Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission reports high district satisfaction, details Waukapa and CREP spending

Loretta Strickland, acting administrator and agricultural program manager for the Idaho Soil and Water Conservation Commission, presented the commission’s fiscal year 2024 annual and performance report to the House Agriculture Affairs Committee on Feb. 14 in Boise. The report summarized revenue and expense totals, district‑level support, and demand for the Waukapa cost‑share program.

The commission reported total annual revenues of about $3,950,000 and expenditures of just over $7,900,000 in FY2024, Strickland said. She told the committee that $1,580,000 appropriated for distribution to the state’s 50 conservation districts “was disbursed per statute and rule.” She said that the first $725,000 was distributed equally among the 50 districts (about $14,500 each) and that the remaining match funds were allocated proportionately under IDAPA rules. Strickland said the median match allocation was $13,834 and that the ratio of match to local support was 1.49-to-1, “just $297,000 short of the 2-to-1 maximum allowed under statute.”

The report lists four core agency functions: district support and services, comprehensive conservation services, fiscal administration, and outreach. Strickland said staff assisted 1,031 landowners, recorded nearly 12,000 hours of commission staff…