Brown: Making conservation work requires joint effort

Conservation districts in Kansas have been around for a long time. In fact, the first conservation district was organized in 1939 in Labette County.

According to Bourbon County Conservation District Vice Chairman Ronnie Brown, the district in Bourbon County has been in place for 62 years. Brown said that the organizations and the way they are made up can be somewhat confusing.

First of all, he said, the districts receive both state and county funding. The funds from the state level come from the Kansas Water Plan (KWP). The funds for the KWP come from many different sources including municipal and industrial water fees, pesticide registration fees, fertilizer tonnage tax, clean drinking water fund and the state general fund in addition to other sources.

The KWP funds are allocated to several state agencies, which include the State Conservation Commission (SCC). According to Brown, the SCC allots money called the Aid to Conservation Districts, which is matched to the amount made by each county. This is used to operate the district.

Brown said that the SCC also allots money to districts for use on cost share programs for local projects. Examples of these cost share programs include water resources cost share, non-point source pollution and water quality buffers. Brown said the district also receives income from the sale of grass seed and equipment rental.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been an integral part of the conservation districts since the beginning. The conservation districts have a cooperative agreement with the NRCS in which the NRCS furnishes office space for the conservation districts. In addition to providing office space, the NRCS also covers the cost of utilities and most office equipment. Brown said that in return, the conservation district supplies an office manager, who does most of the office duties for both agencies. The office manager is supervised by the district conservationist, Brown said. The district manager is required to perform communication duties, to file documents, to answer phones and to act as the receptionist for the conservation district and the NRCS.

The district conservationist, who is a federal employee, also has many duties. These job responsibilities include developing conservation plans, designing land practices, completing layout, working with information and education Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQUIP) contracts and also working with the Farm Service Agency to develop Conservation Reserve Program plans among other things, Brown said.

Brown said conservation of our natural resources is an extremely complex effort. Many partnerships are required in order to make the whole program work. It would be difficult for one of the partners to operate without the other partners.

Brown said that aside from the work that the different agencies are doing to conserve the environment, it is important for everyone to do their part in protecting all natural resources.