Since we began the “Conservation Corner” monthly series not long ago, we have featured individuals who are conservation “doers.” People whose day-to-day decisions regarding the land have a positive impact.
These “conservation doers” are part of the fabric of our local ecology. Soil and Water Conservation Districts are also a part of that fabric and have been so since 1935, when Congress agreed to a Soil Conservation Service after spending an afternoon in session with skies darkened by soil particles blown in from the Great Plains.
The Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District became recognized under Maine State Law in January of 1942. Since then, the SASWCD has grown from working with farmers as conservation “cooperators” to include all landowners.
Hugh Bennett, director of the Soil Conservation Service when it began stated, “I consider the soil conservation districts movement one of the most important developments in the whole history of agriculture. It has proved even more effective, I am convinced, than we had dared to expect.” Effective because each conservation district is led by a local group of farmers, agricultural professionals, and foresters who know first-hand the environmental issues of a region. Effective because conservation districts are non-regulatory. Effective because conservation districts are the grass-roots connection between federal agencies and producers.
Each of the 16 conservation districts in the state of Maine rely on an annual payment from the Maine Department of Agriculture of $17,500 to operate. In the upcoming legislative session, the Commissioner of Agriculture will be cutting his budget further.
Conservation Districts are in danger of losing some or all of their funding. For many Districts, including the SASWCD, losing all of our base funding would result in either closure of District offices or a discontinuation of services such as landowner assistance, student and public education workshops, watershed and erosion control grant projects and, most importantly, the locally-led, grass-roots connection for farmers, foresters, and landowners.
If you value the history and current work of the SASWCD, please take a moment to contact our state representatives and Seth Bradstreet, commissioner of agriculture at 287-3419 and ask him to not cut District funding.
Monetarily, the funding is not much but it allows Districts to give a much greater return to the state of Maine and southern Aroostook through on-the-ground projects such as a local foods brochure to promote small, family farms or the many watershed grants that focus on erosion control to keep soil in our fields and out of our many lakes and streams. Let’s keep this District a part of the ecological fabric in southern Aroostook.
Editor’s note: Angie Wotton loves her work as District Manager for the SASWCD. She also raises pastured pork and vegetables with her husband on their small West Berry Farm in Hammond.
