Knox-Lincoln, Kennebec and Waldo Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), in cooperation with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) field offices in Belfast and Augusta, will host virtual meetings of the Knox-Waldo and Kennebec-Lincoln Local Working Groups (LWGs). Taking into account local resource concerns, these Local Working Groups make recommendations to NRCS on how to spend USDA Farm Bill funds for conservation practices on private lands. This year’s meetings will be held via Zoom as follows: Knox-Waldo will meet on Wednesday, Jan. 5 from 10 a.m. to noon; Kennebec-Lincoln will meet on Thursday, Jan. 6 from 10 a.m. to noon.

If you are an agricultural producer; forester, logger or private woodland owner; member of an environmental or watershed organization or land trust; knowledgeable in soil, water, plant, wetland or wildlife sciences; and/or are familiar with agricultural and natural resource concerns in Knox or Waldo counties, we invite you to attend this meeting to help: 1) identify and prioritize local conservation concerns; and 2) recommend how local funds for USDA Environmental Quality Incentive Programs (EQIP) will be distributed by NRCS to alleviate problems.

Meetings may be attended online or by phone. To attend either of these meetings, please contact your local soil & water conservation district for the meeting link: Knox-Lincoln: Julie at 596-2040, julie@knox-lincoln.org; Waldo: Medea, 207.218.5311, msteinman@maineconservationdistricts.com; or Kennebec: Dale at 621-9000, dfinseth@kcswcd.org. If you are unable to attend, you may send comments to your local soil & water conservation district. FMI about LWGs, please visit https://www.knox-lincoln.org/local-working-group.at