Our Mission: Protect our water and land resources by assisting Rock County landowners with understanding conservation rules and implementing best-management practices.
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Earthwork and Tile Contractors
Tiling or Watercourse Clean-Out Requirements 1) Tiling Application 2) Watercourse cleanout |
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2024 Calendar
Monday, June 17, 2024 8 am - RockSWCD Board Meeting Rock County Land Management Office Click the logo for more info
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CONGRATULATIONS TO ART EHDE AND SCOTT EHDE
2023 ROCK COUNTY OUTSTANDING CONSERVATIONISTS
Art standing near one of the J-Hooks and the riparian buffer.
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Scott Ehde
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The Rock SWCD Board of Supervisors and staff awarded Art and the late Scott Ehde with the 2023 Outstanding Conservationist Award. Art and Scott started farming together in the mid 1990’s and have been nominated for this award for their leadership in sustainable crop management and their commitment to preserve wildlife habitat with multiple conservation practices.
They led the effort in promoting no-till crops in the area by providing custom no-till drilling and no-till planting on 1,700 acres per year to allow farmers to test these conservation methods. With the rising interest in cover crops, 80 acres of their own fields have been enrolled in a three year contract. Currently they utilize no-till to reduce sheet and rill erosion and have committed to installing two Water and Sediment Control Basins in the fall of 2023 to prevent gully erosion on their crop fields.
Working with their agronomist, they utilize best management practices such as grid sampling for nutrient management as well as pest resistant crop varieties and scouting of their crop field to apply pesticides only when needed.
Art and Scott established multiple conservation practices to enhance wildlife habitat. They planted a 10.9 acre Riparian Forest Buffer easement consisting of 5,900 trees along the Rock River and Mound Creek and have enrolled 18.5 acres in SAFE CRP to provide great habitat for deer, pheasants and turkeys along the Rock River. They stabilized two sections of stream bank on the Rock River using engineered J-Hook structures that are also designed to provide habitat for fish. They worked with US Fish and Wildlife to restore several oxbows along the Rock River that provide habitat for the Federally endangered Topeka Shiner as well as other waterfowl. It was through an immense love of hunting and fishing, that Art shared with his son Scott and a grandsons Jonathan and Carson, that he and Scott were inspired to establish these conservation practices.
Art has served his community through their Church Council and Caring Ministries. He was also a member
and helped organize and lead Compassionate Friends fo 6 years. In the course of that time, through the loss of his own daughter Pam, he helped many people in the process of learning to live beside their grief. He saw so many coming in such immense pain, returning because they found a place where others truly understand, and eventually he saw many smile again.
What Art and Scott have done, not only for themselves, provided a means for others to explore different conservation methods in crop management. This service demonstrates their commitment to enhancing and protecting the land. Their efforts to create wildlife habitat including endangered species demonstrates their dedication to conservation efforts to protect and preserve animal existence.
Art and Scott have been prime examples of what it means to love the land and be good stewards of that land through their farming practices and wildlife conservation efforts.
They led the effort in promoting no-till crops in the area by providing custom no-till drilling and no-till planting on 1,700 acres per year to allow farmers to test these conservation methods. With the rising interest in cover crops, 80 acres of their own fields have been enrolled in a three year contract. Currently they utilize no-till to reduce sheet and rill erosion and have committed to installing two Water and Sediment Control Basins in the fall of 2023 to prevent gully erosion on their crop fields.
Working with their agronomist, they utilize best management practices such as grid sampling for nutrient management as well as pest resistant crop varieties and scouting of their crop field to apply pesticides only when needed.
Art and Scott established multiple conservation practices to enhance wildlife habitat. They planted a 10.9 acre Riparian Forest Buffer easement consisting of 5,900 trees along the Rock River and Mound Creek and have enrolled 18.5 acres in SAFE CRP to provide great habitat for deer, pheasants and turkeys along the Rock River. They stabilized two sections of stream bank on the Rock River using engineered J-Hook structures that are also designed to provide habitat for fish. They worked with US Fish and Wildlife to restore several oxbows along the Rock River that provide habitat for the Federally endangered Topeka Shiner as well as other waterfowl. It was through an immense love of hunting and fishing, that Art shared with his son Scott and a grandsons Jonathan and Carson, that he and Scott were inspired to establish these conservation practices.
