LAST YEAR’S BUDGET RECEIVED
THIS YEAR’S BUDGET REQUEST
_________$15,000________________________________________$__25,000___________
FREMONT COUNTY, WYOMING
PROPOSED BUDGET REQUEST
FISCAL YEAR 2015-2016
DEPARTMENT NAME
LOWER WIND RIVER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
PREPARED BY:
LWRCD BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
TELEPHONE NUMBER OF CONTACT PERSON:
Cathy Meyer, Manager
307-856-7524 ext 107
Email address:
Cathy.meyer@wy.nacdnet.net
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LOWER WIND RIVER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
BUDGET MESSAGE
The Wyoming Legislature declared through state statutes that “farm and grazing lands of
Wyoming are among the basic assets of the state” and that the policy of the legislature is to provide
for conservation of the soil and water resources of the state. Conservation districts were formed by
state statute to prepare and carry out local programs for resource conservation and thereby stabilize
ranching and farming operations, preserve natural resources, protect the tax base and promote the
health, safety and general welfare of the local citizens. We are considered a local government
agency with special expertise. We are required by state statute to conduct soil reviews for
proposed subdivisions in our district. Our recommendations are forwarded to the Fremont County
Planning Commission.
The LWRCD Board of Supervisors is working toward putting a mill levy request before the voters
in 2016. Of the three conservation districts in Fremont County, the LWRCD is the largest and
provides the third greatest tax revenue of the special districts next to the Solid Waste and County
Fire Districts. In the past eight years, we have brought over $1 million into our district through grant
funding to be used for natural resource conservation and education. Not all of those grants
included administrative funding. The Board is requesting $25,000 to keep our Manager and to work
toward getting the mill levy passed by the voters in 2016.
The main sources of funding for the LWRCD are the Wyoming Department of Agriculture (WDA),
the Fremont County Commissioners, subdivision soil reviews and seedling tree and shrub sales.
We seek grants to provide funds for projects on which we work with the local citizens. There are
currently two water bodies which are listed on the 303(d) list of the Wyoming Department of
Environmental Quality (WDEQ) (Muddy Creek and Poison Creek). A Total Maximum Daily Load
(TMDL) was written by the WDEQ for Ocean Lake which removed it from the 303(d) list. We have
been working with the local landowners and interested people on the Muddy Creek, Poison Creek
and Ocean Lake watersheds to implement watershed plans and to study and develop best
management practices to improve the water quality in those water bodies. Currently we have funds
($30,000) for one water quality grant for Muddy Creek which will expire on December 31, 2017, one
water quality grant for Ocean Lake ($30,000) which will expire December 31, 2016 and one
approved water quality grant (funds not yet received; $5142.34) for Poison Creek.
Last year, we received approval for funding from the Rangeland Health Assessment Program
through WDA to set up sites and monitor rangeland on one allotment. The project is a joint effort of
the Bureau of Land Management, State of Wyoming, UW Cooperative Extension Service and the
landowners. The grant amount was $4,574.93 and the completion date is December 31, 2015. Ten
monitoring sites were established and rain gauges installed with monitoring to be done this summer.
The LWRCD sponsored a Level 1 Study of the Badwater and Poison Creek Watersheds through
the Wyoming Water Development Commission (WWDC) which is now complete. Through WWDC,
eight small water development projects have been approved for a total of $173,000 with a
completion date of December 31, 2016. The LWRCD is the sponsor of the projects and as such will
supervise the projects and make sure they are completed in a timely manner. However, there is no
administrative fee allowed by WWDC on small water development projects.
Each year the LWRCD sponsors a well monitoring program utilizing WDA Lab Funds to test
water wells for E. coli. We feel it is important for citizens to know the quality of their drinking water.
These funds are reimbursable funds and we will receive reimbursement for $1,050.00 for the water
well testing program completed this spring. We plan to use remaining funds ($3,343.21) to sponsor
a water well testing program in the fall of 2015 and spring of 2016.
The LWRCD continues to complete soil surveys for proposed subdivisions in our district which is
a statutory requirement. We have seen a decline in the number of properties being subdivided over
the past few years. LWRCD has received $1,475.00 this fiscal year for subdivision soil reviews.
We anticipate the number to be similar for the next year.
Tree sales will continue until April 17. To date, sales are about the same as last year with 2,637
trees and shrubs sold. Although we don’t make a lot of money on this project, it is a good program
to help prevent wind and soil erosion and to educate citizens in our district about conserving our
natural resources. Citizens recognize us as the source for windbreak trees and shrubs.
We continue to serve as a cooperating agency for the BLM RMP implementation, the Shoshone
Forest RMP revision and the Moneta Divide project. We are an interested public on grazing
allotments for the Lander Field Office of the BLM. We provide comments and participate in
meetings when proposed actions affect our citizens. We annually participate in the Chamber of
Commerce meet your legislators and provide input through the Wyoming Association of
Conservation Districts on legislation affecting natural resources.
