Okaloosa County BOCC — May 3, 2016 — YRSWCD 2015 Annual Report — reading text

Yellow River Soil and Water Conservation District 2014 – 2015 Annual Report A Message from the Chairman Yellow River Soil and Water Conservation District has had a very busy and productive year. The 2014 Farm Bill has streamlined many programs with Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program (WHIP) now a part of Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the introduction of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) to tackle problems that encompass multiple legal jurisdictions. Restoration of two sites that were damaged by the storm event in 2014 is well underway thanks to the Emergency Watershed Protection Program funds. Our Education and Community Outreach program has increased considerably with two presentations for Arbor Day, the Ag Literacy YRSWCD History Program, School Conservation Education, and continued involvement with Okaloosa S.C.I.E.N.C.E. Initiative. Yellow River Soil and Water On October 11, 2016, Yellow River Soil and Water Conservation Conservation District was District will celebrate our 75th anniversary. For 75 years we have worked organized on October 11, 1941 hard to conserve the soil and water in Okaloosa County. As we move in accordance with the forward we would like to thank all our partners who have helped and provisions of the Florida Soil supported our goal to conserve the soil and water of Okaloosa County and Conservation District Act of look forward to the opportunities of this next year. 1937, Chapter 18144 as amended by the Act of 1935, Chapter 38094. This provided an organized approach for Gary Booker landowners and operators to YRSWCD Chairman solve soil and water conservation problems. Yellow River Soil and Water Conservation District is YRSWCD Mission: Yellow River Soil and Water Conservation governed by five non-paid District’s mission is to solve soil, water, and related natural resource supervisors, who are elected in conservation problems throughout Okaloosa County. a general election in Okaloosa County to serve a four year term. YRSWCD Vision: Yellow River Soil and Water Conservation The Board of Supervisors for District’s vision is to: (1) Develop, implement, and administer Yellow River Soil and Water comprehensive natural resource conservation programs; (2) Provide for Conservation District are: the protection and wise use of soil, water, plants, animals, and other Gary Booker, Chairman related natural resources: and (3) Provide education and outreach to the Bill Ansley, Vice Chairman citizens of Okaloosa County, State of Florida, and the nation on the Linda Johnson, Member importance of protection and wise use of soil, water, animals, and other David Clark, Member related natural resources. 1  YRSWCD Geographical Extant Yellow River Soil and Water Conservation District encompasses all the lands of Okaloosa County, bounded on the north by Alabama, east to Walton County, west to Santa Rosa County, and south to the Gulf of Mexico. The total area within the district is 637,043 acres, with 598,918 acres of land and 38,125 acres of water. Approximately 235,200 acres are within Eglin Air Force Base and its adjoining reservation in the center of the County and approximately 63,000 acres within the Blackwater State Forest. Principal cities and towns: Fort Walton Beach, Niceville-Valparaiso, Destin, Laurel Hill, and Crestview, the county seat. Resource Conservation Problems and Solutions Yellow River is uniquely qualified to provide solutions for all of Okaloosa County soil and water conservation needs. Yellow River Soil and Water Conservation District has established a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Florida Association of Conservation Districts (FACD), and the State of Florida. Yellow River will request aid and assistance from other established governmental agencies from local, state, and federal agencies to achieve the provisions of programs in accordance with State Conservation Acts, its amendments and existing local laws. Yellow River also partners with other USDA agencies, federal agencies, State of Florida agencies, Okaloosa County Public Works Department, nonprofit groups, public groups, and individuals to solve natural resource problems in Okaloosa County. YRSWCD Services Yellow River provides technical assistance to local, state, and federal agencies, as well as, individual landowners, operators, planners, zoning groups, decision makers, other groups, and the general public on conservation, development, erosion control, soil surveys, water/ floodplain delineation, and watershed protection. Yellow River is assisted by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in its efforts to implement and administrate conservation programs. Services are many and varied, and include: >Conservation planning for agricultural land use; >Inventory and evaluation of soil conditions for individuals, as well as, local, state, and federal agencies; >Technical assistance for implementation of conservation practices including erosion control, beach dune restoration, pond design, wildlife management, tree planting, pasture planting, and various conservation practices; >Stewardship, education, and information programs for the schools, landowners, and the public. 