Conservation Partnership, Landowners Set New Record

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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Conservation Partnership is sharing its 2020 soil health and water quality accomplishments. The ICP, which works with Hoosier landowners to provide technical or financial assistance for conservation projects, says landowners implemented more than 32,000 new conservation practices in 2020.
The ICP says the number of conservation practices installed in 2020 set a new state record.
“Soil is one of our world’s most crucial natural resources. We must do everything we can to keep our waterways clean and our soils healthy,” said Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch, Secretary of Agriculture for the State of Indiana. “It is amazing to see all the work these organizations do and the amount of sediment reduced by these programs. Hoosier landowners are truly going above and beyond to set new state records and enhance our environment.”
The ICP report found that landowners helped prevent more than one million tons of sediment, 2.2 million pounds of nitrogen and 1.1 million pounds of phosphorus from entering Indiana waterways.
“Even with all of the challenges we have faced this year, our conservation family pulled together and fulfilled our mission of exemplary conservation service to Indiana’s farmers and forest stewards,” said Indiana Natural Resources Conservation Service State Conservationist Jerry Raynor. “The work we accomplished this year is a direct result of our dedicated staff, their commitment to our natural resources and the support they provide our landowners. The Indiana Conservation Partnership has worked together to meet new challenges, making sure that Indiana continues to be one of the top states for conservation.”
Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler says partnerships are important for the state’s success.
“Indiana is leading the charge in soil conservation thanks to the critical participation of farmers and landowners alongside these groups who share the common goal of promoting conservation,” Kettler said. “The Indiana Conservation Partnership’s work is helping reduce runoff and enrich our soils with nutrients to safeguard our state’s most essential natural resource and ensure our state’s agricultural land remains productive for many generations to come.”
The ICP says this illustrates the continued success and challenges of conservation and serves as a tool to help set watershed priorities and reduction targets, manage conservation resources and further stakeholder involvement across Indiana.