Cover Crops Play Important Role in Watershed Health

Over the past few months Ashland Soil and Water Conservation district has been working towards creating a 9-element plan for the Lang Creek watershed. The Lang Creek watershed contains downtown Ashland and a large amount of agriculture land making this watershed diverse in the practices that we have determined that will make a positive impact on the watershed.

Cover crops like crimson clover not only provide great habitat for pollinators, but they also improve soil health and water quality.

Over the years in the watershed, point source pollination has been more monitored and controlled, but now we must address non-point source pollution. Ohio EPA defines nonpoint source pollution as “polluted run off and physical alterations to a stream or river channel, they result of a land use and/or man-made changed to a river rather than flowing from a single point of discharge.” 9 element plans allow for us to identify what some of the non-point source pollution is.

We have identified critical areas within Lang Creek to implement practices that will help maintain and improve water quality. Practices such as livestock stream exclusion, manure storage, streambank stabilization and restoration, floodplain restoration, buffer areas, stormwater rentention, and cover crops, that will work towards our goals for the watershed.

Community input was vital to create this plan and we thank everyone for their ideas and willingness to participate. If you are interested in implementing a project, we encourage you to reach out to Ashland SWCD. 

Some of the projects listed above do have funding available right now. Our cover crop cost share program sign up is happening now through July 8th. Cost share is available to producers within the Muskingum watershed jurisdictional boundaries which includes Jackson, Milton, Montgomery, Perry, Mifflin, Vermillion, Mohican, Green, Lake, and Hanover townships. We will also be coordinating an aerial cover crop seeding this year in our office. For more information or to sign up please contact our office at 419-281-7645.