Indiana land owners to share in $300K conservation award
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More than $300,000 has been awarded to land owners in northeastern Indiana who are participating in a conservation effort to help protect the Western Lake Erie Basin watershed.
The conservation steps announced by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the USDA-Indiana Natural Resources Conservation Service will be put to use on more than 1,700 acres of farmland through the Western Lake Erie Basin Regional Conservation Partnership.
The funding, about $307,000, will go toward planting 125 new acres of cover crops, using precise nutrient practices on more than 660 acres, and applying gypsum to more than 925 acres. Gypsum helps soil absorb water, reduces erosion and cuts down on phosphorus movement from soils to lakes and streams.
The goal of the steps is to prevent nutrient runoff and decrease algal blooms.
“This funding goes a long way in ensuring we are enhancing and protecting the Western Lake Erie basin and in turn, members of those communities and the fish and wildlife that live there,” ISDA Director Don Lamb said in a news release. “Collaborations like this Regional Conservation Partnership Program are incredibly valuable as we can share our finances, time, skills and talents to better our environment.”
The funding from the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, comes from a 2021 agreement totaling $7.8 million. Indiana, Michigan and Ohio each receive a portion of the funding to assist in such conservation efforts.
Indiana counties in the Western Lake Erie Basin include parts of Adams, Allen, Dekalb, Noble, Steuben and Wells.
“When partners come together to combine resources and contacts, they create a stronger force and set the stage for a collaborative journey marked by shared success,” said Indiana NRCS conservationist Damarys Mortenson. “The Tri-State RCPP partnership is heightening the efforts already being done in the Western Lake Erie Basin, helping to deliver conservation at a scale never before achieved in the watershed.”