News Release

December 13, 2011

Contact:
Mary Geiger
Communications Director
Kansas Department of Agriculture
(785) 296-2653 phone
Mary.Geiger@kda.ks.gov

Governor Brownback Recognizes Conservation Accomplishments

Five Kansas conservation districts received service recognition awards during the Kansas Association of Conservation District’s (KACD) annual convention in November.

The five districts that received Governor’s Recognition of Kansas Conservation Service awards were recognized for their excellence in helping local farmers and ranchers implement conservation practices and encouraging conservation in their areas. Conservation districts work with livestock waste systems, grazing, terraces, windbreaks, wells, pipelines, grass plantings and other practices, as well as other methods of conserving natural resources.

“Conservation districts should be proud of the level of acceptance of these practices and all of their other achievements,” said Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Dale Rodman. “People involved in conservation districts are Kansas’ true environmentalists. They recognize that quality soil and water are precious resources that require care in order to pass these resources on to future generations of agriculturists.”

The Governor’s Conservation District Service award winners were:

• Norton County (Area 1)
• Grant County (Area 2)
• Harvey County (Area 3)
• Douglas County (Area 4)
• Cherokee County (Area 5)

The conservation district is the primary local unit of government responsible for the conservation of soil, water and related natural resources within each county. Kansas conservation districts are political subdivisions of state government charged with this vital role. Funding comes from county and state allocations, with some districts generating funds by providing conservation goods and services.  KACD is a voluntary, nongovernmental, nonprofit organization established in 1944 for the purpose of establishing and supporting programs designed to advance the conservation and orderly development of Kansas land, water, and related resources.  The Kansas Department of Agriculture Division of Conservation works closely with local conservation districts and the KACD.

For more information about conservation in Kansas, contact the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Conservation at 785-296-3600. 

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Editors’ Note: More specific information is available about each of the winning conservation districts’ activities. Contact Chelsea Good at chelsea.good@kda.ks.gov or 785-296-2653 for details.