Stream Buffer Participation

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The VPC is working with the Soil Conservation District, Prettyboy Watershed Alliance, Sparks-Glencoe Community Planning Council and other groups to evaluate why land owners are reluctant to take advantage of free or subsidized buffer planting programs. Stream buffers provide much-needed filtering and protection for stream systems, and recognizing this, government agencies and non-profits offer incentives to get landowners to plant trees along naked streams on their properties. It is often very difficult to get interested landowners. To better understand the resistance, a consulting firm (Opinion Works) was hired to conduct three focus groups made up of farmers and residential property owners to elicit feedback. The focus group research will be augmented by phone interviews. A report will be published by spring.