NOVEMBER 19, 2009 ISSUE
Citizens Meet To Prioritize Natural Resource Needs
A group of 10 citizens met November 18 at the Agricultural Conference Center in Boone to identify the top natural resources needs and concerns in Watauga County.
The input gathered at the meeting will help the Watauga Soil and Water Conservation District and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) assess and prioritize resource concerns on a community level and will help direct technical and financial assistance decisions.
“These meetings are going on all around the state of North Carolina,” said David Tucker, district conservationist for the NRCS district that includes Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany counties.
The group included members of the Soil and Water Conservation board and individuals affiliated with natural resources, Christmas tree farming and land conservation groups.
Their list of natural resources concerns included sediment in streams, water quantity, loss of habit and wildlife fragmentation, loss of farmland and forestland and overdevelopment, trash in streams, stream bank erosion, cropland erosion and conservation covers, public education, loss of farmers, livestock in creeks, buffer strips along streams, nutrient management and soil testing, access road erosion, grazing inefficiency, water quality and municipal waste plants, urban sediment issues and road construction and overpopulation of deer.
After forming the list, Tucker asked the group to rank their top natural resources issues on a sheet of paper. Based on these rankings and ranked lists from Ashe and Alleghany work groups, the NRCS will prioritize a list of resource concerns for the three-county district.
“This information will determine how federal funding comes down,” Tucker said. “We want to solve the biggest problems first.”
The Soil and Water Conservation District and NRCS have numerous conservation practices that can address local resource concerns. For example, fences can be installed to keep cattle out of rivers, and soil erosion from cropland can be mitigated by no-till practices, grassed waterways, field borders and other methods.
“We have the toolbox,” Tucker said, but property owners must apply for assistance with these practices—all of the conservation practices are voluntary. Various state and federal programs allocate funding to the Soil and Water Conservation District and NRCS to assist landowners with conservation practices.
Tucker said the NRCS plans to hold natural resources local input meetings on a yearly basis. For more information, call the Soil and Water Conservation office at 828-264-0842.
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