Legislation Aims to Restore Critical Funding for Soil and Water Conservation Districts
This crucial legislation aims to ensure these essential districts can continue their vital work in environmental protection and sustainable resource management.
Restore Soil & Water Conservation Districts Funding SB 3964 | HB5876: In the 2024 State Budget, funding for Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) was slashed in half, undercutting the ability of county SWCD’s to provide critical conservation services and technical assistance to farmers to keep waterways clean and build climate resilience. SB3964 and HB5876 are identical bills introduced seeking to restore SWCD budget to $8.5 million.
While protecting SWCD funding has been a priority of our Soil Health Caucus for several years, the drastic budget cuts have raised this urgency and need for this to become a primary issue.
Soil and Water Conservation Districts work to protect Illinois’ greatest assets – the rich, fertile soils and water resources of the state through strategic conservation efforts. Soil and Water Conservation Districts, working in conjunction with agricultural as well as environmental stakeholders, have for decades over played a central role in efforts to protect and sustain the viability of Illinois’ finite natural resources for future generations.