No one can deny the love Minnesotans have for their rivers and lakes and the great outdoors. For over 70 years, Minnesota’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) have been hard at work protecting our resources by working with landowners on programs and practices that support conservation and healthy working lands. The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) honors and celebrates that work as part of Soil and Water Stewardship Week, April 29 – May 6, 2018.
“SWCDs are the boots on the ground in local conservation,” said Brian Hazel, Chair of the Fillmore SWCD Board of Supervisors. “We understand local issues and challenges, and are able to assist landowners with projects that meet their needs and improve Minnesota’s natural resources.”
In Minnesota, there are 89 soil and water conservation districts working in both urban and rural settings.
“Soil and Water Conservation Districts are locally led and knowledgeable about resource issues within their communities,” said LeAnn Buck, Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Executive Director. “They focus on providing soil and water conservation services to private landowners, which is essential because 78% of Minnesota’s lands are private.”
This is the 63rd annual Soil and Water Stewardship week, organized by the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) to promote resource conservation across the country. NACD relies on each conservation district to encourage stewardship through educational programs, field days and workshops. Each year, over 3,000 conservation districts participate in the event, making Stewardship Week one of the largest national conservation programs in the world.
This year the theme is “Watersheds: Our Water, Our Home,” which highlights the importance of caring for one of the most critical resources in the world, water. Free educational materials, including those for churches, can be found on the NACD website at www.nacdnet.org/general-resources/stewardship-and-education-materials/2018-watersheds-water-home.
For more information about Soil and Water Stewardship Week and how you can get involved in local conservation efforts, please contact the Fillmore SWCD at (507) 765-3878 ext. 3, stop by the office at 900 Washington St. NW in Preston, or visit us on the web at www.fillmoreswcd.org.