2026 Cost Share Resources
The Coon Creek Community Watershed Council offers a wide array of conservation cost share opportunities for our members. Our cost share is available on a first come, first serve basis. Deadlines for requesting cost share and eligibility requirements vary by program. Check below to find an option that is right for you.
Not finding what you’re looking for? Let us know so we can better serve you next season by emailing us at council@cooncreekwatershed.org.
To request cost share, you must be a CCCWC member. Membership is free and open all. Sign up here.
Seeding Support
- Cover crops: $25/acre up to 30 acres.
Request by Nov. 1, 2026. Must be planted in the Coon Creek Watershed.
- Prairie establishment & buffer strips: $200/acre up to 4 acres.
Request by Nov. 1, 2026. Must be planted in the Coon Creek Watershed.
Grazing Support
- Fencing: $0.50/ft, for up to 5,000ft.
Request by Sept. 30th 2026 for the 2027 season. Projects may be in the Coon Creek, West Fork Kickapoo, or Little La Crosse Watersheds.
- Pasture renovation: $25/acre up to 50 acres.
Request by Sept. 30, 2026 for 2027 season. Projects may be in the Coon Creek, West Fork Kickapoo, or Little La Crosse Watersheds.
Trees and Shrubs
- Hazelnuts: $10/Adventure Series cultivar. **Place Fall 2027 order by May 25, 2026!**
Priority to growers in the Coon Creek Watershed. Click here to place your hazelnut order.
- Other trees and shrubs: $10/tree up to 80 trees; $3/shrub up to 260 shrubs. Trees must be staked and planted in a tree tube. *Combined tree and shrub cost share not to excede $800/resquest*
Request by Dec. 31, 2026. Priority to growers in the Coon Creek Watershed.
Perennial Pathway: Click here to learn how we’re collaborating with local businesses, breeders, and growers to increase access to locally adapted, production grade hazelnut cultivars, with support from a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Partnership Grant.
Cover Crops
We offer cost share for cover crops on a first come-first serve basis at $25/acre, for up to 30 acres. If we have funding available at the end of the season, we will administer it across your additional acres on a prorated basis.
Why Cover Crop in the Coon Creek Watershed?
Cover crops are grown to maintain soil cover, and are often planted between the growing seasons of other crops. This practice helps improve soil health, reduce runoff, protect soil from nutrient loss, and more.
In an oral narrative interview with the CCCWC, council member and long-time farmer John Zinn explained why cover cropping is one strategy for managing flooding in the Coon Creek Watershed:
“You intercept the energy of raindrops as they fall, so that as raindrops get slowed down, the soil has the proper structure to be able to soak them up and direct that water into the groundwater, rather than make it run off as surface water. As the Haugen brother said, the water walks rather than runs.”
Trees and Hedges
We offer cost share for tree and hedge planting on a first come-first serve basis at $10/tree and $3/hedge. Trees MUST be planted in a tree tube.
From landscaping to silvopasture, no matter the size of your project, this funding is for you! We prioritize projects within the Coon Creek Watershed, but if we have funding left over at the end of the season, we will consider requests for projects outside of the Coon Creek Watershed as well.
Read how some Coon Creek residents used this funding in the 2024 season.
Edge of Field Practices
We offer cost share for edge of field plantings like prairie or riparian buffers on a first come-first serve basis at $200/acre.
A buffer is a living filter made up of almost any combination of trees, shrubs, and grasses. These
natural, living systems help protect water quality, reduce runoff, and protect against soil erosion.
Technical Assistance
The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Vernon County Land and Water Conservation Department are happy to support projects CCCWC-funded projects through FREE technical support.
Contact Justin Olson at NRCS (justin.olson@usda.gov), or David Hettenbach at Vernon County (david.hettenbach@vernoncountywi.gov) to request technical assistance.
Cover Crops
We offer cost share for cover crops on a first come-first serve basis at $25/acre, for up to 30 acres. If we have funding available at the end of the season, we will administer it across your additional acres on a prorated basis.
Why Cover Crop in the Coon Creek Watershed?
Cover crops are grown to maintain soil cover, and are often planted between the growing seasons of other crops. This practice helps improve soil health, reduce runoff, protect soil from nutrient loss, and more.
In an oral narrative interview with the CCCWC, council member and long-time farmer John Zinn explained why cover cropping is one strategy for managing flooding in the Coon Creek Watershed:
“You intercept the energy of raindrops as they fall, so that as raindrops get slowed down, the soil has the proper structure to be able to soak them up and direct that water into the groundwater, rather than make it run off as surface water. As the Haugen brother said, the water walks rather than runs.”
Trees and Hedges
We offer cost share for tree and hedge planting on a first come-first serve basis at $10/tree and $3/hedge. Trees MUST be planted in a tree tube.
From landscaping to silvopasture, no matter the size of your project, this funding is for you! We prioritize projects within the Coon Creek Watershed, but if we have funding left over at the end of the season, we will consider requests for projects outside of the Coon Creek Watershed as well.
Read how some Coon Creek residents used this funding in the 2024 season.
Edge of Field Practices
We offer cost share for edge of field plantings like prairie or riparian buffers on a first come-first serve basis at $200/acre.
A buffer is a living filter made up of almost any combination of trees, shrubs, and grasses. These
natural, living systems help protect water quality, reduce runoff, and protect against soil erosion.
Technical Assistance
The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Vernon County Land and Water Conservation Department are happy to support projects CCCWC-funded projects through FREE technical support.
Contact Justin Olson at NRCS (justin.olson@usda.gov), or David Hettenbach at Vernon County (david.hettenbach@vernoncountywi.gov) to request technical assistance.