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The Buncombe County Soil and Water Conservation District's mission is to conserve the soil, water, and related natural resources of Buncombe County by providing education, information, technical assistance, and economic incentives to county citizens and by establishing new programs in concert with other appropriate agencies and organizations to meet changing needs.
- Technical Assistance (advice and/or planning) on erosion
control and water quality issues. Clients are served through
visits to our office, phone consultations, and site visits.
Agronomists, engineers, soil scientists, and other specialists
from a number of local, state, and federal agencies work
closely with the District staff to serve our client’s needs.
Some of the areas the District assists with are:
- Soil Erosion
- Animal Waste Management
- Stream Bank Stabilization
- Pond Site Assessments
- Sedimentation
- Nutrient Management
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- Plants for Erosion Control
- Storm Water Control
- Spring Development
- Riparian Restoration
- Private Access Road Layout
- Urban Erosion Control
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- Educational Programs such as:
- Presentations to school classes, civic organizations,
community clubs, and others.
- Annual Poster, Essay, and Public Speaking contests
for students
- Environmental Education Field Days for students
- Workshops such as Project Wet, Project Wild, and Aquatic
Wild
- Special Exhibits (Mtn. State Fair, etc.)
- Environmental Education Newsletters
- Video Library
- Educational Materials (cartoon booklets, etc.)
- Administer or help to administer State, Federal, and local
conservation programs such as:
- North Carolina Agriculture Cost Share Program
– provides a 75% cost share to persons who install water
quality improvement projects on agricultural lands.
The District has two full-time staff working with this
program and receives an average annual allocation of
$120,000 for cost share with farmers.
- Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)–
a federal program that provides cost share for a variety
of water quality conservation practices.
- Buncombe County Voluntary Farmland Preservation
Program – a local government program that allows
farmers to voluntarily enroll their farm property in
an agricultural district. The purpose of the program
is to slow the decline of farmlands in the county and
offer operators of farms some protection from encroachment
of development.
- Soils data for Buncombe County. Aerial photos, map unit
descriptions, soil series descriptions, and soils series
interpretations are available from an unpublished 1975 soil
survey. The county is currently being mapped and the above
information is available on the areas that have been mapped.
- National Wetland Inventory Maps (1995)
- Aerial Photos – 1951, 1963, 1975, 1982, 1988
- U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Flood
Hazard Maps
- U.S.G.S, 7.5 minute topographic maps of Buncombe County
Monday through Friday
8:00am - 5:00pm
Contact Us
To learn more about the departments within Soil & Water
Conservation, select a topic from the list on the left. |
