Christian County Soil and Water Conservation District

Goals of the Finley River 319 Project

Photo courtesy watersheds.org

Photo courtesy watersheds.org

Photo courtesy watersheds.org

   Introduction

            The Finley 319 will consist of two parts. They are the Watershed Management Plan and the Nontraditional Agriculture Implementation Project. Both have specific goals independent of each other; however, they both will be used to improve the overall water quality within the Finley River Watershed.  The descriptions below are designed to inform you of the differences between the two divisions within the same grant.  Please keep in mind that although they are different in scope and design, the two parts of this project are dependant upon the other’s success.  This is the first time that this type of project has been attempted within the state of Missouri so it has the potential to become a benchmark for the rest of the country.

   Watershed Management Plan

In short, it will be a guideline for the improvement of water quality within the entire watershed over the long term.  It will address many issues and concerns that will be established from a comprehensive group of stakeholders. The goal of the watershed management plan is to provide a working document that will establish what issues should be addressed and how to address them with the entire watershed and its many members in mind.  The watershed management plan is required to be produced before any implementation of cost share practices can begin under the framework of this grant. It will consist of assessment and data collection of conditions within the watershed, development of a working evaluation plan to address targeted conditions, and evaluation requirements to document results. It will be a standard used for addressing improvements to the watershed over the long term. 

   Nontraditional Agriculture Implementation Project 

The project is designed to focus on landowners within the watershed that traditionally receive little or no opportunities to address issues on small acreage parcels of land.  The grant will target 3-40 acre landowners where issues such as excessive sedimentation, nutrient loading, and inadequate buffering of streams are problem areas.  Education through workshops, field days, educational presentations, county fair participation, web site development, public announcements, newsletters, and news releases will be a major focus.  Trying to educate and inform landowners through as many avenues as possible is one way to insure the success of this project.

 Another part of the project will be to implement Best Management Practices (BMP’s) on participating landowners to address the issues outlined above using a comprehensive resource management evaluation process. The BMP’s will be divided into two categories:  1) Riparian Area, Stream Bank Stabilization, Well Decommissioning, Use Exclusion, and Sinkhole Protection and 2) Target Demonstration Areas.

The cost share portion including; riparian area, stream bank stabilization, and well decommissioning will have a cost share structure of 75% of the established average cost based on the component cost list for implementing the practice.  An out-of-production incentive for riparian buffer and sinkhole protection is established as $500 per acre.  A $100 per acre with a $1000 per landowner limit is being imposed on forest land exclusion. 

The target demonstration areas will have a cost-share incentive program that is dependant upon fulfillment of the criteria outlined in a resource management plan designed for the landowner.  If the individual agrees to implement all identified management concerns outlined in a resource evaluation conducted by district personnel, then payment will proceed as outlined below. 

The incentive payments are broken down by acreage. See below for breakdown.

Acres                                      Max $ amount 

1-4.99 acres                           $2000.00

5-9.99 acres                          $3,500.00

10-19.99 acres                      $4,000.00

20-40 acres                           $5,000.00

The incentives can be used in conjunction with other programs; however the money can not be used to address the same resource concerns already being addressed by other programs, eligibility will be determined by the Christian Co. SWCD at specified evaluation times. This basically means no double dipping on the same resource concerns. 

The goals of the project are to reduce sedimentation, reduce excessive nutrients, reduce gully erosion, reduce stream bank erosion, and increase storm water infiltration in grasslands.  With the intensive education and implementation aspects of this project, in conjunction with the comprehensive look at the entire watershed, it is believed that these goals are attainable through the practices outlined within the grant. 

Watershed Mgmt Plan • Implementation