11 farms located within the Seneca Lake Watershed will benefit from the half-a-million dollars awarded by the state to the Yates County Soil and Water Conservation District.
The $505,770 in funding is part of $13.8 million awarded on Wednesday to 33 projects across the state through the State’s Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control Program. The funding supports agricultural water quality conservation projects, which will benefit 80 farms, enhance water quality in priority watersheds, and protect the environment.
According to the state, the funding awarded to the Yates County Soil and Water Conservation District will be used for:
- Implement a diverse set of Best Management Practice Systems to benefit water quality in Seneca Lake
- Projects include integrated pest management on vineyards, erosion and sediment control projects on croplands, farmstead water management practices, and stream corridor management practices including, stream buffers.
- This project addresses the goals of the state approved Nine Element Watershed Management Plan for Seneca Lake, critical to the long-term protection of the lake and reducing conditions favorable to Harmful Algal Blooms.
- These projects will assist all participating farms to be more resilient to “climate change driven extreme weather”
Over the past 29 years, New York State has supported projects covering over 600 separate watersheds across the State, including over 1000 prescribed rotational grazing systems that include a variety of best management practices that create perennial pasture to enhance soil health and exclude livestock from surface water resources.
