LUCAS SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

The Lucas Soil & Water Conservation District is a subdivision of state government that promotes best management practices of natural resources within Lucas County, Ohio. Whether through a classroom, a rain garden, or a 500-acre farm conservation project -- we're here to help you care for our local soil and water!

Farmer's Corner

Interested in learning more about assistance programs, open bids on land or equipment, or nutrient management information?
Find it here!

Become an Affiliate

Our conservation work depends on our ability to secure grants and voluntary funding from the Lucas County Commissioners, local townships and municipalities, and individual
donors like you.
Want to support the District??
Learn more here!

Get Informed

Check out the latest edition of our bi-annual newsletter, Conservation News! Want the next newsletter sent directly to you? Contact us here to receive a digital or paper copy of Conservation News.

NEWS & EVENTS

Second Sign-up Period for WLEB Assistance Programs

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) announced the second sign-up period for programs in the Western Lake Erie Basin funded by the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 299.

Two programs have been a success so far this year, the Ohio Working Lands Hay Buffer Program and the Ohio Working Lands Small Grains Program. ODA Director Dorothy Pelanda announced that there are funds remaining for a second round of program sign-ups.

For more information on the Hay Buffer and Small Grains program, please visit the Farm Conservation page on our website.

(Photo: NRCS)

Sign-up, or Re-enroll, in Lake Erie CREP!

Grass Filter Strip and Riparian Buffer (Photo: NRCS)

Do you have a ditch or stream running through your farm that needs a filter strip? How about that one area that's hard to farm because it's always wet?

Enrolling in the 2019 USDA Lake Erie Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) offers producers in the western Lake Erie basin cash for conservation practices.

Contact your local SWCD or FSA office to see what your options are -- a $200/acre bonus is available for new filter strips and riparian practices!

Visit our Farm Conservation page for more information.

Grass Carp: Best Management Practices

It is important to know how to manage Grass Carp, or White Amur, in your pond responsibly. Grass Carp are the only species of Asian Carp allowed to be sold in Ohio, and they must be certified as sterile (triploid) so they cannot reproduce.

Grass Carp are used by pond-owners to control aquatic vegetation without the use of herbicides; however, this can prove costly if these fish enter natural waterways where native fish and other wildlife depend on vegetation for food and protection.

If you are interested in purchasing Grass Carp for your pond this spring, please seek a reputable fish dealer who will only distribute sterile Grass Carp. For a list of reputable dealers, contact the ODNR Division of Wildlife at 1-800-WILDLIFE. Soil & Water Conservation Districts that sell Grass Carp through their Fish Sale are also sourced from an approved dealer. To view/download the Fact Sheet, click here.

**The Lucas SWCD no longer offers Grass Carp through our Fish Sales because the species is not native to Ohio and poses a risk of becoming an invasive species that alters native ecosystems.