, there are a number of conservation provisions and the utility companies are instructed to contact SWCDs for technical assistance on various issues. We also seek your advice and information on these projects. Thank you for helping to make these projects as compatible as possible with the agricultural community.

PLAT BOOKS

If your county has issued a new plat book over the past year or so, please call Terry Savko (217-785-4458) to provide her with names of contact people/phone numbers or email her at Terry.Savko@ Illinois.gov with this information so that a copy can be ordered to update our plat book library. In the event that you order new copies for the office staff and your board members, please buy one copy for the Bureau. We will promptly reimburse SWCDs for their cost when they purchase a copy for us. The entire Department appreciates your cooperation in providing us with these reference materials.

VEGETATIVE FILTER STRIPS REPORT FORM

Attachment

Attached to this report is a form to be used in reporting information on vegetative filter strips certified by the District this year. Please review the form, complete the information requested and return it to the Bureau of Land and Water Resources by January 31, 2014. If you didn’t have any vegetative filter strip certifications, please write “not applicable” on the form and return it anyway.

STATE HOLIDAYS OBSERVED

The BLWR office will be closed November 11 for Veterans Day and November 28-29 for Thanksgiving.

Cover Crop Demonstration Plot Cooperators and Locations

Region 1

Pete Ascher Winnebago County, US Route 20 (next to Keith Road)

Harold & Dave Hawkinson Knox County, I-74 (1 mile north of Galesburg)

Paul Young Whiteside County, I-88 (Erie Exit # 18)

Region 2

Don Jacobs McLean County, I-55 (6 miles north of Lexington)

Matt Hughes McLean County, I-55 (south of Shirley Exit)

Small Brothers LaSalle County, I-39 (4 miles north of I-80)

Donnie Benoit Kankakee County, I-57 (1 mile south of Kankakee)

ISU Research Farm McLean County, I-55 (2 miles north of Lexington)

Region 3

Terry Davis Warren County, US 67 (5 miles south of Roseville)

Karl Peters Sangamon County, I-72

(NE of Sangamon/Morgan County line)

Region 4

Dale Stierwalt Champaign County, I-57 (7 miles south of Champaign)

Miller Farm Macon County, I-72 (Harristown, mile marker 133, south side)

Dave Jennings Fayette County, I-70 (St. Elmo, mile marker 75-76)

Region 5

Doug Bening Washington County, I-64 (2 miles east of Okawville)


CALENDAR YEAR 2012 (January 1, 2012-December 31, 2012)

VEGETATIVE FILTER STRIP ASSESSMENT REPORT

Public Act 89-606, the Vegetative Filter Strip Assessment Law, was enacted by the General Assembly on January 1, 1997. The law was extended to December 31, 2016 under Public Act 94-1002 in 2006. Under the law, qualifying property used as a vegetative filter strip is eligible to be assessed at a reduced rate. Soil and Water Conservation Districts have been given the authority for certifying that a parcel of property meets the requirements for a vegetative filter strip established under the law, and for determining the size of the vegetative filter strip. Also, the law requires the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Natural Resources to prepare a joint report concerning the effect and impact of the vegetative filter strip assessment law and submit it to the General Assembly.

In order to provide the documentation required for the report to the General Assembly, we would appreciate your help by completing the following summary information regarding vegetative filter strip certifications made by the District in the past calendar year.

______

______SWCD

Total Number of landowners certified ______

Total Number of vegetative filter strips certified ______

Total Number of acres or fraction of acres ______

(Round to nearest tenth)

The following information would also be helpful in gauging the effectiveness of the law:

How has the District advertised the program?

_____ District newsletter

_____ Direct mailings to landowners

_____ Media promotion (radio, newspaper, etc.)

_____ One-on-one landowner contacts

_____ Other (please specify) ______

(computer, etc.)

Have you experienced any administrative barriers, or do you have suggestions to improve the effectiveness of the law?

______

______

______

Have landowners been receptive to the law and has it been a useful tool in promoting soil and water conservation and protecting water quality?

______

______

______

Please Return to the Bureau of Land and Water Resources by JANUARY 31, 2014