Vigo County SWCD

Conservation on the land for today, tomorrow, and the future.

Hello to all County residents and landowners. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Bill Kutter and I am the new Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP) Coordinator. I officially joined the USDA– Natural Resources Conservation Service County office staff January 7, 2008.

I grew up in Vincennes Indiana and attended Vincennes University after high school. I then went on to receive my Bachelor of Science Degree in natural resources and environmental management from Ball State University. After college, I worked as Conservation Technician for the Knox County Soil and Water Conservation District for six years. While in this position, I was involved in all of the USDA, NRCS programs.

The WREP Coordinator position is a working agreement between the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). I am here to provide technical assistance and program guidance to landowners who are interested in the Wabash River Floodplain Corridor WREP Project.

The objective of the WREP Program is to work with private landowners while partnering with the NRCS. The major goal is to obtain permanent easements on private owned lands that will allow wetland restoration practices to be applied to their original wetland conditions.

The Wetland Reserve Enhancement Program has been very successful in west-central Indiana. The conservation benefits in restoring these wetlands provide long-term benefits to the valuable and vulnerable soil, water, air, plant, and animal resources.

The Wabash WREP Project involves six counties along the Wabash River, including Fountain, Parke, Sullivan, Vigo, Vermillion, and Warren. This unique partnership project is being implemented in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to utilize my services and expertise.

I am available to meet with you one on one at your farm or provide a group presentation about restoring wetlands through the WREP Program. I look forward to working with landowner’s in each county. Please feel free to call me at the Soil and  Water office, (812) 232-0193 ext. 3.