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Director details Spirit Fund's growth, dashboard and soil-health results
Summary
The director presented an annual Spirit Fund report and dashboard showing increased enrollments and payouts for no-till and cover crops in 2025, program allocations for structural, soil-health and buffer components, and tracked pollutant reduction estimates.
The Land and Water Conservation Department director reported to the committee on the Spirit Fund's 2025 activity, citing increased enrollments, a new internal dashboard and specific program allocations
Director Chad told the committee that the Spirit Fund has three primary components: structural practices (about $1.9 million allocated), soil-health contracts (about $830,000 allocated) and buffer programs (about $300,000). He reported acreage and payments for 2025: 463 acres of no-till practices and 969 acres of cover crops recorded, with about $70,000 paid out for soil-health contracts in 2025. Cumulative annual payouts shown on the dashboard were roughly $6,500 (2023), $184,000 (2024) and $516,000 (2025), with an additional $171,000 in active contracts.
Chad demonstrated a tracking dashboard (not yet publicly posted) that staff said will allow the department to report pollutant reductions; the presentation included department'calculated estimates of roughly 2,252 pounds of phosphorus and about 1,232 tons of sediment annually avoided by funded practices so far.
The director also flagged how Spirit Fund seed dollars have leveraged other funding, citing North American Wetland Conservation Act support and other matches that expanded projects such as large break-wall installations. Staff said the Spirit Fund is being used as local match to attract state and federal grants.
Chad briefly noted a USDA announcement of a nationwide regenerative-agriculture pilot committing $700,000,000 through EQIP and CSP, and said allocation details for the county are not yet available.
Committee members asked about the fund's longevity, noting current spending rates could exhaust funds earlier than a previously projected 10- to 15-year horizon. Staff and members discussed options to prioritize projects, adjust program emphasis and seek additional matching funds to sustain longer-term activity.
Next steps: staff will break out detailed budget proposals at the February committee meeting and return with recommendations for prioritizing projects if funding pressure continues.
