Farm Horizons
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Dec. 5, 2016
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Page 26
Mike Swanson at one of four settling ponds he created by building dikes, preventing runoff into Dunns Lake.
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Mike Swanson honored by MCSWCD
Mike Swanson was recently named Outstanding
Conservationist for 2016
by the Meeker County Soil
and Water Conservation
District.
Swanson owns 448 acres
of land in Darwin and
Forest City townships, of
which approximately 300
acres are in a grassed Conservation Reserve Program
Swanson
is
(CRP), 10 acres are build- Mike
the
2016
Meeker
ing sites, and the remain- County
Outstanding
ing 138 acres are woods Conservationist.
and slough.
One county ditch, two
private ditches, and two grassed waterways are on
Swanson’s acreage, all buffered by grassed CRP.
Cattails and other natural vegetation remain on a
large area of the lower ground. He diligently manages
his acres to keep out invasive trees and noxious weeds.
Throughout the years, Swanson has sought the advice of the Natural Resource Conservation Service and
SWCD for issues regarding weed control or other issues
he has had on his CRP acres.
The only plowing done on Swanson’s acres is for 16
one-acre food plots which he plants into corn each year
to attract pheasants and deer.
He also removed woody cover to improve wildlife
habitat.
Swanson has restored four wetlands by disrupting tile
and building dikes to retain water, and has over a mile
of field windbreaks at six locations.
The Swanson homestead is located on Dunns Lake in
Darwin Township. Swanson built a concrete retaining
wall and constructed four dikes to create settling ponds,
preventing runoff into the lake.
Swanson has done extensive landscaping at his shoreline, including a 150-foot waterfall, fire pit, outdoor fireplace, pergola, and arboretum. More than 50 varieties
of trees and plants are featured in the arboretum, and
multiple perennial gardens throughout the property.
Swanson will be honored at a luncheon at the annual
convention of the Minnesota Association of Soil and
Water Conservation Districts in Bloomington Tuesday,
Dec. 6, at an event co-sponsored by The Farmer magazine.
Swanson has been a silent conservation hero for many
years. He is always willing to lend a helping hand to any
of his neighbors who need technical advice, or are looking for advice as to whether they should put their land
into a conservation program. n