The mission of the West Virginia Conservation Agency is to preserve West Virginia’s natural resources by working with partners to promote soil and water conservation.
Our History
In the early 1930’s, the nation was experiencing an unparalleled ecological disaster known as the Dust Bowl. Following a severe and sustained drought in the Great Plains, the region’s soil began to erode and blow away. This created enormous black dust storms that blotted out the sun and swallowed the countryside. Thousands known as “dust refugees” fled the area to seek better lives. On Capitol Hill, while testifying about the erosion problem, soil scientist Hugh Hammond Bennett threw back the curtains to reveal a sky blackened by dust. Bennett’s testimony moved Congress to unanimously pass legislation declaring soil and water conservation a national policy and priority. Bennett would found and head the Soil Conservation Service, now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Since about three-fourths of the continental United States is privately owned, Congress realized that only active, voluntary support from landowners would guarantee the success of conservation work on private land. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote the governors of all the states recommending legislation that would allow local landowners to form soil conservation districts. West Virginia’s Soil Conservation Committee was created in 1939. Its functions and programs were to conserve soil and retard erosion. By referendum, the first conservation district organized in West Virginia was the West Fork Conservation District on February 2, 1940. The Eastern Panhandle and Greenbrier Valley Conservation Districts followed on February 3, 1940. Today, West Virginia has 14 Conservation Districts, each consisting of one to six counties. In 2002, the state Legislature changed the name of the “Soil Conservation Committee” to “State Conservation Committee” to show that the committee’s responsibilities went beyond soil to all natural resources such as air and water. The State Conservation Committee serves as the governing body of the WVCA.
Our Programs
Lime Incentive Program
The West Virginia Lime Incentive Program provides up to a 50 percent cost-share reimbursement to eligible farmers for the purchase of agricultural lime to improve their grasslands.
Eligibility Requirements:
1. Applicant must be a landowner/operator and must
sign-up to be a Conservation District Cooperator.
2. Apply this practice to land that needs maintenance,
improvement or protection. This will be with the
recommendation of the State Technical Committee.
3. Land must be established in permanent grasses
and/or legumes.
4. Land must be used for agricultural purposes.
5. A current soil test must be filed with the
Conservation District. The test is current if it has been
taken within three years. Soil test must be completed
through a certified lab.
6. The requirement for application will be determined
by the certified test sample.
7. Land shall not have been planted in an annual row
crop for a minimum of five years prior to the practice
application.
8. If the field which the practice is being requested is
under contract for cost-share under another program for
lime, that field is ineligible for the West Virginia Lime
Incentive Program.
For additional information, please contact your local conservation district office.
Agriculture Enhancement Program
The Agriculture Enhancement Program (AEP) is a pilot program administered by the West Virginia Conservation Agency through conservation districts. The goal of the program is to increase farm productivity by conserving soil, making wise use of agricultural resources and improving water quality in the state’s streams and rivers. The program offers technical and cost-share assistance to landowners as an incentive to implement selected best management practices. Currently, the AEP is only offered in the Eastern Panhandle Conservation District, Greenbrier Valley Conservation District, Northern Panhandle Conservation District, Monongahela Conservation District and the Potomac Valley Conservation District.
Contact your local conservation district office for more information on the AEP.
Emergency Watershed Protection
Emergency Watershed Protection is only used during a State or Federal Emergency Declaration in response to a sudden disaster. This program is only used for the removal of blockages causing a 75 percent obstruction to stream flow and not for maintenance issues such as removing trash, raising banks, dikes or dredging.
Stream Protection & Restoration Program
The Stream Protection and Restoration Program (SPRP) is used to cover non-emergency situations that fall outside of the Emergency Watershed Protection program. The West Virginia Conservation Agency categorizes SPRP projects into two areas: blockage removal from Legislative or Citizen Contact Reports; and planned projects using Natural Stream Restoration designs. For more information on the SPRP, please contact your local conservation district office.
Landowner Stream Access Permit Program
The Landowner Stream Access Permit Program (LSAPP) is a permit process designed to provide landowners the opportunity to complete certain types of stream projects with technical assistance from the West Virginia Conservation Agency (WVCA). By cooperating with the WVCA, the permit application process is streamlined and the landowner is given expert technical advice regarding their proposed stream activities, which may include a project design if necessary.
Eligible Activities Include:
1. Excavation
2. Streambank stabilization
3. Debris removal
4. Channel restoration
5. Maintenance
For more information on the LSAPP, please contact your local conservation district office.
Non-Point Source Program
The West Virginia Conservation Agency is responsible for West Virginia’s Agriculture and Construction components of the Clean Water Act Section 319 Non-Point Source Program. In addition, the WVCA is responsible for coordinating and implementing water quality improvement projects with the 14 conservation districts.
For more information on the Non-Point Source Program please visit the Watershed Resource Center website.
Watershed Dams
The West Virginia Conservation Agency is responsible for the inspection and Operation and Maintenance of 170 watershed dam’s and 22 channels throughout West Virginia. The WVCA is also responsible for the rehabilitation of the state’s aging watershed dams.
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