Land and Water reports 2024 grants, flood‑management projects; ag technician to leave for UW–Madison role

Ashland County Land and Water presented its 2024 annual report to the Land Conservation Committee, outlining grant revenue, conservation projects completed in 2024, and program priorities for 2025.

Director Mary Jo Gingress said the department received roughly $237,000 in grants for conservation work last year and that total grant revenue supporting programs was about $472,658. She described a natural flood‑management project that restored 10 acres of wetlands, protected 51 acres of agricultural land and stabilized 868 linear feet of channel bed, preventing an estimated 193 tons of sediment and reducing roughly 400 pounds of nitrogen and 145 pounds of phosphorus annually from reaching downstream waters.

Seth Hackbarth, civil engineer technician, summarized multiple smaller cost‑share projects — fences, access roads, livestock watering systems, stream crossings and subsurface drains — and said the department models reductions in sediment and nutrient loss for each project. He said a restoration project on the Marengo watershed was 100% grant funded at about $86,000.

Matt Bolin, the county agricultural technician, outlined nutrient‑management work. He said the county wrote or renewed several plans in 2024 and early 2025 and highlighted a single, new nutrient‑management plan that covers about 2,300 acres (a farm spanning Ashland and Bayfield counties). “New into 2025, we have a little over 2,300 acres covered by a nutrient management plan,” Bolin said, and staff said the plan will reduce runoff and improve soil fertility across a large operation.

Bolin also reviewed farm programs: 11 producers enrolled voluntary nutrient‑management plans in 2024 covering about 8,300 acres, farmland preservation compliance checks (every four years) found enrolled farms met state standards, and a wildlife‑damage program paid $21,533 to enrolled farmers last year for claims tied to bear, deer and elk damage.

The department’s aquatic invasive species and outreach work continues. Scott Perro’s Clean Boats, Clean Waters and outreach programs recorded more than 400 boat inspections and more than 900 contacts last season; the department sold about 4,000 trees in its annual tree and shrub sale and ran a poster-and-speaking program for students.

Staff also reported operational details: the department receives non‑competitive DACAP funding for salary and cost‑share dollars (about $144,000 for staff support, roughly $51,000 for cost‑share), and smaller competitive grants fund other programs. Gingress said the county’s well‑testing program subsidizes homeowner well testing (county covers ~50% of a standard ~$120 test), but PFAS testing remains cost‑prohibitive at roughly $500–$600 per sample.

In personnel news, Bolin told the committee he submitted his two‑week notice; his last day is upcoming, and he accepted a nutrient‑management outreach specialist position at University of Wisconsin–Madison. Gingress said the department has grant funding that reimburses the agricultural technician position and plans to post the job to maintain programming.

Committee members praised staff work and asked staff to continue outreach and to ensure continuity in programs, particularly nutrient‑management planning and upcoming grant applications. Gingress said the department applied for two new grants: a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative request (about $289,000) to expand natural flood‑management work and a federal culvert‑improvement application (nearly $400,000) to update culverts in Ashland County.

The report gave the committee a look at programming, grant dependence and staffing needs going into the 2025 field season. Committee members requested continued updates on grant awards and recruitment for the ag‑technician position.