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If you don’t farm your land, but live in the rural areas of Scott County, there are a number of conservation efforts you can undertake to protect and preserve your land for future generations. Stopping soil erosion and improving water quality are common goals among all residents. If you have small acreage, perhaps a hobby farm with a few animals, one of the following practices may be of interest to you. We offer both technical and financial assistance to qualifying landowners.
The University of Minnesota Extension Service is also an excellent resource to landowners who want to raise small numbers
of livestock or poultry.
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Funding conservation |
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Click here to learn about possibly funding opportunities through the Scott Watershed Management Organization. Depending on where you live in Scott County, Prior Lake/Spring Lake Watershed District, the Vermillion River Watershed District and the Lower MN Watershed District also have some cost-share assistance programs. |
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Improving livestock facilities and septic systems |
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Low-interest loans are available to farmers and landowners in Scott County to bring their livestock-holding facilities and septic systems into conformance with water quality standards. |
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Restoring a wetland |
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The Scott SWCD provides a variety of ways to solve erosion-control problems and help landowners pay for these solutions too. The staff designs these solutions, and cost-sharing funds and/or low-interest loans are available to assist in construction costs. |
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Providing food and nesting areas for wildlife |
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In cooperation with the Scott County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, Scott SWCD provides free corn and sorghum see to Scott County landowners who wish to provide food and cover plots for wildlife. |
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Installing a lving snow fence |
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A living snow fence is a designed planting of trees and/or shrubs and native grasses along roads and around communities and farmsteads. Properly designed and placed, these living barriers trap snow as it blows across fields, piling it up before it reaches roads, railroads, farmsteads or communities. |
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Planting native grasses |
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Scott SWCD can provide up to 75 percent cost-share assistance to landowners for native prairie establishment. Seedlings must be planted and installed in accordance with the Natural Resources Conservation Service's technical standards and specifications, and the landowner must maintain the native prairie cover for a minimum of 15 years. |
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Renting no-till equipment |
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Landowners and residents of Scott County may rent no-fill and grass seeding equipment for use on lands in Scott County. Benefits include less need for cultivation, fewer passes through the field improved soil quality and higher yields. |
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Restoring wildlife areas |
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Wetlands that have been artificially drained are eligible for this program. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service restores the wetland at no cost to the landowner who then agrees to maintain the restoration for a period of 10 years. |
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Improving water quality |
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The Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Reserve Program strives to protect and improve water quality by encouraging landowners to retire environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production. The program reimburses landowners for enrolling their land in a permanent conservation easement and then provides assistance to restore the area to grass, trees or wetlands. |
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Enhancing wildlife habitat |
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The State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) initiative is designed to address state and regional high-priority wildlife objectives under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). |
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Planting trees and shrubs |
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Scott SWCD annually offers thousands of transplant and seedling trees for purchase by county landowners. These trees are inexpensive and are of the finest stock from wholesale nurseries. |
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Controlling erosion |
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Individuals and business who are developing land must follow laws and regulations that govern development in the County. They must strive to protect and/or preserve the natural resources to the fullest extent when land-use changes are proposed. |
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Establishing a windbreak |
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Windbreak/shelterbelt plantings establish and maintain tree and shrub cover to protect soil and water resources on land retired from agricultural production. They provide for wildlife benefits, protect from wind and manage snow deposition. |
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