September Soil and Water Gazetteer

Lake Trafford

Mobile Irrigation Labs

The Collier Soil & Water Conservation District operates three Mobile Irrigation Labs for the purpose of conserving water.  The Agricultural Lab is sponsored by the South Florida Water Management District, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.  The Big Cypress Basin Urban Lab is sponsored by the Big Cypress Basin and USDA - NRCS.  The Lee County Urban Lab is sponsored by the South Florida Water Management District and USDA - NRCS.

ROMA

Defined by Florida  Statute, a Regional Offsite Mitigation Area (ROMA) provides a low-cost mechanism for landowners to compensate for permitted wetland impacts resulting from residential construction.  A Memorandum of Agreement has been entered into by and among the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Forestry, and the Collier Soil & Water Conservation District, which will now be allowed to acquire land or conservation easements from willing sellers only in North Golden Gate Estates to restore wetlands.

 Farm Bill 2002                      Proposed Farm Bill 2007

As a result of the direct efforts of our federal partner, the USDA - NRCS has provided hundreds of thousands of federal dollars in the form of cost-shared assistance and conservation easements to Collier County land users.  The Farm Bill 2002 programs have provided land users with cost-share incentives for Best Management Practice implementation and for conservation easements in environmentally sensitive areas on Collier County's farms and ranch lands.  The 2007 Farm Bill is in development now.