Land & Water Conservation - August 6, 2026 — Minutes

GREEN COUNTY LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION COMMITTEE MEETING USDA Service Center 1627 4th Avenue West Monroe, Wisconsin Thursday, August 6, 2026 The meeting was called to order at 9:10 AM. Those present were Kristi Leonard, Erica Roth, Todd Larson, Dudley Timm, William Burchard, Paula Vestin, Chelsea Starr, and Todd Jenson. The committee reviewed the June minutes. A motion was made by Roth, second by Timm to approve the minutes. Motion carried. The committee audited the bills in the amount of $4697.68. A motion was made by Larson, second by Vestin to approve the bills. Motion carried. Mason Jarosinski resigned his position with our department. His last day was July 24. The SAA tour will be August 12 in Dane County. There will be seven attending from Green County. Clean Sweep will be August 19, from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM at the Monticello Recycling Center. Jenson presented a draft five-year review of our land and water plan. He asked the committee if he should add covid and politics to question 2 of why the county was unable to make progress in implementing some activities. The committee agreed they should be added. Larson asked that the acronyms be spelled out. Jenson asked the committee on the direction the department should be heading with conservation easements. We don’t have much extra time to spend on this program right now. Larson suggested talking with other counties. Starr informed the committee they have finished the CSP and EQIP contracting and have now moved onto CRP contracting. They had a meeting on the reorganization plan. It sounds like it will mainly affect the area and state offices. Jenson informed the committee he has worked on 34 CRP contracts. He did 20 transect type points for the DNR, 14 cropland and 6 livestock areas. We are up to date again on GPSing new wells. He surveyed and sized two culverts and has surveyed some streambank and stream crossing sites. He received the 2027 preliminary joint allocation plan. Staff and support is $234,508, up $17,000 from 2026. Bonding is $80,000, up $8000, and nutrient management remained steady at $20,000. Jenson gave a report for Tonya Gratz. There were 22 attendees at the well water educational meeting. Speakers were Dave Johnson, retired DNR, Meg Haseroidt, well owner and community member, and Century Eco Water Systems. There was a pop-up field day on interseeding cover crops into 40” corn. Soil sampling for the NOPP project is complete. She is taking cover crop applications. She spoke at a WiWiC field day on soil testing. In committee concerns, Larson stated he would help with the conservation easement program if needed. There was no public comment. The next meeting date was set for Thursday, September 3, beginning at 9:00 AM. A motion was made by Burchard, second by Timm to adjourn. The motion carried, and the meeting was adjourned at 9:55 AM.