PCSWCD is accepting applications until April 1st for two Butch Fisher Memorial Scholarship awards this year!
Submit your application in person at the Monticello UDSA office, or through our new online form! Submission and eligibility details can be found on our website under the PCSWCD Foundation tab.
The Piatt County SWCD and Foundation’s March board meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday, March 5th at 8:00am. The meeting will be held in the Monticello USDA building conference room (1209 Bear Lane, Monticello, IL 61856).
The Piatt County Soil & Water Conservation District Foundation is co-sponsoring a presentation by John Deere historian and storyteller Brian ‘Fox’ Ellis at Allerton Public Library on Thursday, February 26th at 4pm! Join us as Ellis portrays John Deere himself, covering 100 years of agricultural history and the future of farming.
The Land Conservation Foundation has announced details for their eighth annual Mudpuppy Festival!
The 2026 festival will be held on Sunday, February 1st from 1:00 – 4:00pm at the Monarch Events Center (212 S Independence St, Monticello)
Help celebrate the unique and exciting mudpuppy, a rare aquatic salamander known to occur in the Sangamon River – along with other special creatures! If you would like to donate to LCF or sponsor this event, mail your donation to LCF at (508 S Broadway Ave, Urbana, IL 61801) or visit their website: https://www.landconservationfoundation.org/
The USDA office in Monticello has re-opened!
Our office phones and emails are now operational. We are returning messages that we were not able to access during the shutdown as fast as possible, but if you are still waiting on a reply please feel free to stop by the office or give us a call. Thank you for your patience and understanding!
For folks who have pre-ordered trees from our John Beckhart Memorial Tree Sale: Due to the government shutdown, our USDA office building remains inaccessible and we have changed the location for tree pick up scheduled for this Friday, October 10th from 8:00am – 4:30pm.
The new tree pick up location is 1115 N State Street, Monticello, IL 61856 on the north side of the buildings. The date and time (10/10, 8:00-4:30) will remain the same. Below is a map showing the new pick up location.
If you have any questions, please email us at piattswcd@gmail.com. Thank you!
Due to the lapse in federal government funding, the USDA office in Monticello will be closed until further notice. Staff will not have access to the building, office phones, or government issued email accounts until Congress restores funding.
To reach Piatt County SWCD employees, please email piattswcd@gmail.com. Thank you!
The Piatt County Soil and Water Conservation District would like to thank John for donating his time to the PCSWCD Board of Directors for 19 years, from 2000 to 2019. He was a highly committed board member who rarely missed a meeting. Throughout his time serving on the Board, John has played many roles and was instrumental in developing programs and financial security for the District. The Board and staff are deeply grateful for his dedication to our mission for nearly two decades. In honor of his passing, the District is memorializing the annual fall tree sale as the John Beckhart Memorial Tree Sale.
Our last Electronics Recycling event of the year is Wednesday, July 30th at Forest Preserve Park in Monticello!
Show up early to guarantee disposal! The event will run from 9am – 11:30am or until the truck is full.
Event Rules:
-Must be a Piatt County resident/landowner
-Free! for most items. $25 charge required for large console or projection T.V.s
-No White Goods: refrigerators, freezers, washers, dryers, dishwashers, hot water heaters, etc.
-No Batteries
-Limit 10 items per vehicle
-Limit 3 T.V.s or computer monitors per vehicle
Next Electronics Recycling Event: January 2026
