| FUND: GENERAL |
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT |
CHARLES SEEGER, COUNTY CONSERVATIONIST
The Land Conservation Division of the Planning
and Development Department is responsible for planning, technical, engineering
and educational assistance in the areas of soil erosion and water quality
improvements. Authority for the Division comes from Chapter 92 of the Wisconsin
Statutes, Wisconsin Act 27 and the Administrative Rules set out in ATCP 50,
NR120, 151, 153, 154, 216, and 243, which were enacted because the State
Legislature has determined that the soil resources of this state are being
depleted by wind and water erosion, which are polluting our state waters with
non-point sources of pollution.
This division assists landowners and land
users in protecting and improving our natural resources by promoting and
implementing conservation on the land. Our office provides onsite technical
engineering investigations relating to soil erosion, sedimentation, water
quality and nutrient management to landowners or land users, Planning &
Development, Code Administration and local municipalities.
We administer the State Farmland Preservation
Program, WI- DATCP cost share program, State mandated Land & Water Resource
Management Program, WI-DNR Non-Point Pollution Abatement Program and the State
and Federal Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.
Our staff is also involved in protecting the
County’s natural resources by working with landowners in developing conservation
plans, surveying and designing engineering practices to reduce soil erosion on
farmland. We also conduct onsite reviews for soil erosion and sedimentation
controls for single family residences covered under the county’s shoreland
zoning ordinance.
We provide state cost sharing to landowners
who install conservation practices to reduce soil erosion from entering our
lakes and streams through the Land & Water Resource Program and the Non-Point
Pollution Abatement Watershed projects like the Root River, Muskego/Wind Lakes
and Sugar/Honey Creeks watershed projects.
Our first goal for 2002 was to reduce soil erosion to the allowable rates on 48,000 acres of cropland in Racine County. Our transect survey has met this goal. Our second goal was to meet the goals for the Sugar/Honey Creeks Watershed Program, and we are doing so four years before completion. We have achieved 92% of our upland sediment or soil loss on cropland. Our gully erosion goals are at 51%, and our streambank/shoreland erosion goal has been exceeded by 111%. We have over 2,300 acres of cropland under conservation plans with almost 1,500 acres completely implemented. Our third goal was to publish six newsletters for distribution to over 2,000 landowners, and we are meeting this goal with an average of 2,900 landowners per issue. Our fourth goal was to provide 200 onsite investigations for the P&D and Code Administration for soil erosion control and we have exceeded our goal. Our fifth goal was to sell 45,000 trees and shrubs to landowners through our tree sales program. This year we sold 68,900 trees and shrubs and 10.5 acres of prairie seed and 2.4 acres of wildflower seeds. Our sixth goal was to provide educational materials and/or booths to schools and fairs. We held a conference for rural landowners providing speakers and information/educational materials to over 135 participants. We had a booth at the county fair again this year to provide informational/educational materials about our office and activities. Our seventh goal was to install conservation practices on lands that are eroding over the acceptable levels. We installed thousands of lineal feet of grass waterways and streambank rock rip rap protection and hundreds of acres altogether of wetland restoration, high residue management tillage and conservation buffers under the Conservation Reserve Program. We also properly abandoned 4 old wells to prevent ground water contamination.
