Fish Creek 319 Grant

 

Hello, Fish Creek stakeholders and partners!

The Owen County Soil & Water Conservation District recently acquired a 319 grant for a 2-year Planning project in the Fish Creek Watershed. A Public Kick-Off Meeting, giving an overview of the project was April 19th. More meetings will be offered. In the meantime, we invite any who lives, works, farms, governs, recreates, or volunteers in this area and who has an interest in improving water quality to join the Advisory Committee! Just contact the Owen County SWCD.

The 319 Grant will focus on assessing water quality in the Fish Creek watershed, which drains a very large area (172,729 acres total), encompassing most of Owen County, as well as portions of Greene and Monroe counties. Baseline water monitoring will be conducted on 11 sites throughout the watershed and these results, along with local input, data from past studies in this region (2007 IDEM TMDL E.coli study, 2009 Watershed Management Plan for 3 sub-watersheds within the larger Fish Creek project area – see links below), and other sources will be incorporated into a comprehensive Fish Creek Watershed Management Plan. Once this WMP is approved, it can be used as a guideline for the future implementation of conservation practices in critical areas. This 319 grant brings $114,950 into the region, with a local match/in-kind commitment of $76,633.33 making the total value = $191,583.33. We hope this is only the first installment of several as the Owen County SWCD plans to apply for additional funding to assist eligible landowners with the installation of best management practices that will improve water quality.

CLICK HERE for a map of the Fish Creek watershed project area

CLICK HERE to view the Fish Creek 319 project webpage

CLICK HERE for more information about the 2007 IDEM TMDL study in the Fish Creek watershed (West Fork White River-Owen County Watershed)

CLICK HERE for more information on the 2009 Watershed Management Plan for Little Mill-Mill Creek, Limestone Creek, and Fall Creek watersheds

CLICK HERE to read more about the 319 grant program

Please feel free to spread the word with other individuals or organizations who may be interested!

Thank you!

Laura Demarest

319 Watershed Coordinator

West Central Indiana Watershed Alliance

(812) 564-1162 cell

www.watershed-alliance.org


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