About
The mission of Buchanan Soil & Water Conservation District is to take available technical, financial, and educational resources and administer programs designed to encourage individual responsibility to conserve, improve, and sustain our soil and water resources for future generations.
Buchanan Soil & Water Conservation District Offers free technical assistance to landowners in the county with land management, drainage, wetlands, soils information, best management practices and other land resource problems.
The BSWCD District Commissioners consist of local farmers and landowners who are elected to their position. Every month, the district meets to discuss various issues, including local cost-share budgets, new conservation plans, CRP approvals, and district budgets. The commissioners work in close contact with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship- Division of Soil Conservation and Water Quality (IDALS-DSCWQ) to disperse cost-share funds for various practices. The district is in charge of the list and rules for all state cost-share practices.
The district also approves all CRP contracts within the District for the USDA NRCS. This is another way that the USDA assures the funding they give these projects goes to help conservation resources.
The district, along with the Buchanan Co. FSA committee and other local committees, has set up priorities, cost-share rates, and a ranking system for the EQIP Program. Practices for EQIP range from waterway construction and pasture management to wildlife habitat, wetland restoration, and hoop building for crops.
Every February the Buchanan Soil and Water Conservation District has to do an Annual Report. To view the report, please contact us.
District Commissioners
Sean Dolan | Chairperson
Doug Kaiser | Vice-Chairperson
Tim Halligan | Treasurer
Becky Lindsay | Co-Treasurer
Dale Priebe
Richard Sloan | Assistant Commissioner
Julie Althaus | Conservation Assistant
District Staff
Evan Ronnebaum | District Conservationist | evan.ronnebaum@ia.usda.gov
Jessica Blaire | Soil Conservationist jessica.blair@ia.usda.gov
Julie Althaus | Conservation Assistant | julie.althaus@ia.nacdnet.net
Jim Brown | 780 Hr Technician | JamesM.Brown@ia.nacdnet.net
Candice Williams | Conservation District of Iowa (CDI) Administrative Support Clerk | candice.williams@ia.nacdnet.net
2025 Meeting Dates
The Commissioner's FY is from July 1 thru June 30.
All meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 2:00 p.m. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings will be at the USDA Office in Independence.
- July, 23, 2024
- August 27, 2024
- September 24, 2024
- October 29, 2024
- November 26, 2024
- December 23, 2024
- January 2, 2025 Organizational Meeting
- January 28, 2025
- February 25, 2025
- March 26, 2025
- April 22, 2025
- May 27, 2025
- June 24, 2025
Meeting Minutes
December 2021 | Organizational Meeting
January 2021 | Organizational Meeting
April 2020 | No Meeting