Free workshop offers landowners an incentive to plant trees

Landowners can learn the benefits of planting a riparian forest buffer along their streams at a free workshop scheduled for 12:00 pm, Tuesday, Dec. 13, in the upstairs Council Chambers of City Hall, 22 West Ohio, Butler. The two-hour workshop will provide training and information about tree plantings, managing riparian corridors, and assisting with water quality efforts.

The workshop will also provide information about a cost-share practice available to help offset up to 75 percent of the expense of installing well-designed riparian corridors. An additional $1200 per acre is available to give landowners an incentive to help protect local streams from pollutants carried in runoff from pastures and crop fields.

This is a good time to understand the benefits of planting trees along a stream corridor. Late fall offers enough time to work and prepare the ground for easier tree planting in spring, and winter months allow time to plan and create a riparian corridor design that meets the landowner’s objectives and serves a water quality benefit.

The Osage Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council is partnering with the Missouri Department of Conservation to conduct this workshop. It is part of the Council’s effort to support the Mound Branch Evaluation and Restoration Project, which works with local residents to improve water quality in the Butler area by installing practices to reduce nonpoint source pollution and protect and improve water quality.

Please register with Osage Valley RC&D by calling 660-679-4332 or emailing moneill@osagevalleyrcd.com. To learn more about the Mound Branch project and other cost-share practices, visit www.osagevalleyrcd.com.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has provided partial funding for the Mound Branch project under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act.

Osage Valley RC&D is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the sustainable and responsible use of available resources to enhance the quality of life in West Central Missouri.

See the seminar flyer by clicking here.