Art has served his community through their Church Council and Caring Ministries. He was also a member
and helped organize and lead Compassionate Friends fo 6 years. In the course of that time, through the loss of his own daughter Pam, he helped many people in the process of learning to live beside their grief. He saw so many coming in such immense pain, returning because they found a place where others truly understand, and eventually he saw many smile again.
What Art and Scott have done, not only for themselves, provided a means for others to explore different conservation methods in crop management. This service demonstrates their commitment to enhancing and protecting the land. Their efforts to create wildlife habitat including endangered species demonstrates their dedication to conservation efforts to protect and preserve animal existence.
Art and Scott have been prime examples of what it means to love the land and be good stewards of that land through their farming practices and wildlife conservation efforts.
MN CREP
WHAT IS MN CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program)?
MN CREP is a voluntary, federal-state funded natural resource conservation program that uses a science based approach to target environmentally sensitive land in 54 Counties in southern and western Minnesota. This is accomplished through permanent protection by establishing conservation practices via payments to farmers and agricultural land owners.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON:
How it works.
MN CREP Objectives
How the will be restored and protected.
Why enroll now?
Enrollment - Contact the Rock County Land Management Office
WHAT IS MN CREP (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program)?
MN CREP is a voluntary, federal-state funded natural resource conservation program that uses a science based approach to target environmentally sensitive land in 54 Counties in southern and western Minnesota. This is accomplished through permanent protection by establishing conservation practices via payments to farmers and agricultural land owners.
CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON:
How it works.
MN CREP Objectives
How the will be restored and protected.
Why enroll now?
Enrollment - Contact the Rock County Land Management Office
MINNESOTA BUFFER LAW
The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources oversees implementation of the Buffer Law, which requires farmers to have vegetated buffers along cropland that borders ditches, streams, rivers and lakes. In accordance with the MN Board of Soil and Water Resources, Rock SWCD has developed a plan for Buffer Compliance Tracking. Click here for further information.
ROCK SWCD MONITORING PLAN FOR BUFFER COMPLIANCE TRACKING
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Large Energy Wind Conversion Systems
Permitting Process
Minnesota Rules 7854
*Timeline from application acceptance to permit decision is 180 days.
Click here for a flowchart of the process.
Permitting Process
Minnesota Rules 7854
*Timeline from application acceptance to permit decision is 180 days.
Click here for a flowchart of the process.
MN Department of Commerce
Environmental Review of Energy Projects
The Minnesota Department of Commerce Energy Environmental Review and Analysis (EERA) unit conducts environmental review of proposed energy projects including power plants, transmission lines, wind farms, and pipelines. EERA conducts environmental review on behalf of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Commission), and EERA’s environmental review informs the permit decisions made by the Commission.
Click here for the Department of Commerce and further information.
Environmental Review of Energy Projects
The Minnesota Department of Commerce Energy Environmental Review and Analysis (EERA) unit conducts environmental review of proposed energy projects including power plants, transmission lines, wind farms, and pipelines. EERA conducts environmental review on behalf of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Commission), and EERA’s environmental review informs the permit decisions made by the Commission.
Click here for the Department of Commerce and further information.
Guides to Prairie Restoration in Minnesota
Restoring a prairie just got easier.
Many landowners and managers have land that they would like to see covered with native flowers and grasses. But, creating a prairie is hard and often unpredictable work. The techniques and types of seeds planted will vary depending on the current state of the land, how moist or dry the site is, and type of prairie you would like to establish.
To deal with these issues, The Nature Conservancy and the University of Minnesota have developed 20 different restoration guides, each specific to one of five different types of starting conditions, two different moisture levels, and two different intended uses for restored prairie.
Each guide includes recommended techniques, timing and plant species, as well as estimated costs for completing a successful prairie restoration. The guides can be downloaded for free at:
To deal with these issues, The Nature Conservancy and the University of Minnesota have developed 20 different restoration guides, each specific to one of five different types of starting conditions, two different moisture levels, and two different intended uses for restored prairie.
Each guide includes recommended techniques, timing and plant species, as well as estimated costs for completing a successful prairie restoration. The guides can be downloaded for free at: