2012 land judging

The Walker County Soil and Water Conservation District along with the Natural Resource Conservation Service hosted the 2012 annual land judging contest for high school students on October 30th on the property owned by Sam Murphy located in Jasper. Score cards are completed on four different land uses: cropland, pastureland, forest land and home sites. This event is designed to help the students learn more about land, soil types and capabilities, methods of soil conservation, treatments to obtain higher crop production and the selection of suitable home sites. There were eight schools from Walker, Marion and Lawrence Counties that participated in this year’s contest. We would like to extend a special thanks to Sam Murphy for the use of his property, District One Commissioner Dual Tubbs and his staff for digging the judging pits and to the Walker County Forestry Planning Committee for providing lunch. Pictured at the top is Curry High School which placed 1st, pictured in the center is Parrish High School which placed 2nd, pictured at the bottom is Gage Colburn of Curry High School who was the high individual scorer.

Mark you're calenders to watch "The Dust Bowl" premieres November 18th and November 19th, 2012 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Central Time on PBS. Ken Burns, the film maker says, "Nothing was more important than the Soil Conservation Service, headed by Hugh Hammond Bennett, who came in at the local level to re-educate farmers. More info on the show can be found at http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/. Below is a quote from Hugh Hammond Bennett. "This particular dust storm blotted out the sun over the nations capital, drove grit between the teeth of New Yorkers, and scattered dust on the decks of ships 200 miles out to sea. I suspect that when people along the seaboard of the eastern United States began to taste fresh soil from the plains 2,000 miles away, many of them realized for the first time that somewhere something had gone wrong with the land. It seems to take something like a disaster to awaken people who have been accustomed to great national prosperity, such as ours, to the presence of a national menace. Although we were slowly coming to realize that soil erosion was a major national problem, even before that great dust storm, it took that storm to awaken the nation as a whole to some realization of the menace of erosion."

Armyworms Are Here!

Fall armyworms have been reported in Walker County. Check you're pastures, hayfields and yards before these pests do to much damage!

Renewable Energy Models

To the right is a photo of the renewable energy models that were purchased through a grant that was received from the Cawaco RC&D Council. We have a working model windmill, solar tracker panel, hydrogen powered car, water wheel and bio energy kit that is powered by ethanol. If you would like for us to bring these models to you're school or to an educational event please contact Katherine at (205) 384-0606 ext. 1.

Estate Planning For Forestry Owners workshop

An Estate Planning For Forestry Owners workshop will be hosted by the Walker County Soil and Water Conservation District on September 26, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Dr. Robert Tufts, Associate Professor, Forestry & Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, will cover topics such as basic estate planning, gift & estate taxes and tax planning. Andy Baril, Regional Extension Agent, Forestry, Wildlife & Natural Resource Mgmt. with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System will cover forestry ethics. Reservations are required however, no registration fee will be charged. Contact Katherine at (205) 387-1879 for reservations and information on CFE’s and PLM’s. Funding for this workshop will be provided by a grant from the Bradley/Murphy Forestry & Natural Resources Extension Trust.

2012 Wildlife School to be held at Bent Creek Lodge

The 2012 Wildlife School will be held at the Bent Creek Lodge in Choctaw County, AL on August 23, 2012 through August 24,2012. This year's seminar will cover topics such as: timber thinning, timber management, wildlife openings, deer and turkey managegment and prescribed burning. Registration is $85.00 which includes the 2 day seminar, lodging in bunkhouse style accommodations as well as 3 meals and 2 breaks. Registered Foresters that attend will receive Continuing Education Credits for each day that they attend. Please click on the registration form or the agenda for additional information or call Katherine at (205) 387-1879.

Warrior River Renew Our Rivers to be held at Quinn's Landing

This year's Warrior River Renew Our River event will be held on the Walker County side of Warrior River at Quinn's Landing. We are very excited that Quinn's Landing has agreed to to stage the clean up this year. Please see the flyer to the right for additional information.

2012 plat books are now available

We are pleased to announce that the 2012 plat books are now available for $40.00/each. One upgrade that we are excited about for this edition is that the County Road names are now listed.

Walker County student wins the 2012 ACDEA Area III scholarship

Congratulations to Kimberly Van Tassel The 2012 Alabama Conservation District Employees Association Scholarship Program Award Winner The Alabama Conservation District Employees Association accepted applications for six $500 scholarships to be awarded to students who are residents of the State of Alabama and planning to enter college the summer or fall of the year 2012. One scholarship will be awarded in each of the Association’s six designated Areas. This scholarship can be used at the college of his/her choice. The Walker County Soil and Water Conservation District received 37 applications for this scholarship award program. We are pleased to announce that Miss Kimberly Van Tassel who is a 2012 graduate of Carbon Hill High School won the $500.00 award for Area III. Kimberly competed against students from 10 other counties in Area III to win this award. Congratulations to Kimberly for winning this scholarship.

2012 Beef Herd Health Clinic will be held on Saturday, May 12, 2012

The Walker County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Natural Resource Conservation Service will be hosting a beef herd health management clinic on Saturday, May 12, 2012. Topics will be animal nutrition and supplement solutions, animal parasite control and vaccinations, nutrional problems associated with forage species and management practices to improve forage utilization. We would like to thank Dr. Harold Wade for providing the facility for the clinic and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. for providing lunch. There is no registration fee to attend, however, reservations are requested. Please call Katherine at (205) 387-1879 for reservations or for additional information. Also, you can double click on the agenda below for additional information.

2012 Walker County Landowner Tour

The 2012 Walker County Landowner Tour will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2012 in the Eldridge area at the Turkey Creek Lodge owned by Jasper Lumber Company. Please click on the agenda to the right for additional information. We would like to thank Jasper Lumber for providing lunch and the facility. For questions or to pre-register please call Katherine at (205)387-1879.

Walker County Forestry Planning Committee Annual Tree Sale

The Walker County Forestry Planning Committee will hold it's annual tree sale event at the Jasper Wal-Mart Garden Center on Friday, March 2, 2012 from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 3, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. All trees will be containerized or bare root seedlings and will be available on a first come first serve basis. Cost will be between $1.00 and $2.00 per tree. Please call 205-387-1879 or email kpattonwalkersoil@gmail.com for an itemized list. Proceeds go to promote conservation education in Walker County.

Free timber tax webinar available on Feb. 1, 2012

Please click on the brochure to the right for additional information.

ACDEA scholarship applications available

The Walker County Soil & Water Conservation District is now accepting applications for a $500.00 scholarship sponsored by the Alabama Conservation District Employees Association. Applicant must be a U. S. citizen, high school senior, and living in the State of Alabama. Applications may be picked up at the District office located in the Walker County Board of Education Building, 1710 Alabama Avenue, Suite 207, in Jasper. Deadline to receive completed applications in the District office is March 9, 2012. For more information, please contact Katherine Patton at (205) 387-1879 or kpattonwalkersoil@gmail.com.