The Boone County Conservation District (BCCD) manages 4400 acres. These acres are set aside for preservation, education, and passive recreation. Most are set aside as ‘natural areas,’ providing many benefits for the citizens, water quality, and biodiversity of Boone County.
Las tierras que gestiona la BCCD tienen un impacto muy positivo en la calidad del agua. Los materiales vegetales que cubren una gran parte de estas hectáreas hacen un gran trabajo de captación de las precipitaciones, manteniéndolas así fuera de nuestros ríos y arroyos. Esta es una tarea importante para ayudar a frenar los impactos de la erosión y las inundaciones. Mantener el agua en su lugar le da tiempo para infiltrarse en el suelo, proporcionando filtración y recarga de agua subterránea. Debido a que los residentes del condado de Boone adquieren toda el agua que usan de las aguas subterráneas, esta es una tarea esencial que realizan estas tierras. Este trabajo por sí solo, es un argumento lo suficientemente fuerte como para apartar la tierra como espacio abierto, sin embargo aún más beneficios vienen de estos acres preservados.
Along with water protection these lands are islands of biodiversity. The BCCD has put an emphasis over the last 20 years in planting natives on its sites with diverse mixes. Sometimes these seed mixes exceed 150 species. Being able to plant this many species assures something will be flowering on a site through the growing season. This is an important benefit to our struggling pollinator species.
These natural areas are managed by the BCCD Natural Resources Management Department (NRM). Creating and managing this diversity involves time and energy. So much so, that the department was created in 2004 to manage this task. The department spends its time managing already existing natural areas as well as creating new ones. The NRM department uses many techniques to implement the installation and management of high quality habitats to benefit the native flora and fauna of Boone County. The techniques used by the NRM department include: invasive species control, planting natives, collecting seed, prescribed fire, and monitoring. Another important aspect of the departments work is writing and implementing grant projects to leverage available funds. Help from other units of government, as well as foundations and trusts, allow the BCCD to get the most out of its tax dollars. A large portion of projects since 2004 have been funded this way.
