October 2012 - Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District

P AGE 3 V OLUME 36 I SSUE 3
District Names 2011 Conservationist of the Year
The District named Andrew Sansone, Senior Industrial Waste Technician
with the Monroe County Department of Environmental Services, as the
2011 Conservationist of the Year. Andrew has a Bachelors degree in
Water Resources from SUNY Brockport and has worked for the County
in the environmental field since 1997, conducting Household Hazardous
Waste collections, water sampling, and public education and outreach. He
has assisted the District with several programs and educational events
such as Conservation Field Days, code enforcement officer training,
Western New York Stormwater Management Training Series, and the
Districts Tree and Shrub Program. Andy has been instrumental in the
development and implementation of water quality improvement projects
Kelly Emerick, Executive Director
of MCSWCD (right) presenting
Andrew Sansone (left) the award.
and programs, specifically in relation to the stormwater management
program. He has also consistently exhibited an enduring effort to promote
natural resource conservation and improve water quality throughout
Monroe County. Congratulations Andy!
Board Member Recognized for Years of Service
Guest speaker, NYS Assemblyman Stephen
Hawley of the 139th district (left) presents
Rollin Pickering (right), with a service pin
and District jacket in recognition for his
20 years of service.
Monroe County SWCD Board of Director’s member Rollin Pickering
was recognized for his 20 years of devoted service to the Board at the
2012 “Soil to Spoon” Breakfast Banquet.
As the Board of Director’s NYS Grange Representative, and current
Chairman, Rollin has dedicated his time by performing internal
financial audits of the District operations, attending regular monthly
Board meetings, and assisting with the organization of the local
Envirothon competition.
In 1992, he suggested that the District branch out and extend
environmental educational opportunities to include high school
students, and host the first Monroe County Envirothon event. This local
environmental education event has now touched thousands of high
school student’s lives, and has enlightened each of them about the
importance of natural resources conservation. This event continues to
be offered in the spring of each year in Monroe County.
His only regret as a MCSWCD Board Member is that he doesn’t have more “free” time to help out with
the District’s programs and events. We thank you for you years of service Rollin, and to many more!!
Agricultural BMP Spotlight: Prescribed Grazing
Prescribed grazing is the controlled harvest of vegetation
with animals, managed with the intent to achieve a specific
objective. In a prescribed grazing system the pasture is
generally divided up into a multiple paddock systems and
the frequency of the herd’s rotations throughout the
paddocks is based on the rate of growth and condition of the
plants. The duration of the grazing season and intensity of
grazing is based on plant health and expected productivity
of the forage species to meet management objectives.
A well managed prescribed grazing system can increase
farm profitability by decreasing the input cost of feed, labor,
equipment, and fuel. At the same time, a well managed grazing herd helps protect soil, water, air, plant,
and animal resources by maintaining a dense vegetative cover on the soil, increasing soil organic matter,
improving the distribution of nutrients on fields, as well as reducing the potential for runoff from
concentrated animal waste storage areas.
For more information on agricultural BMP’s please contact Tucker Kautz, MCSWCD Planning
Technician, at: 585-473-2120 x108 or tucker.kautz@ny.nacdnet.net