This year "the" political race in Prince
William County is for Director of the Soil and Water Conservation District where six candidates are vying for three
elected seats on the Districts' Board of Directors. There has been a lot of questions and confusion in recent days
by County political leaders, Soil and Water District candidates running for elected Director positions and the
local media as to what the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District does and what it's purpose is.
I would like to provide this background review on the mission of the Agency.
Soil and Water Conservation districts had their beginning in the 1930s when Congress, in response to national concern
over mounting erosion, floods and the sky-blackening dust storms that swept across the country, enacted the Soil
Conservation Act of 1935. The act stated for the first time a national policy to provide a permanent program for
the control and prevention of soil erosion, and directed the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Soil Conservation
Service (now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service) to implement this policy. The conservation district
concept was developed to enlist the cooperation of landowners and occupiers in carrying out the programs authorized
by the act.
The Soil Conservation District's Law of Virginia was passed in 1938, and a tri-county Northern Virginia Soil and
Water Conservation District was established on July 30, 1945. The Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District
was formed on May 25, 1971 after the separation of Loudoun, Fairfax and Prince William Counties into independent
Districts.
The Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District is governed by a five-member Board of Directors comprised
of local citizens who are familiar with local problems. Three of the Directors are elected County-wide in a general
election, and two are appointed by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board. One of the appointed Directors,
by law, is an Extension Agent from the Prince William Cooperative Extension Service. Additional expertise and assistance
is provided to the District by Associate Directors from the local jurisdictions.
The mission of the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District is to provide leadership in the conservation
of soil, water and related resources to all Prince William County citizens, through technical assistance, information
and education. The District accomplishes this mission by administering the Virginia Agricultural Best Management
Practices Cost-Share Program and other state conservation programs in the county, developing Soil & Water Quality
Conservation Plans for agricultural landowners, and developing and administering educational programs to youths
and adults. The District plays a role in the larger objective of improving water quality not only in local watersheds,
but also in the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.
In its three-year Strategic Plan, the District has set goals that relate to its Agricultural, Educational and Administrative
responsibilities. The Annual Plan of Work is organized around these goals and the objectives identified for each
goal. Tasks are identified for each objective and assigned to one or more staff members. This ties the mission
and goals to tasks and staff members, clarifying the means by which the District will accomplish at the ground
level what it reaches for in its mission statement.
Financial and administrative assistance for these programs comes from the Virginia Department of Conservation and
Recreation (DCR), Prince William County, Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance Department, City of Manassas, and occasional
federal and grant funds. The District partners closely with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, DCR,
Virginia Cooperative Extension, Ducks Unlimited and the Prince William County Department of Public Works. In addition,
it has formed working relationships with a number of other local agricultural, conservation and education groups
and businesses. Many of these same groups, as well as county citizens, assist the District in developing its Strategic
Plan every three years.
The District participates in broader cooperative conservation efforts through the Potomac Council, Potomac Watershed
Roundtable and various regional events and meetings. Through these groups, the District plays a role in the larger
effort to educate and coordinate watershed stakeholders to better achieve widely agreed-upon water quality goals.
