Over the years, Illinois legislators have made historic investments in the Soil and Water Conservation Districts, investing $9 million in 2022, and $8.5 million in 2023 and 2024. However, in the 2025 state budget, the General Assembly passed a $4 million cut to the conservation districts. During this time, Shawnee Sheehan, Resource Conservationist for the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District shares she hopes the district can lean on the community for support.
“During [the Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts] summer conference, they did encourage all of us to set out petitions to request a resolution to be made to Soil and Water Districts,” says Sheehan. “So, if you are in the area, if you’re stopping in to see FSA, or stopping into any of your USDA Service Centers, I encourage you all to pop over to your Soil and Water Districts and say, ‘hey, can I sign this?’ It’ll take you two seconds and it’ll mean the world to us all.”
While it is still uncertain how districts will be affected, the budget cuts mean there will be less support available for Illinois Farmers looking to adapt or adopt conservation practices. Sheehan adds that the goal of the petition is to get the budget reconsidered in the future.
“We understand that that’s not exactly the easiest thing to do when it comes to statewide budgets,” says Sheehan, “but hopefully, maybe there can be some money moved around to give us a little bit more towards what we’ve been used to getting to avoid the potential firing of employees.”
After the budget cuts, districts will receive the same funding levels for programming. Cuts will be made to the operation costs.
