Area farmers strategize on ways to protect their land

By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HOULTON – Area farmers met Dec. 30 to encourage support for continued funding of the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District (SASWCD) knowing the Legislature is looking for places to cut expenses and close a $438 million budget gap.
    The district gets $17,500 from the state’s Department of Agriculture. It also shares space at the USDA’s service center in Houlton where some 30 farmers convened to urge support from state representatives for  the district. Rep. Henry Joy of Crystal said “the meeting was very important and they need people in the legislature to carry that message back to Augusta.” When asked if he would do that, he replied: “Absolutely.”
    The district, one of 16 in Maine, is a resource for area farmers that Gene Lawlor of Merrill calculates sends $21 back into the local economy for every dollar it spends through grants. Lawlor, SASWCD chairman and 2009 beef producer of the year in Maine, maintained the funding has a “multiplying factor. It’s money well spent.”
STRAIGHT TALK — The conversations continued following the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District meeting in Houlton Dec. 30. From left: Perry Lilley, a district supervisor; Angela Wotton, district manager; Gene Lawlor, district chairman; and, Rep. Henry Joy of Crystal.
    Rep. Richard Cleary of Houlton agreed on the importance of maintaining funding for the district that “packs a big bang for the dollar” and has ramifications for the area’s business economy. “One thing we are focusing on is the quality of place which is attractive for businesses to come into. If we have good farm land, good soils, shore land areas and things of that nature, people will want to come here to raise their families and start businesses. So, this is an important piece. And, you can build from that.”
    By writing proposals for grants, the district in cooperation with various agencies, brings in money to the area for local projects that protect land and water. “When a job needs to be done, they call the district,” said Smyrna dairy farmer Perry Lilley. A few years ago, when DEP was concerned that some cattle were damaging river and stream banks, the district applied for a grant to educate farmers about money available for fencing and watering cattle through wells. Lilley said having local people talk directly to the farmers instead of a government agency made the difference in dealing with the problem.
    Dan Jacobs, from the state’s forest policy and management division, said he had worked with the district for 10 years. He summed up the top three reasons to maintain funding for the organization as “education, education, education” since there are no Future Farmers of America programs or agriculture programs in the southern Aroostook area.
    The limited resources of the Maine Forest Service and the district, said Jacobs, lead to partnerships. Working with businesses, non-profits and individuals creates a valuable resource pool for workshops, technical assistance and projects. Among the projects he enumerated were well attended forestry nights, natural resources field days at Houlton High School’s Bird Farm, annual Arbor Day tree giveaways and a Pearce Brook watershed survey in 2009 to identify problems.
    Houlton potato farmer, Donald Fitzpatrick said farmers were losing top soil to erosion. But, thanks to a grant submitted by and funded through the district in 2002, Fitzpatrick said a winter cover program “definitely helped” local farmers who started planting winter cover crops of oats, barley and hay mulch “which has gone over big.”
    The cultural importance of the land and the rivers to native people with regard to hunting, fishing and even basket making was cited by Sharri Venno as a reason to attend the meeting. Venno, an environmental planner for the Maliseets, said she “learned a lot about the history of the district. They deserve and need  more resources. And, to think that they could lose even the minimal amount of money they have to do the tremendous job that they do is shocking. It would be a terrible thing if it happens.”
    Angela Wotton, district manager, pointed out that she wanted the legislators to be aware of what the district is and what it does in the community. She also stressed the importance of having the community contact the agriculture commissioner and legislators in support of the district. She said the $17,500 funding from Augusta, which the group is trying to protect, is supplemented by municipalities in the district and private donations.