Crawford County, land management strong!
While most counties in the Driftless Area have Parks and Recreation Departments, Crawford County is a little bit different. Located along the Eastern shores of the Mississippi, South of LaCrosse County, Crawford County does not have per se a Parks and Recreation department. Those functions are overseen by the county’s Land Conservation Planning and Zoning Department (LCPZD).
Crawford County Conservationist Dave Troester said, almost three years ago the county had different sectors that had merged into one department. “We are in charge of shoreline zoning, wetland zoning, floodplain zoning, which with the Mississippi River, the Wisconsin River, and the Kickapoo River here in the county and countless other streams, we have a significant workload there, especially with the Mississippi. The development seems to be hot around the Mississippi River. The other aspect of that is the septic systems and the sanitation side of things. We administer the Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment System (POWTS). That has gone through quite a bit of changes and has created a significant workload that we are essentially trying to make sure our residents have high-end systems that are functioning to best protect our natural resources, our ground water. It’s been a learning curve because there are new standards that the state is mandating. It’s a hot topic in Crawford County.”
The Land Conservation Planning and Zoning Department handles all things environmental in the county and finds their primary sector of people they work with as agricultural producers. “We do a lot of on-farm technical work, helping to survey, design, and then oversee construction of conservation projects such as building an erosion control structure like a dam, stream bank restorations, and grassed waterways,” said Troester. Their work with agriculturists can be as simple as guiding farmers’ laying out contour strips in their fields. “Maybe somewhere where someone has been farming solid corn from the edge of the woods, up the hill, all the way to the other side, and now they want to do some strip cropping. We would help them get those laid out on the contour.”
Troester shared that one of the department’s primary objectives is to be partners with their producers to protect natural resources, while doing it in a way that’s not too big a burden on them financially. Acknowledging right now is a very tough time for Wisconsin farmers in general, he said it’s good to have a partnership where they feel they (farmers) can come to a government agency and work with the department in order to achieve the results that they want.
Working closely with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), the department administers NR-151, which is essentially agricultural runoff, protecting water, and making sure farms are following state standards.
The Land Conservation Planning and Zoning Department also addresses any issues related to forestry, private land forestry, and invasive species control. Admitting they do some of their own projects, Troester stressed that they are more of an outreach of resources for people who might need to know what a plant that is growing all over their wood lot is, and how to control it.
“We work with them (WDNR) especially with forestry issues. We have WDNR foresters that handle the bulk of the forestry work in the county. We don’t have any county foresters on staff as some other counties may, especially if they have their own county forest,” Troester said. The department is a liaison connecting residents to various foresters and the different aspects of forestry that they may might handle. “We work with them on invasive species control and land management. There is a lot of WDNR land in the county. If they have work days or are doing a prescribed burn, we may go and assist them, because we know the importance of protecting our natural ecosystems.”
The county’s work with the WDNR is not limited to forestry though. Troester said the LCPZD works alongside other WDNR programs such as the County Conservation Aid Grant, a grant that allocates funding to counties for extending wildlife habitat projects and trail maintenance.
Likewise, the county allocates funds to the city of Prairie du Chien’s nature park, making it possible to do trail maintenance or signage. In addition, the county has put some of that money into constructing canoe landings on the Kickapoo River.
Crop damage from various wildlife is always an issue and Troester said working with the DNR’s Wildlife Damage Program is an important focus of the department as well. “If producers are having their crops damaged by deer, turkey, or bear (which is rare in Crawford County), we funnel the funding from the state to get them reimbursed if they are in the program. We work with the WDNR on the snowmobile trail maintenance. We have two clubs in the county that actually do the maintenance, but we funnel that funding to reimburse them for their time and expenses.” He added that the department administers and promotes the trails, whether they are open or closed. “We put it out there for the public and serve as that point of contact. I’m sure there are other things that we do with the WDNR. They are definitely one of our big partners,” said Troester.
When asked what the biggest challenge his department faces, he said, “I think one of the biggest challenges, probably for most conservation departments in the state, is the lack of funding to further and better protect our resources. I think we are tipping in the right direction on public awareness and knowledge of the importance of having a healthy environment and clean drinking water. With the new governor coming in last year stating, ‘it was the year of clean drinking water’, opened a lot of eyes, and there is a momentum building. That’s great, and that’s important, but we are limited to the staff that we have and the number of projects we can do, funding those staff people, and getting funding from the state to cost share on these projects. There is always work to be done, it’s just the work being done and having funding available to do it.”
Crawford County has very limited land that the county owns consisting of a couple roadside parks and a little picnic area of sorts, which Troester said are nice, noting the county just doesn’t have any large-scale properties where you can go hiking. He feels Crawford is blessed with a wide array of different public lands, whether that is owned by the DNR, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Mississippi Valley Conservancy who does land conservation on some properties in the county. “There is no shortage of public land where people can get out on the landscape and enjoy the scenic beauty and hopefully strengthen that bond with our natural resources.”
