Megan Ritterskamp Joins Soil and Water Conservation District as Invasive Species Specialist

The Dubois, Daviess, and Martin County Soil and Water Districts (SWCD) announces their new Invasive Species Specialist, Megan Ritterskamp. She is a Vanderburgh County resident and graduated from the University of Southern Indiana (USI). She grew up in Great Falls, MT but has resided in Warrick or Vanderburgh counties since 1996. While at USI she studied zoology, botany, ecology, environmental geology, and environmental policies/sociology.

She previously worked at Seton Harvest, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) unit in Vanderburgh County, growing a wide variety of vegetables for community members and charitable organizations. She has also been involved in several research studies ranging from bluebird monitoring to trace element soil contamination.

As the Invasive Species Specialist, Ritterskamp will work primarily through the Jasper SWCD office but will serve Dubois, Martin, and Daviess counties. Her position is funded for 36 months through a Clean Water Indiana grant, provided by the State Department of Agriculture. Ritterskamp will be working with area landowners and community organizations educating the public about the threat invasive species pose to the environment. Invasive plants that have been moving into Southern Indiana include Bush Honeysuckle, Autumn Olive, and Poison Hemlock to name a few.

“I am excited to work with area landowners, helping them identify invasive plants on their property and provide information on the best way to control those plants.”

If you would like Ritterskamp to conduct an invasive plant site visit on your property, or if you have any questions about invasive species in the area, please contact her at 812-254-4780 ext. 3 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Read more about invasive species here on our website: Invasive Plants

What's Blooming in the Rain Garden?

 The plants in the Eastside Park rain garden are still doing well, despite the recent dry weather.  In May, City of Washington employees prepared the top part of the garden for planting, and re-set the repaired educational sign. Employees from the city of Washington Stormwater Dept. and the SWCD gave the rain garden a fresh layer of mulch, and planted several new native plants to fill in some blank areas. Many of the rain garden plants are finished blooming (as of August 29) - except for a few Black-Eyed Susans - and the Swamp Milkweed is beginning to form seed pods. Although there are not many flowers blooming, the rain garden is still beneficial to our pollinators, providing food for a hungry Monarch caterpillar.

Are You Eligible for CREP?

The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is a federal-state conservation program designed to help alleviate some of the concerns of nonpoint source pollution by restoring buffers and wetlands to improve water quality. CREP participants receive financial incentives and maintain ownership rights to enrolled land. See the flyer below for more information.