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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-03-02, Page 3Wednesday, March 2, 2016 • Huron Expositor 3 Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority plans to hit a huge' milestone Shaun Gregory Huron Expositor After celebrating a dec- ade of providing the county with clean water only two months ago, Ausable Bayfield Conser- vation Authority has plans to hit another milestone. The Huron County Clean Water Project is currently responsible for the completion of 1800 - plus projects, a calculated proposal that has been funded by the county and partnered with Maitland Valley Conservation Authority. Their immedi- ate plans are to raise that number to 2000. To date, Huron County as a whole is responsible for $8 mil- lion of the completed water quality undertak- ings with roughly one quarter of that coming from the HCCWP grants. All property owners in Huron County are entitled to apply for grants through the Huron County Clean Water Project. The envi- ronmental project pro- vides grants to land own- ers to help assist in alterations on their prop- erty to improve the quality of water. The voluntary task is accountable for the planting of: • Roughly 160 hectares of trees. • Fencing cattle out of 40 km of streams. • Planting more than 100 km of windbreaks. • About 75 liquid manure For every dollar invested by the county, another three and a half dollars' worth of work gets done thanks to the additional contributions of landowners and other funding programs," stated Ben Van Diepenbeek, chairman of the project's review committee in a two-page press release. storages decommissioned. • The completion of eight - forest management plans. • Upgraded more than 300 private wells. .Accomplishing more than 140 erosion control projects and decommis- sioning more than 400 unused wells. Ben Van Diepenbeek, chairman of the project's review committee has acknowledged the two authorities for their more than 10 years of success and also conveyed grati- tude to county council, ratepayers, rural landown- ers and individual farmers. Van Diepenbeek notices these efforts from the above persons and groups and he said the funds being put forth are multi- plying greatly in the favor of the HCCWP. "For every dollar invested by the county, another three and a half dollars' worth of work gets done thanks to the additional contributions of landowners and other funding programs," stated Van Diepenbeek in a two- page press release. Kate Monk the Steward- ship, Land and Education manager at Ausable Bay- field Conservation said since Seaforth intertwines with the Bayfield River, the town's coordinates are at times on the to-do list for water treatment. However, she stated the county has projects all over the coun- tryside and they presently complete approximately 200 of these projects a year. "This year we will have completed 2000 projects (in total), it's huge," said Monk on February 24. "The reason it's lasted is because the land owners are interested, if they were not interested, we wouldn't have a program." The primary goal for this project is to keep farming soil out of the water and on INDIAN RIVER DIRECT CITRUS TRUCKLOAD SALE SEAFOR!H Mon., March 7th - 3:OOpm-4:OOpm Seaforth Agricultural Society �20LB BOX OF FLORIDA SEEDLESS NAVEL ORANGES AOR RUBY RED GRAPEFRUITS = $2.00 PER POUND www.indianriverdirect.com Contributed photo Stuart Steckle, owner of Staholme Farms and Black Ovation Purebred Angus on Bronson Line stands near some planted trees. According to the Zurich area Angus beef farmer, programs similar to the Huron County Clean Water Project help make it possible to do new projects,. "It gets you started," he said. "It lowers the cost and it makes it more affordable." to the fields at all costs. To achieve this they plant rows of trees to create windbreaks along farmers' property lines where the crops are growing. "When we plant wind- breaks along fields that reduces the travel of soils," stated Monk. "We also plant trees along streams and rivers and that pro- tects the river banks from eroding." If you have a farm or own land and are inter- ested there are no qualifi- cation workshops or courses required to put forward an application and receive grant funding. Financial support to land- owners can sometimes be combined with other cost - share programs, when other programs are available. OFFICE HOURS The Office Hours for The Seaforth Huron Expositor are as follows Mondays - 9am - 5pm Tuesdays - CLOSED Wednesdays - 9am - 5pm Thursdays - 9am - 5pm Fridays - 8am - 4pm firm Expositor 8 Main Street, Seaforth ON PH: 519-527-02401www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com