Having a local office in the county, Troester said they are often a place people go if they are looking for a place to go out and enjoy the county, especially areas they can hunt. “They will come to us and we will redirect them to DNR websites here, print maps off for them of different properties, and help connect them. We are kind of an outreach venue where we can promote these public lands, help people find them, know boundaries, and explain rules to them,” said Troester.
One project that Crawford County has just been working on in the last six months is a tri-county project in conjunction Richland and Vernon Counties known as the Driftless Area Water Study (DAWS). Essentially, DAWS is a well-testing project that is attempting to field enough samples that will provide data to assess the ground water. The goal is ultimately to see where the counties are higher or lower in contamination in order to get baselines set. Troester acknowledged through this study, awareness will be raised on the importance for private land owners with private wells to continue testing at annual intervals suggested. “That is not happening, so we are hoping that doing this will open some eyes so people will start taking that precaution keeping their drinking water safe,” Troester said.
With all types of studies, money is of course a factor. “We are looking for funding in this first year to help offset the cost of the sampling part of this project. We are going to sample 100 wells in May. Richland County is doing 100 and Vernon County is doing 200. I think each county is different, but in Crawford County we picture that we are going to do these randomly selected throughout the county so we get a randomized data set. We will be doing it at no cost at this time to the land owner, as an incentive for them to participate. That’s something pretty big we are working on right now,” he said.
One highlight for Crawford County that has received a lot of attention, that is kind of unique to the region, is Crawford County’s Aerial Crop Seeding project that began six years ago. Troester shared, “What we have been doing is working with the county US Dept of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service office to get producers signed up into the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The program got funding for farmers to put cover crops on their land. What we did, what we thought was unique especially here in the driftless area, was pool all of these farms throughout the county together. Then, we bid it out as a project to some aerial seeding companies, and had a company come through to spread the cover seed onto standing crops in late August and early September, although it can vary from year to year.”
This type of seeding does have its advantages over traditional seeding. The major advantage of aerial seeding is the efficient coverage of a large area in the least amount of time. Aerial seeding also facilitates seeding in areas that otherwise would be impossible to seed with traditional methods, such as land that is too hard to reach by non-aircraft or ground conditions being far too wet. In all, EQIP is a soil health initiative to protect the soil, keep it in place, build organic matter, and keep the nutrients near the surface where it is available for future crops. “We look at it as a win-win for the producers, that benefits everybody by keeping that soil there and keeping our waters clean,” he said.
What started as a 1700-acre project with 10 different farmers, eventually grew to upwards of 4000-acres the last year aerial seeding was facilitated by the county and the Department of Agriculture. “What we’ve actually done now is hand the reigns of this project off to the private sector- a seed dealer/ agronomist, Black Sand Granary, LLC. They handle the project now and work with the farmers to sign them up, map it, and get the seed flown on. It has to be close to 10,000 acres by this summer. Dropping cover cropping seeds onto standing crops isn’t new, but its typically done in Southern-Eastern Wisconsin where the fields are big and rectangular. Having the project here in the driftless area with our smaller ridgetop fields that are amoeba shaped is a different game. We feel it worked out pretty well.”
Troester’s department is quite active with the county’s communities and highlighted a couple of events they hold annually. One event, held in September, is a Conservation Day where the department invites all of the schools in the county to send about 250 students, typically in 5th or 6th grade that come to the Sugar Creek Bible Camp in Ferryville, Wisconsin. “We have speakers lined up to present topics such as forestry. We have the WDNR come do fish shocking and show the kids how that process works. We talk about the fisheries in this area, especially trout, and the importance of having clean surface waters. We talk about soil health as well. It’s a great day!” said Troester.
The department receives a lot of donations, so they are able to provide the kids treats, like ice cream cups and other goodies. “Strengthening that bond to get people connected to the outdoors is one of our major goals. Working with the youth is a no-brainer. It’s essential to building residents and perhaps future leaders of this area, giving them that natural resource awareness,” he said.
Another important event Troester highlighted, is the county’s Clean Sweep. Held annually, Clean Sweep is an opportunity for residents to bring old broken electronics, out of date chemicals, and other hazardous chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, paints, and prescription drugs), for them to be properly disposed of. “It’s little events like that, that take quite a bit of planning. It’s a really big benefit to both our residents and protecting our environment.”
With the Conservation, Planning, and Zoning Department wearing many hats, the future of Crawford County’s natural resources, agriculture, and recreation will continue to thrive for generations to come.
Photos contributed by the Crawford County Land Conservation Planning and Zoning Department.
