Conservation District Day at the Statehouse
Soil and Water Conservation Districts were formed in response to the 1935 natural disaster known as the Dust Bowl. The U.S. Department of Agriculture was faced with the immense task of protecting our soil and water resources, and so helped devise a model grassroots system to meet these urgent needs. This grassroots model became one of the success stories of modern conservation.
Maine’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts recently participated in Conservation District Day at the Satehouse Hall of Flags in Augusta. All of the Conservation Districts in Maine work together and are members of the Maine Association of Conservation Districts. Each individual District has the unique ability to set important natural resource priorities and guide their implementation at the local level with help from a volunteer Board of Supervisors. By working with landowners, organizations and government, Maine’s 16 Districts have helped to protect our soil, water, forestry, wildlife and other natural resources for over 60 years.
Conservation District Day at the Statehouse gave Districts a special opportunity to outline the conservation technical assistance and education which they provide to landowners, businesses, schools and municipalities. Numerous Maine State legislators stopped into the Hall of Flags to visit with District staff and discuss local conservation issues. The Districts value this occasion as it allows them to show how they are “making conservation work for you.†For more information on District programs, and a link to your local Conservation District’s website, please visit the Maine Association of Conservation Districts website at www.maineswcds.org. All programs and services of the Soil and Water Conservation Districts and USDA are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis, without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political belief, or marital and familial status.