The Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District (PWSWCD or District) is focused on protecting and enhancing our water and soil resources by providing leadership in the conservation of soil, water, and related resources to all Prince William County citizens through technical assistance, information, and education.

Services

Agriculture

• Free Technical Assistance for Traditional Ag. and Horse Farms

• Conservation Plans

• Nutrient Management Plans

• Soil Sampling

• State Cost-Share/ Tax-Credit Programs

Youth Education

• Conservation Capsules (Classroom Education)

• Farm Field Days

• Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE)

• Arbor Day

Water Quality

• Adopt-A-Stream

• Water Quality Monitoring

• Floatables Monitoring

Home Owners

• VCAP

• Gardener's Gold

• Pollinators Corner

Want to show support for water quality projects? Then check out the Chesapeake Bay License Plate! Click here for an application.

Is this a District Question?

We get lots of questions every day and we want to make sure you are guided in the right direction!

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• For services the District provides, click here. This will tell you who from District staff can help you out!

• For services the District does not provide, click here. If your question is not on the list, contact any of us and we'll do our best to help!

• Got questions, but not in Prince William County (or City of Manassas)? Click here for information on how to contact your local soil & water conservation district!

Cost Share Projects

​Cost Share funding is available from the District! These funds provide financial assistance for agricultural landowners and operators to implement best management practices on their properties in order to improve soil and water quality. If you have a natural resources concern on your farm, now is the time to talk with district staff about developing a plan to address these concerns! We can provide cost-share funding for practices to address:​

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• soil erosion on crop and pasture land

• exclude livestock from waterways

• implement nutrient management plans

• adopt new precision nutrient application technology

• establish tree plantings along streams

• plant cover crops

• construct manure storage facilities

In order to qualify for cost-share, your farm must meet the following:

• Property has/had a water quality concern (e.g. livestock has/had access to a waterway, no manure storage system, no cover crops when main crops aren’t growing)

• Property must have at least 5 consecutive acres

• Property has been in agriculture production for the past 5 years

• Property has produced at least $1,000 worth of agriculture products/year (agriculture products include crops, hay, and livestock, such as cattle, equine, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, etc. Horses solely for personal use are not considered as agriculture products.)

• Property is located in Prince William County (if your farm outside of Prince William, contact your local soil and water conservation district; to find your district, click here.)

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If you feel you have a need to implement these practices on your farm, or have any questions about the cost-share program, please contact us:

(571) 379-7514

Nicole Slazinski - nicoleethier@pwswcd.org

Mike Miller - conservation@pwswcd.org

Jay Yankey - jayyankey@pwswcd.org

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For more information on our specific cost-share programs, click here.

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If you're already doing everything you can on your farm to best protect the soil and water, consider signing up for a voluntary practice! Contact Nicole Slazinski - nicoleethier@pwswcd.org for more information.

We will be accepting VCAP applications from Jan. 2, 2020 - April 30, 2020! For more information, visit our VCAP page by clicking here.

Rain Garden: Example of a completed VCAP project in Prince William

Virginia Trees for Clean Water

Through funds from the USFS Chesapeake Watershed Forestry Program and Virginia Water Quality Improvement Funds, Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) has developed the Virginia Trees for Clean Water program. The program is designed to improve water quality across the Commonwealth through on-the-ground efforts to plant woody trees and shrubs
where they are needed most.

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Projects include tree planting activities of all types: riparian buffer tree planting, community and neighborhood tree plantings etc. Winning proposals must demonstrate the merit of the project and how the trees will be maintained in perpetuity. The objective is to use on-theground accomplishments to obtain clean water in Virginia. Grant funds will be reimbursed at the conclusion of the project and funding is available on a 50/50 match basis. In-kind match including volunteer time is permissible.

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Grants are awarded through this program to encourage local government and citizen involvement in creating and supporting long-term and sustained canopy cover. This cycle of grant funds will be used for planting projects occurring in the spring and fall of 2020. Please submit your applications by Wednesday, January 8, 2020.

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For more information, click here.

Native Plant Symposium 2020

The 2nd Native Plant Symposium for Beginners will be on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at the Northern Virginia Community College - Workforce Center, 2675 College Drive, Woodbridge, VA 22191.

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The Keynote speaker will be John Magee, Landscape Designer and Principal of Magee Designs.

