Each of Iowa’s 99 counties should have a Resource Enhancement Committee, composed of anyone interested in the REAP program. In recent years, many county committees have become inactive, although there is a current effort to revive and establish them in all counties.
2016 REAP County Chairs
County committees have several important functions. Briefly, these include:
- The signature of the county committee chairperson is necessary for all city, county conservation and private/public cost share grant requests.
- County committees are in the best position to educate county residents on what REAP has done for their county, along with the values and benefits of REAP.
- County committees should prepare a plan for their county showing what they want REAP to accomplish in the future, and where they want to see REAP money expended.
As county committees are reestablished and as their chairpersons are selected, they will be added to a list that can be accessed from this page. If your county is not listed, check with your county conservation board to see if a committee is in the process of being established. Otherwise, check back here from time to time to see if your county is listed.
Committee Duties
REAP is a local, grassroots program. It is your local conservation program, guided by your local interests for your local needs. To make REAP work the best for you, your county needs a REAP county committee, and you should be a part of it.
According to the actual REAP law, the duties of the county committee include:
- Coordinate the program, plans and proposed projects developed by cities, county conservation board and soil and water conservation district for funding by REAP.
- Review and comment upon all REAP projects before they are submitted for funding.
- Propose a five-year plan that includes a one-year proposed expenditure plan and submit it to the DNR.
These duties can be easily met without a great deal of effort. Critically important to the success of REAP, the rest of the citizens in your county need to know of the benefits of REAP.
Educating Iowans about REAP, how it works, how it is funded, how they benefit is critical to REAP's support by the Legislature, the Governor, and the four state departments that help operate REAP. REAP county committees are in the best position to carry out this important duty.
Additional information about REAP county committees can be found in the Iowa Code: 455A.20.