2  Highlights of FY 2015 Programs and Projects Element I. Land and Water Conservation and Management Element I Goal 1: Reduce or control water and wind soil erosion and associated sedimentation on identified sites within the Yellow River Soil and Water Conservation District area.  Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). CSP is a USDA NRCS voluntary program for agricultural and forestry producers to address natural resource concerns by: (1) undertaking additional conservation activities; and (2) improving and maintaining existing conservation systems. CSP provides financial and technical assistance to help land stewards conserve and enhance soil, water, air, and related natural resources on their lands. These are five (5) year contracts with payments for contract activities that are installed and maintained from the previous year. (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov) This was a new program. There are fourteen (14) active contracts. These contracts have an obligation of $55,302.00 over a five (5) year period on 6,678.90 acres. This fiscal year $4,914 has been distributed.  Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP). EQIP is a USDA NRCS program that establishes conservation priority areas that contain significant water, soil, and related natural resource problems. This is a voluntary program that provides financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers through contracts up to a maximum term of ten years to plan and implement conservation practices that address natural resource concerns and for opportunities to improve the soil, water, plant, animal energy conservation, and related resources on agricultural land and non-industrial private forestland. Okaloosa County is in one of the priority areas. Eligibility for the program is limited to persons who engage in agricultural production with eligible lands in cropland, pastureland, forestland, and other forms of farm lands in the identified priority area (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov). There are now six (6) fund categories under EQIP: Working Lands for Wildlife – Gopher Tortoise; Pollinators; Long Leaf Pine Initiative; Forestry; Cropland/Specialty Crops; and Socially Disadvantaged –Grazing Lands. For the new 2014 Farm Bill there is a total of twenty-eight (28) active contracts under EQIP for a total of $ 301,543.32 total contract amount over the lifetime of the contracts (multiple years) on 1,169.5 acres. Under these contracts the types of EQIP are: Socially Disadvantage, Long Leaf Pine Initiative, Seasonally High Tunnels, Locally Led, State, and Wildlife. Under the 2008 Farm Bill, there are still contracts that are managed for the 2008 Farm Bill EQIP and 2008 Farm Bill WHIP, since these are multiple year contracts. Under 2008 EQIP Program, there are twenty- three (23) active contracts on 3,693 acres with a multiple year obligation totaling $689,976 with payments so far (from 2008) of $464,978. Under 2008 WHIP Program, there are thirteen (13) active contracts on 1,126.4 acres with a multiple year obligation totaling $69,477 with payments so far (from 2008) of $47,499. Three (3) EQIP Program Seasonal High Tunnel (SHT) Greenhouses in Okaloosa County are installed and one was in operation by June. These greenhouses are 2,160 square feet with a seasonal top tunnel and cost $5,729 each. There are seven (7) new applications for Seasonal High Tunnel (SHT) Greenhouses, with three (3) approved, two of the three have signed contracts, and the other four (4) waiting for funding. The first operational Seasonal High Tunnel (SHT) Greenhouse in Okaloosa County was at Beaver Creek Farms. The farm was showcased in two 3  newspaper articles (The Crestview News Bulletin and The Fort Walton Beach Daily News) and was awarded the Northwest Florida 2015 Agricultural Innovator Award by the University of Florida IFAS Extension and Farm Credit of Northwest Florida.  Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is an important step towards conserving and protecting highly erodible land. The land is planted with a permanent ground cover to minimize soil erosion with either pasture or trees, in this area there is a predominance of pine trees. The typical contract is for ten (10) years and the participant agrees to maintain and protect the new cover on the land. CRP provides annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource conserving cover on eligible farmland. The CRP Program is subject to contract renewals and new contract sign-up on an annual basis. This program has been successful in retiring millions of acres of highly erodible land in the United States and in the process has controlled millions of tons of soil from being washed away. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a cooperative partnership between several agencies. The program is administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). The FSA depends on the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of USDA to perform “Conservation Plans” and NRCS depends on