The Frederick County Soil Conservation District is part of The Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts (MASCD), which serves as the voice for Maryland’s 24 soil and water conservation districts on state legislative issues. It also provides a forum for training, policy-making and the exchange of information at their annual and quarterly gatherings.
The Frederick County Soil Conservation District promotes and implements a range of local, state and federal programs including the Frederick County Land Preservation and Rural Legacy Programs, the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, the Maryland Agricultural Water Quality Cost-Share Program and the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1998. The Frederick County Soil Conservation District develops soil conservation and water quality plans and provides assistance to landowners to install best management practices. We emphasize new cooperators and livestock operations and implement the environmental provisions of the Farm Bill.
Some of the district’s projects include animal waste storage structures, grass waterways, stream fencing and stream crossings, heavy use areas for livestock, installation of water troughs, grassed and forested stream buffers and the cover crop program that helps remove residual nutrients from the current crop year with fall plantings of small grain. Cover crops also help prevent soil erosion by eliminating bare ground from fall to spring planting.