Soil & Water Conservation District Guidebook 2008 - Minnesota ...

Pictured: (above) A lake protected by a conservation easement
and (above right) students participating in the “Farm Olympics”
at the 2007 Aitkin County Fair.
A third party certifi cation for private
forests was recently completed by the SWCD for
landowners that are enrolled in the SWCD’s forest
stewardship program. Landowners who choose to
enroll are Smartwood Certifi ed under the Aitkin County
SWCD umbrella. This is one of few SWCDs -- or
possibly the only one -- in the nation to provide the
certifi cation option to landowners.
High priority lakeshore acres in
Aitkin County are protected through the SWCD’s
Conservation Easement program. The SWCD is the
grantee for Conservation Easements, which allows
landowners to convey restrictions on their property to
protect against future subdivision or development.
Two watershed projects (Big Sandy
Watershed and Mille Lacs Watershed) are coordinated
by the SWCD, including a TMDL study on Big Sandy.
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Aitkin Soil & Water Conservation District
Top 5 Natural Resource Concerns
Shoreland development (too fast and too
much) -- enforce ordinances
Protecting or restoring water quality in lakes
and rivers
Providing forest management assistance
Reducing impervious surface impacts to water
quality
Protecting high-priority wetlands
Future Projects
The SWCD plans to coordinate repair and
maintenance of the six-mile long Aitkin Flood
Diversion Channel. This channel was constructed
shortly after the 1950 fl oods. A mechanism to fund
the repair and maintenance will have to be created.
Several county departments, the Aitkin County
Board and the SWCD are working together on this
project.
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