Staff from the Dodge County Land Conservation Department assisted many Dodge County landowners in applying a variety of soil and water conservation practices during 2007. Soil and water conservation plans were prepared for nearly 10,000 acres of cropland. Over 5,750 acres of eroding cropland were adequately protected from soil erosion by the installation of new conservation practices. Manure spreading restriction maps were prepared for over 27,000 acres of cropland. Cropland soil erosion was reduced by more than 2,600 tons, thereby preventing the delivery of nearly 500 tons of sediment to surface waters, and also preventing over 27,000 pound of phosphorus from reaching and polluting surface waters.

Major work activities during 2007 included updating Dodge County's five-year land and water resource management plan; oversight of soil and water conservation provisions of the Wisconsin Farmland Preservation Program; the design, installation and cost sharing of cropland protection and water quality improvement practices under the Wisconsin Land and Water Resource Management Program; local administration of the state's portion of the Wisconsin Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP); and oversight and enforcement of the Dodge County manure storage ordinance. Various conservation educational activities were also carried out.

To receive a copy of the complete 2007 Annual Report by the Dodge County Land Conservation Committee, call (920) 386-3660; or check out the Dodge County Land Conservation Department Web site at www.co.dodge.wi.us. Click on (Departments), then (Land Conservation Department), then (Annual Report).