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Local water plan grants awardedThe Chisago County Water Plan Policy Team is pleased to announce the award of two grants under its annual program that recognizes local projects that protect the countyís water quality. The first grant in the amount of $2,000 was awarded to the Chisago Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to assist with continuation of the promotion, sign up and assistance to landowners by SWCD staff to establish Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (CCRP) practices which include riparian buffers, filter strips, grassed waterways, field and farmstead shelterbelts and the new farmland wetland program. Other conservation practices such as Reinvest in Minnesota will also be promoted as conservation options for landowners. The intent of the CCRP program is to reduce soil erosion and increase the water quality of these areas by using native grass and other vegetation. The second grant in the amount of $3,000 was awarded to Geographic Information Specialist Sean Vaughn of Rush City to continue a project that will digitize the ditches and streams identified and delineated by the Chisago County Drained Wetland Inventory Project in several townships. The project to digitize these delineated drained wetlands and streams is the next step to modernize previous existing data and bring it into a Geographic Information System. Townships included in this project will include Franconia, Shafer, North Chisago Lake and North Branch. The Chisago County local grant program is offered annually to eligible applicants if their proposed project meets the goals, objectives and action items of the local water plan. For more information on this program, call Water Plan Coordinator Mary Darragh Schmitz at 651-213-0270. ©ECM Post Review |