Current News

We are holding another chainsaw workshop and raffle. If you're interested in attending the workshop, call the office to sign up. If you're interested in purchasing raffle tickets, stop by the office Monday - Friday from 7:30am - 4:00pm. Thank you.

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If you see any of these students out and about or their adviser, make sure you tell them congratulations and wish them good luck. They deserve it.

Congratulations to Sterling Newman Central Catholic High School Envirothon Team #1, Isaac Blaney, Bree Rosengren, David Swegle, Mary Powers, and Patrick Powers, for winning the 2019 Envirothon competition for Northwest Illinois Land Use Council #1. The 2019 event was hosted by Carroll and Whiteside counties, held March 5^th at Super Wash Headquarters Training Facility, Morrison, IL. The Land Use Council #1 Envirothon is an annual natural resources education program that is planned, organized, and promoted by local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD’s). The event is for high school students and emphasizes on hands-on and team oriented problem-solving skills. Teams tested their knowledge in forestry, soils, aquatics, wildlife and the 2019 current issue “Agricultural and the Environment: Knowledge and Technology to Feed the World”. Each of the five members from the first place team is eligible to receive a $500.00 scholarship upon completion of their first semester of post-secondary education. The Newman Central Catholic High School team was guided by advisor, Beth Verdick. The Newman team’s win will take them downstate to the Illinois State Envirothon competition, May 1 – 2, 2019 at Allerton Park near Monticello, Illinois.

Fulton Team #1 took second place and Newman CC Team #2 took third place in the competition. Eastland, having all FFA team members, will be going to the state competition for one day as the FFA representatives from Land Use Council #1.

We would also like to take the opportunity to say Thank You to all of the generous sponsors. Without the sponsors, we would not be able to give the students the chance to participate in such a great event. Thank You to Super Wash for allowing us to hold the event in their facility. The event and scholarship sponsors include (by County): Carroll County – Carroll County Farm Bureau and Jo-Carroll Energy, Whiteside County – Pheasants Forever Chapter #811, Wahl Clipper Corp., NWTF Big Bend Long Beards, American Piping Group and Whiteside County Natural Area Guardians. A big Thank You also goes to Northwest IL Blackhawk Hills Regional Council for donating to the scholarships as well. Donations were also given by Morrison Dairy Queen and Casey’s for prizes for the top three winning teams. The donations are all greatly appreciated. Thanks again to everyone that made this event possible!!

Congratulations to the winning teams and good luck to Newman Central Catholic Team #1 at the state competition.

**Program content for all of the local and state competitions is directed by North American Envirothon, established to coordinate the delivery of an environmental education program for high school students throughout North America.

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PHEASANT'S FOREVER FOOD PLOT SEED - SIGN UP AND PICK UP:

The PF food plot seed sign up sheet is currently available at our office. You have to be a member of Pheasant's Forever to be able to sign up for the seed. The pick up will be at Zoeller's shop in Sterling again this year, April 27, 2019 from 10am-2pm. If you have any questions, please call us at 815-772-2124 ext 3 or Keith Zoeller at 85-622-1598. Thank you.

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Spring Native Plant Sale:
Back by popular demand and more choices available, we are holding our annual spring plant sale.
Click the link for details and the order form.

2019 Spring Plant Order Form

Thank you.

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In need of a Land Evaluation Site Assessment?

Go to the LINKS tab on the left of this screen and click the appropriate link for the form. There is a $750.00 base fee which includes the first acre, every acre after that is $20.00 per acre. If you have any questions, let us know. 815-772-2124 ext 3. Thank you.

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Need information on pollinator gardens? Click the link below to find a Pollinator Garden Design Guide provided by NRCS.

Pollinator Garden Design Guide

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Wood Duck Houses:

Functional rustic wood duck houses, $55 each for front opening boxes. You will need to supply the pole, clamps and wood shavings. Put no more than 3" of wood shavings on the bottom. The rougher the wood, the more use it will get. Let us know if you are interested in purchasing one by calling 815-772-2124 ext 3. Thank you.

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UNCLEANED SUNFLOWER SEED FOR SALE:

We still have plenty of uncleaned black oil sunflower seed for sale. No guarantees on weed content or purity of the seed but should be suitable for bird feed. There will be approximately 20 pounds for the cost of $5.00. We have bags available but you may also bring containers if you would like instead of bags. Let us know if you would like any by calling 815-772-2124 ext 3 and make up pick up arrangements.
Thank you.

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Natural Area Guardians

If you are interested in preserving the lands natural beauty and would like to volunteer to help the with the native areas, please see the info listed in the Natural Area Guardian section of the website. To become a NAG member or if you have any questions, comments or concerns, they can be directed to our office at 815-772-2124 ext 3.

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Whiteside Swcd
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Spring 2019 Plant Order Form..pdf
0.7 MB