Sandra Cooper of rural Oakland, has been a participant and frequent winner in the local Coles County SWCD photo contest for years. Recently though, her photos have garnered attention at the national level, bringing in awards in the “Conservation Across…
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Biodiversity commonly refers to the distribution and abundance of plant and animal species within an ecosystem (US Forest Service 1989). Biodiversity provisions us with foods and materials, it helps regulate natural phenomena such as the water cycle, it inspires cultures…
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Champaign, IL — State Conservationist, Ivan Dozier announced the submission deadline for Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) applications to be considered for funding in fiscal year (FY) 2021 is May 7, 2021. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) plans to invest up…
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Kenton Macy of Charleston was chosen as Coles County SWCD’s 2020 Conservationist of the Year. Since his retirement from NRCS in 2017, Macy has been volunteering for several local, grass-roots conservation organizations including the Embarras Volunteer Stewards, Grand Prairie Friends,…
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2021 – Agricultural producers and private landowners interested in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) can sign up for the popular program until Feb. 12, 2021. The competitive program, administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provides annual rental payments for…
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To all owners and occupiers of lands lying within the boundaries of Coles County Soil and Water Conservation District: Notice is hereby given that an election will be held on the 4th day of February 2021 from 7:00am to 5:30pm…
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We were initially planning on holding the seminar in-person. Due to the case count in Coles County continuing to rise, the IDNR isn’t allowing the biologists to attend in-person events at this time. It’ll be a live-streamed webinar, so people…
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We received some really great submissions for this year’s local Conservation Photo Contest. Congratulations to this year’s winners: Lauri DeRuiter-Willems, Sandra Cooper, and Annabell Lee! DeRuiter-Willems secured first place in the “Ag/Conservation Across America” category with her submission “Farm &…
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Our office has been getting calls all spring about increased property taxes on timber land in the county and ways to reduce that financial burden. Ensuring that the property has an up-to-date Forestry Management Plan (FMP) is one such method.…
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S.T.A.R. is an exciting program developed by soil and water conservation professionals that offers farm operators and land owners a simple, free, and confidential tool to evaluate their conservation land management practices. The goal of S.T.A.R. is to encourage the…
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