by Dottie Eddis
Are you a farmer or landowner who wants to make your farm more productive or friendlier to wildlife? Do you have streams or rivers that need riparian improvements? Do you dream of having native brook trout in your streams? Have you thought about what will happen to your farm or forest after you are gone?
These questions and more will be addressed at the Cacapon Watershed Collaborative’s Community Outreach event on Thursday, August 29, 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Hampshire County Health Department in Augusta. A light meal will be served.
The Cacapon Watershed Collaborative is an example of how various agencies are joining together to support communities in Hampshire, Hardy, and Morgan counties. The collaborative is a partnership among private and government organizations dedicated to preserving the beauty and rural nature of the Cacapon Watershed. Partners work directly with local landowners to protect land and natural resources. 
These collaborative partner agencies include the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency (NRCS), Division of Forestry, WVU Extension, Cacapon and Lost Rivers Land Trust, West Virginia Conservation Agency, Trout Unlimited, and Farmland Protection Program.
During the outreach event, landowners and farmers who have benefitted from these organizations will talk about their experiences, and attendees will be hearing from the agencies themselves. Presenters will be available for questions.
One example of these programs is the Conservation Stewardship Plan offered by the NRCS.
This program works with landowners to improve wildlife habitat on their properties. Each plan is individualized to the landowner’s goals and provides technical assistance and cost-sharing for practices as well as a yearly stipend for being good land stewards.
Cost-sharing is also offered by the West Virginia Division of Forestry for forest management plans designed by professional foresters. These plans can target forest stand improvement, wildlife habitat, or planning for future timber sales.
Trout Unlimited is another example of the landowner-agency partnership. Trout Unlimited (TU) specializes in providing landowners with a low-cost option for conservation by assisting with the planning, funding, implementation, and maintenance as needed for stream and riparian restoration projects.
“TU is a one-stop-shop that helps make conservation an easy choice for landowners,” said Ryan Cooper of the Potomac Headwaters Home Rivers Initiative Project. “To ease the financial burden on landowners, TU can also provide alternative funding for eligible properties through grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.”
Farmers speaking about their projects will be Steve and Terry Bailes from North River Mills and Steve Slonaker from Capon Bridge. These farmers have collaborated with several agencies to improve their streams and cattle water sources. They have also received cost-share on fencing and frost-seeding. Both the Bailes and Slonaker families have put their land into conservation easements so that the beauty and ecological value of their properties will be remain protected in perpetuity.
Any landowner who desires to up their conservation game is welcome to attend. RSVP to wvcello@gmail.com or call 540-664-6930. 
