AISWCD Executive Director Dr. Michael Woods says thanks to everyone who attended 2024 Soil Health Week Lobby Day Wednesday and The Art and Science of Soil Health Advocacy in Action Day Thursday at the Illinois State Capitol.
Couldn’t make it to Springfield for the Soil Health Week rallies? You can still make an impact. Contact your local state senator and representative and say THANK YOU for their support of County Soil & Water Conservation Districts. Let them know how SWCD staffers are working with farmers to get grants and implement conservation practices.
We are writing to share a story of success that impacts every community across Illinois and to emphasize the importance of our life-giving, irreplaceable natural resources—soil and water.
Illinois’ 97 Soil & Water Conservation Districts are units of government established under state law to carry out natural resource management programs at the local level. Districts work with thousands of cooperating landowners and operators to help them manage and protect land and water resources on private and public lands across Illinois.
The Illinois agriculture industry faces challenges every single day. Natural resources are becoming scarce, our population is growing, weather is unpredictable, and budgets are tight. In fact, Illinois has lost 3.6 million acres of farmland since 1950, an average of almost 77,000 acres each year. Much of that land is our state’s prime soils—the best soils in the world. Nearly 97 percent of the land in the state is privately owned, the fate of our environment and natural resources rests with our private landowners and operators—the thousands of people making decisions about their land every day.
A new generation of innovative landowners and producers have discovered through the state SWCD system, that by keeping soil covered, minimizing disturbance through no-tillage methods, growing diverse crops, and keeping living roots growing as long as possible, they can regenerate and improve the function of their soil and ensure that our waters run clean.
Never in the history of our nation and state have we had so much support for conservation and yet never before have we faced so many challenges. Our soil & water districts are working with our partners who are making soil health and clean water a top priority because doing so offers prospective benefits to urban and rural communities alike. We need your help in moving efforts forward and supporting the need to elevate the capacity of our state’s frontline conservation professionals—SWCD staff.
With continued investment into the state’s Partners for Conservation Fund, Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts will sustain their locally-led conservation leadership for communities, producers, and landowners to increase opportunities to improve nutrient management planning, advance soil health, and ensure clean water by contributing to the reduction in nutrient losses to Illinois streams, rivers, and lakes.
Dr. Michael Woods, Executive Director of the Association of Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts, speaks during Soil Health Week Lobby Day Wednesday.
Soil Health Week is a uniting opportunity. As you can see today, we have legislators from both sides of the aisle. It proves that soil is basically an opportunity to bring us together. It’s not just beneath our feet, but it’s a fabric of our community. It’s the fabric of our society, and it builds what makes Illinois strong; a strong, vibrant agricultural community.
Michael Woods said this during his presentation to Soil Health Week Lobby Day Wednesday Marc 6, 2024 at the Illinois State Capitol:
We couldn’t be happier or more excited to be here to help celebrate this amazing week.
Soil Health Week is a uniting opportunity. As you can see today, we have legislators from both sides of the aisle. It proves that soil is basically an opportunity to bring us together. It’s not just beneath our feet, but it’s a fabric of our community. It’s the fabric of our society, and it builds what makes Illinois strong; a strong, vibrant agricultural community.
We’ve been talking about the present. We’ve been celebrating the past. 86 years ago, March 1st. So, right around this time, FDR signed an amazing piece of legislation, and he created the Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and he said “the nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.”
Today, we united to showcase that we will not allow the soil in Illinois to be destroyed. And we’re going to do that for the next generation.
