The function of the Soil and Water Conservation District is to take available technical, financial, and educational resources, whatever their source, and focus or coordinate them so that they meet the needs of the local land user for the conservation of soil, water, and related sources.
We would like to ask the local landowner to complete a brief survey to help us, help you in applying conservation to the land. This is a tool that supports us in assessing the local needs.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT – LOCALLY LED
In a world of varied government programs, everyone can agree on one thing; no single program, piece of legislation, or single issue can fully address the needs of local communities across the country. This is especially true of natural resource conservation.
Because of the vast array of natural resource conditions and uses throughout the US, it is common sense that community members are best suited to identify and resolve the concerns in their respective areas, not just those identified by federal programs, legislation or national priorities. Locally led is used to describe a way of addressing natural resource needs – one that begins, is carried out and ends at the local level. The districts hope to continue on in this manner; this core concept defines how we have traditionally led and applied conservation practices.
Conservation districts’ success in the past has been largely due to the emphasis on their ability to identify needs, set priorities and carry out programs based on local conditions and needs. As conservation programs, funding and focuses continue to shift, it is more important than ever for districts to step up to the plate and fulfill their responsibilities as local representatives for local, resource-driven conservation. This too is where we reach out to our communities to aide in identifying resource concerns so that practices and funding can be assessed to address these land and water resource concerns. Districts are the gateway between the community and outside technical, funding and educational resources, using a mix of federal, state and local programs as tools to solve local concerns.
The natural resource needs of the community are at the core of the locally led process. It involves the community in the assessment of those needs, as well as the solutions and priorities. Locally led is not a program, but again, a way of doing business, a way to effectively meet communities’ needs and get the right kind of conservation on the ground where it is most needed.
At this district, we strive to assess the needs within the county to better request assistance for those conservation practices. As landowners in the county, we encourage your input for conservation needs. Stewardship calls for each person to help conserve our precious resources that provide us with our daily sustenance; our security depends upon healthy soil and clean water.
Let us continue on in the name of conservation.
Melissa White, District Manager