CAMDEN — Knox County and Waldo County Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) field office in Belfast, will host an in-person meeting of the Knox-Waldo Local Working Group (LWG) in Camden in early December.

LWG meetings take place annually around Maine in late fall or early winter. Their purpose is to gather recommendations from local communities about resource conservation priorities. Local Working Groups are Sub-Committees of the State Technical Committee. That body meets quarterly to provide information and recommendations to the NRCS State Conservationist and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials charged with implementing conservation practices under the USDA Farm Bill.

SWCDs coordinate the meetings, which are facilitated by the local NRCS office. This non-regulatory process operates on the principle that community stakeholders are best suited to identify local resource needs.

NRCS is a non-regulatory agency under the USDA Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) division. It was formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), which was created in 1935 in response to the devastation caused during the Dust Bowl era. NRCS staff help landowners develop conservation plans and offer voluntary conservation programs that can increase soil health and fertility, reduce erosion, improve animal habitat and diversity, and ensure farm and forestland for future generations of Mainers. They provide cost-share funding for these voluntary conservation programs. Farmers and forest owners are encouraged to seek out their local NRCS office to discuss programs and cost- share options for practices they are already using or that they plan on implementing. Common practices include high tunnels, agricultural waste facilities, cover cropping, and
forestry management.

Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) are also non-regulatory. They were created soon after the SCS to act as locally-based service providers and advise farmers in using best-management practices. They are tax-exempt units of local government that provide leadership in response to local natural resource needs. Those needs have evolved over time to cover a wide range of topics. SWCDs develop and implement technical and educational programming related to concerns such as curbing invasive species, promoting pollinators, managing land to reduce soil erosion or enhance wildlife habitat, and improving lake water quality. SWCDs can work with towns or small private landowners, and partner with NRCS on various efforts, including LWG.

LWG meetings are attended by local representatives of a wide range of groups, including natural resource agencies, agriculture groups (e.g., potatoes, dairy, etc.), fish and wildlife organizations both public and private, other environmental groups (e.g., Coastal Mountains Land Trust, Maine Department of Environmental Protection), University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Tribal, State, or local government. All such interested individuals working in Knox or Waldo counties are invited to attend.

The meeting will be held in person on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, from 1 - 4 p.m., in Camden. It will begin with an informational pre-session. SWCD and NRCS staff will describe what they do and will explain the process for accessing Farm Service Agency (FSA)/NRCS services.

“If you’re unfamiliar with these services, and the purpose of LWG, you are highly encouraged to arrive at 1 p.m.” said SWCD, in a news release. “The formal LWG meeting will begin at 2 p.m., and, if you choose not to participate in the funding allocation discussion, feel free to leave at that time.”

Registration is required to provide participants with important materials in advance.

For further information about LWG or NRCS services, and to RSVP for attendance, you may contact Medea Steinman at 218-5311, msteinman@maineconservationdistricts.com. If you are unable to attend, you may email comments to that address. You can also find more information at the Waldo County Soil & Water Conservation District website: https://waldocountysoilandwater.org/local-working-group.