AISWCD: Budget cuts threaten conservation districts’ future

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts is sounding the alarm as the fiscal year 2026 state budget continues to underfund the state’s 97 Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

For the second consecutive year, SWCDs will receive only $4.5 million — nearly a 50% reduction from fiscal year 2024 levels and below what was budgeted more than 25 years ago, leaving many districts facing layoffs, service reductions, or even closure.

“This translates to roughly $40,000 per district, leaving them with barely enough to employ one full-time staff member with benefits, let alone the two each district needs,” said Eliot Clay, AISWCD executive director.

“The state is forcing critical conservation offices to cut staff, even as farmers face climate volatility, rising input costs and mounting pressure to adopt sustainable practices.”

In response to last year’s initial cuts, AISWCD launched a statewide petition campaign to restore SWCD operations funding, with a goal of collecting at least 100 signatures from each district.

Volunteers and directors gathered thousands of signatures both online and in-person, demonstrating deep, bipartisan public support for the work of SWCDs.

AISWCD also coordinated legislative meetings and coalition efforts with partners like the Illinois Environmental Council, Illinois Stewardship Alliance and Illinois Soybean Association to advocate for funding restoration in the fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2026 budgets.

Despite bipartisan support for Senate Bill 2387, which would have created a dedicated, tax-neutral revenue stream for SWCDs, the legislature adjourned without taking action.

AISWCD had worked daily in the Capitol this spring to advance the bill, which gained majority sponsorship in the Senate.

Illinois’ SWCDs are essential to supporting farmers in adopting conservation practices that protect soil health and water quality, Clay said.

Their absence endangers progress on the state’s Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy, limits the ability to leverage federal funds and increases risk from extreme weather — evident in Chicago’s largest dust storm in 90 years, which struck just two weeks before the legislature failed to act, he said.

A troubling announcement recently for communities in and around Kankakee south of Chicagoland advising parents of infants to avoid tap water for high nitrate levels — likely from fertilizer runoff into the nearby river — further underscores the association’s mission and the painful impact of these cuts, Clay said.

AISWCD remains committed to working with lawmakers, agencies and citizens to restore funding, expand local conservation services and ensure healthy soil and clean water for future generations, he said.