Best Management Practices

Animal Trail and Walkways - (view photos)
A travel way for livestock and/or wildlife to provide movement through difficult or sensitive terrain. The trails should accomplish one or more of the following purposes: provide or improve access to forage, water and/or shelter; improve grazing efficiency and distribution, divert travel away from ecologically sensitive and/or erosive sites.

Critical Area Planting - (view photos)
Establish permanent vegetation on areas with existing or expected high rates of erosion on degraded sites that usually cannot be stabilized by ordinary conservation treatment, and if left untreated could be severely damaged by erosion.

Cropland Conversion
Establish and maintain a conservation cover of grasses, trees, or wildlife plantings on fields previously used for crop production to improve water quality.

Fence
Enclosing or dividing an area of land with a suitable permanent structure to: exclude livestock or big game from areas that should be protected from grazing; control domestic livestock while permitting wildlife movement; confine livestock or big game to an area.

Field Border
A strip of permanent vegetation established at the edge of a field to: control erosion, protect edges of fields that are used as turn rows or travel lanes for farm machinery, reduce competition from adjacent woodland, provide wildlife food cover, or improve the landscape.

Grassed Waterway - (view photos)
A natural or constructed channel that is shaped or graded to required dimensions for the purpose of: conveying runoff from rows, terraces, diversions or other water concentrations without causing erosion or flooding; to reduce gully erosion and to protect water quality.

Heavy Use Protection - (view photos)
The stabilization of areas frequently and intensively used by people, animals or vehicles by establishing vegetative cover, by surfacing with suitable materials and/or by installing needed structures.

Long Term No-Till - (view photo)
Planting all crops for at least five consecutive years in 80% or more residue from the existing crops and/or cover crops with no soil surface width disturbance greater than 25% of the row spacing.

Stream Crossing - (view photos)
A trail or travel-way constructed across a stream to allow livestock or equipment to cross without disturbing the bottom or causing erosion on the banks.

Stripcropping - (view photos)
Growing crops and sod in systematic arrangement of alternating strips or bands on the contour to improve water quality.

Watering Facility - (view photos)
A device (tank, trough or other watertight container) for providing animal access to water in order to: protect and enhance vegetative cover through proper distribution of grazing; provide erosion control through better grassland management and/or protect streams, ponds and water supplies from contamination by providing alternative access to water.

This is only a partial listing of conservation practices. For a complete list of practices or questions regarding our Conservation Programs, please call 703-2850, or come by the Forsyth Soil and Water Conservation District, 1450 Fairchild Road, Winston-Salem (located near the Smith-Reynolds Airport in the Agriculture Building).