The Ottawa Soil & Water Conservation District staff was recently recognized by Director Dorothy Pelanda of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, for their conservation efforts in the Western Lake Erie Basin. Ottawa SWCD received an award for contracting more acres into the Ohio Working Lands Buffer Program than any of the other eligible 24 counties.

The Ohio Working Lands Buffer Program encourages producers in the WLEB Watershed to establish year round vegetative cover on eligible cropland. As the name implies “Working Lands Buffers” acts as a buffer on cropland and provides another line of defense to filter surface water while allowing participants to harvest forage from established areas and removing the nutrient phosphorus.

Ottawa SWCD Technician Jarred Molesky led the project and signed up 35 producers and almost 900 acres in Ottawa County. Moleskin traveled to Findlay to accept the award and learn more about the upcoming H2Ohio programs.
Ottawa County farmers have been conservation leaders and continue to make great efforts in protecting Lake Erie Water Quality.