We provide educational programs to the students in our district by participating in the Ag Expo
hosted by the Riverton and Shoshoni Cow Belles. When requested, we provide programs to the
local schools on natural resource issues such as the importance of trees and how to properly plant
them, water quality and how to maintain or improve water quality and soils and soil textures.
Department Name:
Lower Wind River Conservation District
PREPARED BY:
___________LWRCD Board of Supervisors_________________________
5 YEAR PLAN FOR the Lower Wind River Conservation District
MISSION STATEMENT: The Lower Wind River Conservation District is dedicated to local
development and implementation of programs to provide leadership and technical assistance
for the conservation of the District’s natural resources, agricultural heritage and resource
base through preventing soil erosion, protecting water quality and quantity, conserving and
enhancing wildlife habitat, protecting the district tax base and promoting the health, safety
and general welfare of the residents of the District.
1. Service priorities. We will continue to be the local voice for resource conservation in local,
state and federal agency land use planning and proposed actions as well as proposed
legislation. We will continue to work with landowners to promote soil and water conservation
measures through Water Quality Grants and the Rangeland Health Assessment Program.
Costs will be dependent upon the number of grants received. Each water quality grant is
limited to $30,000. Each Rangeland Health Assessment Grant is limited to $20,000. We are
required by state statute to conduct soil reviews of proposed subdivisions. We anticipate that
the number of proposed subdivisions in the next five years will remain static unless we see a
dramatic improvement in the local economy. The amount that we charge for our soil reviews
($250 for the first lot and $25/lot thereafter) covers the expense of our manager preparing
and sending the Board approved soil review and recommendations to the Fremont County
Planning Commission and to the landowners. We will continue to sell seedling trees and
shrubs to prevent soil and wind erosion. We will continue to provide educational programs
about resource conservation.
Our water quality work made substantial progress toward getting Muddy Creek, Poison
Creek and Ocean Lake removed from the WDEQ list of impaired waters. We contributed to the
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Ocean Lake which removed it from the WDEQ 303(d) list.
We contributed many comments on the WDEQ Categorical Use Attainability Analysis for
Recreation. In the final document, the majority of Poison Creek is listed as secondary recreation
except for a portion from the town of Shoshoni to Boysen Reservoir. Muddy Creek is listed as a
secondary recreational stream except for a portion upstream of Boysen. However, the
document is being contested and has not received Environmental Protection Agency approval.
The data we have collected indicate that both streams will be below the E.coli standard for
secondary recreation. We plan to collect additional data and eventually request removal from
the impaired list for both streams.
2. Employees/Benefits: Our district has one employee who manages all of the programs of
our District. It would be difficult if not impossible for our district to operate and provide
services to the citizens in our district without our manager. The annual administrative costs
(salary, payroll taxes, health insurance) are about $40,000. We have been notified that our
health insurance costs will increase 6% for the next fiscal year. The salary of our employee
has remained unchanged in the last six years due to increases in health insurance costs.
We anticipate that our administrative costs will continue to rise over the next five years.
3. Funding/Revenue Changes: Water quality grants from the WDA have been a source of
funding for the district for the past eight years. We anticipate that the Wyoming Legislature
will continue to provide funds for these grants for which we will apply to address soil erosion
and water quality issues. We expect funding for the Rangeland Health Assessment program
will continue and we will work with landowners to apply for those funds. We do book keeping
for the North Ocean Lake Water Association to handle the funding they received from the
State of Wyoming for an administrative fee ($4,800.00 per year). The funding should last for
about 10 years.
We plan to educate the public about our conservation district and have begun by posting
information on our Facebook page. We have designed a logo and will use it for our booths at
the Fremont County Fair and the Farm and Ranch Days. We received funding for and are
developing a web site. We will form a political action committee and solicit funding to promote
and pass a mill levy in 2016. We will have town hall meetings to explain to the citizens the
purpose of our district.
4. Maintenance or Security Issues: Our office is in the USDA Service Center. We are the
local voice and sister agency to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. As such, the
NRCS provides space, desk, computer use and telephone services to the LWRCD. We, in
turn, are required to comply with the security policies of NRCS and USDA. Maintenance of
the building is the responsibility of the owner.
PRIORITY LIST
LOWER WIND RIVER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
Priority
Description
1. Obtain enough funding to maintain our manager position.
2. Continue to be the local voice in legislative and land use planning decisions for natural
resource issues.
3. Continue to work with local landowners on soil and water conservation projects, rangeland
management projects, water development projects and water quality projects.
4. Provide subdivision soil reviews for proposed subdivisions.
5. Encourage landowners to annually test water wells for water quality.
6. Provide educational programs about natural resource conservation.
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CASH RESERVES
TYPE OF RESERVE
USE OF THE RESERVE
Money Market--$42,215
Ocean Lake Phase III Water Quality
Muddy Creek Water Quality
Poison Creek Water Quality
Rangeland Health Assessment
Payroll Tax--$1,453
Pay Payroll Taxes Monthly
Save Ocean Lake--$2,092
Best Management Practices in
Ocean Lake Watershed
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