The KVA was formed in 1966 “to promote the Kickapoo Valley as a scenic, recreational and conservation area.” Membership was made up of individual community members, local businesses and local units of government. In an effort to revitalize the Kickapoo River Valley and work towards meeting the requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Law, P.L. 92-500 (Water Quality Law), the KVA and Crawford, Monroe, Richland and Vernon Soil, Water, Conservation Departments (SWCDs) applied for a Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) and Local Employment Assistance Project (LEAP) grant in the spring of 1977.
CETA was a federally funded program signed into law in December 1973. In January 1977 the Carter Administration expanded the CETA program to include LEAP which encouraged projects that would not only provide employment but also give back to local communities through revitalization projects. As a CETA/LEAP grantee recipient, the KVA River clean up project intended to provide employment and training to unemployed residents of the watershed area. The CETA grant application stated that the KVA would support a river revitalization project that would not only improve the local economy but also help the river area comply with the amended Clean Water Act of 1977.
The initial goal of the project was to clean the riverbed and create a better environment for recreational use, create and clean area parks along the river, and create or re-grade hiking trails along the watershed. The grant was scheduled to run for one year but was extended for a second year in 1978 and was closed out in 1980. During the first year of the grant, additional projects were added in response to those needs expressed by the KVA, the SWCDs and the community. Those projects added were: Area History Project (1978 January 23), Kickapoo Valley (non-point pollution source) Survey Project (1978 February 13), and an Alternative Energy Project (1978 May 25).
The project ended in September 1979 leaving a number of participants with training but no job prospects. A few administrative staff, including Tom Hovde, were kept on payroll through early 1980 to close out the grant, file tax returns, and write final project reports for the KVA.
