VIGO COUNTY, IND. (WTWO/WAWV) — Residents gathered Wednesday morning to voice their opinions on how to improve areas of concern in Vigo County.

The Soil and Water Conservation District met for their annual community meeting this afternoon to gather much-needed information from the public. This meeting allows people to address the concerns they have regarding conservation and resources.

The public input allows the federal agencies to provide things that are needed in the county. It also lets people of the community address concerns that may be overlooked by state committees that could potentially get funding for those areas.

Brendan Kearns is the director of the SWCD, and he gives an example of how these concerns are addressed.

“Let’s say quail, for example. This is a good opportunity to say that we would like to see the quail habitat improve. That would let the federal government know that we have an interest in certain kinds of plants that have berries and cover for quail” Kearns said.

The group will then collectively make a list that ranks the concerns of the area from least to greatest. This allows them to properly distribute the funds they get to the things in order of need.

Kearns also explained what happens once this data is collected.

“This information will then go to the federal agencies, the USDA and NRDS, and they will pay attention to the data and figure out where to focus their priorities and cost-share dollars to Vigo County,” Kearns explained.

For more information, visit the Vigo County Soil and Water Conservation District website.