Wilkes Soil and Water Conservation District

06/17/2026

As we close out this Fiscal Year, we are thrilled to share some incredible achievements from 2025-2026! Thanks to our dedicated landowners, farmers, and community partners, the Wilkes Soil & Water Conservation District has had a monumental year protecting our local natural resources.

Our primary focus is on-the-ground funding & agricultural support - we have contracted a total of over $2,231,135 in Best Management Practices (BMPs), directly partnering with more than 75 of our local farmers to boost sustainability and support our agricultural economy. Here is a snapshot of what we accomplished together in 2025–2026

CostShare Implementation: We successfully implemented $259,969 in local cost-share funding across programs like Ag Cost Share, AgWRAP, and the Community Conservation Assistance Program (CCAP).

Disaster Recovery & Watershed Resilience: We have secured $526,154 in Streamflow Rehabilitation Assistance Program (StRAP) funding and contracted over $400,000 in Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) funds to assist local producers with recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene.

Farmland Preservation: We have enrolled 7,694.48 acres across 68 farms in our Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program—marking a 28% increase in VAD farms from last year!

Education: We have engaged over 4,300 students through our core educational programs, while our innovative Mobile Soils Classroom has reached over 21,300 students since its grand opening!

None of this would be possible without the trust of our neighbors and the hard work of our amazing board and staff.

👉 Want to learn more about our cost-share programs, rental equipment, services, or educational resources? Stop by the Wilkes County Ag Center, call us at 336-990-5000, or visit www.wilkesswcd.org!

06/04/2026

A few weeks ago, conservation professionals gathered in Waynesville for an intensive, five-day Fundamentals of Conservation Planning course.

Based on the USDA’s 9-Step Conservation Process, this program dives deep into creating effective, real-world conservation plans. It maximizes learning through intensive hands-on experiences—focusing on resource identification, surveying, soil properties, and mapping—while equipping attendees with critical communication strategies to better serve landowners and farming operations.

A key piece of this program’s success is its integrated mentorship model, where seasoned professionals provide guidance throughout the week. We were proud to have Wilkes represented in this effort, with Mikey serving as a mentor to help guide early-career conservationists through these real-world scenarios.

Investing in high-level training and mentorship ensures our conservation communities continue to thrive and bring top-tier expertise back to Wilkes!

06/03/2026

Since July 2025, our Conservation Education Specialist, Julia Hardy, has been busy connecting students across Wilkes County with the importance of conservation through summer programs, school events, our annual education programs, homeschool groups, and more! 🌿

By the end of June 2026, Julia will have reached an incredible 4,303 student interactions and invested over 200 hours in conservation education. Through hands-on learning and environmental outreach, these programs encourage all generations to care for the land and water resources that sustain our community. 🌎

Many of these programs would not have been possible without the support of our staff and valued partners who help make this work possible. Together, we are strengthening environmental awareness and stewardship across Wilkes County. 🌱

06/02/2026

Big congratulations to our staff member, Mikey Woodie, for achieving Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Job Approval Authority (JAA)!

Mikey has earned JAA for four critical practices: Access Road, Watering Facilities, Heavy Use Area Protection, and Livestock Pipeline.

What is JAA?
Job Approval Authority is a rigorous certification process within conservation planning. It recognizes an individual’s technical competence and empowers them to approve designs and sign off on specific conservation practices without needing a secondary engineer review.

Why is this a game-changer?
Having Mikey certified with JAA vastly boosts our district's efficiency. It streamlines our workflow, cuts down on project wait times, and allows us to deliver vital conservation planning directly to our community faster than ever before.

Thank you, Mikey, for your hard work, dedication, and expertise in keeping our local conservation efforts moving forward!

06/01/2026

Big congratulations to Kayla McCoy for achieving her Level 3 Certified Conservation Planner status!

This certification represents an incredible amount of dedication and hard work. To reach Level 3, Kayla completed over 110+ hours of rigorous on-demand training and multiple intensive, multi-day, in-person courses—covering everything from core competencies in Level 1 and 2 to advanced Cultural Resources and Soil Health.

The ultimate capstone of this achievement was writing a comprehensive Resource Management System (RMS) conservation plan, which underwent a thorough, rigorous final review.

As a Level 3 Planner, Kayla can now fully write and certify conservation plans independently, bringing an even higher level of expertise to our community's agricultural and environmental projects.

Thank you for your hard work and commitment to conservation, Kayla!

05/26/2026

05/21/2026

Great turnout at this morning’s pre-bid site meeting for the upcoming Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) project! 🚧

It was excellent connecting with contractors and walking the site to discuss the scope of work, timeline, and engineering requirements. We’re looking forward to receiving competitive bids to help restore stream banks and protect some local infrastructure.

05/15/2026

The USDA Disaster Block Grant application period has been extended to June 12, 2026.

RALEIGH – Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler announced today that the application period will open Monday, March 30, for three of the four categories that…

05/15/2026

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out to join us for our Farmers Night Out last night! It was a fantastic evening filled with delicious food, great fellowship, and exciting door prizes.

We love getting together with our agricultural community, and last night was the perfect blend of catching up with neighbors and learning together.

A special shoutout to those who made the night so successful:

Our Guest Speaker: Thank you to Ryan Manning with the Working Lands Trust for sharing vital information on agricultural easements, and to our team for highlighting the various programs and services available through the Wilkes Soil & Water Conservation District.

The Food: We are still thinking about that amazing meal! Thank you to Brushy Mountain Smokehouse for catering such a delicious dinner.

The Music: Our evening was perfectly soundtracked by the incredible talents of Mike Palmer, Randy Gambill, Clay Lunsford, and Josh Brown. Thank you for the wonderful music!

Our Event Sponsor: This gathering would not have been possible without the generous support of the NC Foundation for Soil & Water Conservation.

Door Prizes: A big thank you to all of our local sponsors who donated the fantastic door prizes that went home with some lucky winners!

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to our Board of Supervisors, Staff, and Partners for all of their hard work behind the scenes to pull this event together.

We are so proud to serve and support the Wilkes County agricultural community. See you all at the next one! 🚜💚