Breakout sessions include:

• Creating Meadows

• Natives for the Suburban Yard

• Native Plants for Birds, Bees, and Butterflies

• Trees: Reestablishing the Cornerstone of Our Ecosystem

• Suburban Best Management Practices & the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program

• Permaculture: Natural Systems for a Healthy Lifestyle

• You Can Be Your Forest’s Doctor. How to create and maintain a healthy forest

• * Means of Persuasion: Aiming, Framing and Gaming Your Way to Successful HOA Project

• * Build the Habitat and They Will Come

* Indicates Talks specifically designed with Home Owner Associations (HOA) in mind.

The cost is $20/person and includes materials, refreshments, and lunch.

For more information and/or to register, click here!

USDA’s New Conservation Funding Now Available Through NRCS Partnership Project with Sustainable Chesapeake

Farmers in Virginia’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed can now apply for $1,363,240 in funding from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to implement enhanced nutrient management and soil health practices in the Coastal Plain and Northern Piedmont.

Offered in cooperation with Sustainable Chesapeake, this Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) project seeks to improve water quality in local streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. Focal practices will include enhanced nutrient management, cover crops, and conservation tillage practices such as no-till.
 

Interested individuals should call or visit their local office to confirm eligibility and complete an application by January 18, 2019 to be considered for FY19 funding. If all funds are not obligated, the next deadlines will be February 15, 2019 and the third Friday of each succeeding month through early summer. Prince William County residents can contact the Warrenton office at 98 Alexandria Pike # 31, Warrenton, VA 20186, (540) 347-3120.

“Projects like this one help landowners become more invested in implementing innovative solutions to conservation problems,” said NRCS State Conservationist Jack Bricker. “Participating producers will realize immediate and long-term financial and production benefits, such as improved operational efficiency, reduced input costs, increased soil moisture, and enhanced drought resiliency.”
 

Created in the 2014 Farm Bill, RCPP empowers local leaders to work with a variety of partners to design conservation solutions that work best for their regions. Sustainable Chesapeake is the lead partner in this tri-state project focused on accelerating the adoption of precision nutrient management and soil health practices in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Virginia NRCS, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Virginia Grain Producers Association, Virginia Tech, and precision ag technical service providers and Soil and Water Conservation Districts to bring these additional funding resources to farmers in the project area,” said Kristen Hughes Evans, Sustainable Chesapeake’s Executive Director. “With all the variability in weather and commodity crop prices that farmers deal with every year, the financial assistance programs that NRCS provides are critical to expanding the adoption of conservation practices that strengthen farm financial viability and protect natural resources.”

For more information on Virginia RCPP projects, visit www.va.nrcs.usda.gov. To learn more about Sustainable Chesapeake’s projects/activities, visit www.susches.org.

Nutrient Management: An Important Message for Producers

The 2025 Chesapeake Bay cleanup goals are here, and we need every farmer's help! We need documentation of implementation of every nutrient management plan in Prince William County. Here's what you can do to help:

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• Work with your nutrient management planner to develop a plan that can be implemented easily

• Keep application and yield records

• Put in place a record-keeping system so you can justify application and yield data. This must include required elements such as dates, field locations, loads, bales, bushels, gallons of manure, tons of litter, etc.

• Share this record-keeping system with your planner.

• Update your plan as changes occur on the farm.

• Be prepared at the end of the growing season to evaluate how well you were able to follow your plan.

If you have questions, please contact your nutrient management planner:

(571) 379-7514

• Mike Miller

• Nicole Slazinski

• Jay Yankey

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You can also call the DCR Warrenton Regional Office at 540-351-1501 or 540-351-1570.

For more information, click here.

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Below are some record-keeping sheets to further assist you:

• Nutrient Management Field Records Sheet

• Nutrient Management Plan Records

• Nutrient Application Calculations Records

• Manure Analysis Results Records

• Soil Test Results Records

• Nutrient Management Record Sheet for Overseeding Pastures

• Nutrient Management Records (All of the records above combined)

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The Board meets monthly at 8033 Ashton Avenue, Manassas,Conference Room B. Citizens may have a voice in local natural resources issues by attending these meetings and taking part in District programs.

TRC = Technical Review Committee    BOD = Board