The Missouri Soil and Water Districts Commission is charged with allocating cost-share appropriations to the 114 districts throughout the state based upon each district’s need. In order to do this more judiciously, the commission is requesting that each district perform a multi-year needs assessment of their county. Starting next year, the distribution of cost-share by the commission will be partly based on this assessment. Natural resource concerns will be at the heart of a comprehensive report reflecting district needs for cost-share assistance.
During the needs assessment process which will begin this fall, boards and staff will break down the resource needs of each district based on 11 main concerns including:
Sheet and rill erosion
Gully erosion
Grazing management
Woodland erosion
Sensitive areas
Irrigation management
Animal waste management
Nutrient management
Pest management
Groundwater protection
Stream bank erosion
In order to determine which soil erosion and water quality concerns are priorities and what level of funding to allocate to each, districts will use a variety of methods including Missouri county profiles, cost-share usage records, landowner surveys and informational meetings. The findings will be reviewed and presented to the commission next year where a decision will be made on how best to allocate available cost-share dollars to districts for the fiscal year. The Clay County Soil and Water Conservation District fiscal year runs July 1st - June 30th. If you have any questions, please call the office at (816) - 781 - 5580 Ext 3, and ask to speak with Reegan.