Vermilion
Soil and Water Conservation District
April 8, 2013
Vermilion Soil and
Water Conservation
District
Conserving and Protecting Natural
Resources
Established in 1945, the Iberia-Vermilion
Soil and Water Conservation District was
separated, and a separate and distinct
district was created on April 1, 1985 known
as the Vermilion Soil and Water
Conservation District. Since our creation,
the district, with the assistance of
cooperating agencies, has carried on an
intensive program providing technical
assistance, planning, education outreach
and other services to the people of
Vermilion Parish.
The geographic boundaries of the district
are coterminous with Vermilion Parish
encompassing an area of 984,587 acres or
1,539 square miles.
This year, $1.9 million in State
funds is helping to leverage an
annual average of $134.9 million
in Federal funds into Louisiana’s
rural economy.
GRASSROOTS CONSERVATION
People at the local level
conserving and protecting natural
resources
In this report
Conservation Investment .............. 1
Locally-led resource priorities ....... 1
District at a glance ........................ 2
Success on the ground ................. 2
Conservation facts ........................ 2
Contact information ...................... 2
Vermilion
Soil and Water
Conservation District
Board of Supervisors
Cropland Condition
Ernest Girouard
Chairman
Pastureland Condition
Sherrill Sagrera
Vice-Chairman
Wildlife Condition
Patrick Hebert
Secretary-Treasurer
Urban Land Condition
Christian Richard
Board Member
Information &
Education Awareness
Dale Vidrine
Board Member
During the past three years, $8,226,099 was invested by local, state
and federal sources to conserve and protect natural resources in the
Vermilion Soil and Water Conservation District.
These funds helped in re-establishing 78,000 linear feet of marsh
vegetation that had been lost. These funds also helped in servicing
16,839 individuals by either providing technical assistance or giving
educational information. Funds have also been used to establish an
educational outreach program using the Nationally Recognized
Conservation Classroom.
2010
State
Investment
Vermilion
Soil and
Water
Conservation
District
$78,283
Federal
Investment
USDA
Natural
Resources
Conservation
Service
2,543,759
2011
$61,936
2,391,386
Helping
People
Help the
Land
Other
Investments
Local Funds
and Federal
Program
Funds
$368,685
$39,198
2012
$83,465
2,629,948
$29,439
Totals
$223,684
$7,565,093
$437,322
Vermilion
Soil and Water Conservation District
PARTNERS
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Population – 57,999 (2010 Census estimate)
Land area – 1174 sq. miles (751,273 acres)
Water area – 365 sq. miles (233,314 acres)
Agricultural lands – 297,679 acres
Media – 3 newspapers
Educational facilities – 19 public schools; 4
private schools; 1 technical college
Major lakes and streams - 7
SWCD cooperators – 1276
Minority Landowners – 40
Grassroots Organizations - 8
Crop
Producers
Units
Rice
200
51,441 ac
Sugarcane
27
29,435 ac
Soybeans
25
17,115 ac
Beef Cattle
639
28,320 head
Crawfish
300
15,000 ac
Alligator
8
164,271 ft
Shrimp
204 8,043,207 lbs
Gross Value
$ 39,260,910
$ 45,604,234
$ 5,402,802
$ 16,056,727
$12,468,750
$ 9,434,135
$15,178,336
USDA Natural
Resources
Conservation Service
Vermilion Parish:
Policy Jury, Drainage
Districts, and School
Board
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A No Till Drill and GPS
surveying equipment are
available to all in Vermilion
Parish.
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21 producers were assisted
with Resource Management
Plans, and of the 21
producers, 5 achieved
Master Farmer Certification
in Vermilion Parish.
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Continuing to work on a
Public Law 566 Small
Watershed Proposal. The
goals are to reduce flooding,
saltwater intrusion and
protect cropland,
pastureland, businesses,
homes and infrastructure
such as roads and highways.
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Voluntarily applied
Conservation Practices to
34,370 acres in Vermilion
Parish.
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The district participates and
advises the public on
backyard conservation.
Delcambre, Pecan
Island, Abbeville Erath,
Maurice, Kaplan, and
Gueydan Municipalities
LSU AgCenter
Cooperative Extension
Service
LSU AgCenter 4-H
LA Dept. of
Environmental Quality
LA Dept. of Wildlife and
Fisheries
USDA Farm Service
Agency
The Vermilion, Iberia and Acadia Soil and Water
Conservation Districts hosted the first Waste
Tire Collection Event June 11th- 13th. This event
was held to promote conversation of our natural
resources, to promote the importance our soil
and water conservation districts, and to assist
the public in a needed service.
Soil and Water Conservation Districts did not
charge any fee for this event, but the districts
did have the satisfaction of knowing that 647
tires in Vermilion, 468 tires in Iberia, and 69 tires
in Acadia were out of our ditches, yards and
fields and were going to be recycled properly.
Our Soil and Water Conservation Districts would
like to thank those who took the time to
participate in the event, but would like to bring
special recognition to Mr. Kyle Soileau with
Louisiana Department of Agriculture and
Forestry and the Abbeville and Crowley Natural
Resources Conservation Service field office
personnel for their participation and assistance.
University of Louisiana
at Lafayette
Louisiana Ag In The
Classroom
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The State Soil and Water Conservation Program has already
lost near $500,000 in state funds over the past three years.
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Additional cuts, which are continuing to be proposed, would
destroy the State Soil & Water Conservation Program. Such
cuts would cause a loss of SWCD employees and would
jeopardize millions of dollars annually in federal conservation
cost-sharing funding to Louisiana landowners and producers.
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Currently the state is putting up annually $1.9 million for the
State Soil and Water Conservation Program which is helping
to leverage into Louisiana an annual average of $134.9 million
in USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service funds.
Contact us
Vermilion Soil and Water Conservation District
3221 Veterans Memorial Drive, Suite H
Abbeville, Louisiana 70510
Telephone: 337-893-5664 ext 3
Fax: 337-893-9225
E-mail: mitzi.dohrman@la.nacdnet.net
Website: www.vermilionswcd.weebly.com