Good Afternoon,

I wanted to let you know about a great opportunity for Edgefield County landowners. The City of Aiken along with their several partners have received a 319 Grant to protect water quality in the Shaw’s Creek Watershed which extends through Edgefield and Aiken Counties. There are funds available to help pay for approved Agricultural Best Management Practices in Shaw’s Creek Watershed. These practices include but are to limited to: cover crops/intercropping, ditch/ outfall stabilization, cross fencing, composters, stream bank stabilization, fencing to keep livestock out of streams, wells/water troughs for livestock irrigation, and heavy use area stabilization. There will be a workshop on Thursday February 21 from 9am-1pm at Shiloh Baptist Church in Aiken to explain more about the program. It will also feature speakers discussing estate planning, fencing and pasture management, land conservation easements, and a rainfall simulator demonstration. The workshop is free and open to everyone (you do not need to be a county resident or reside in the watershed to attend) but space is limited. Register today by calling or e-mailing Ken Montgomery at 803-998-8494 or kmontgomery@cityofaiken.com

Lauren Burroughs – NRCS, Edgefield