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     Conservation districts are units of local government designed to help citizens conserve their soil, water, and other renewable natural resources. Select an item from the drop-down menu above or the list below to learn more.

 

The Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act Water Quality Watershed Planning, Local Watershed Councils, and Coordinated Resource Management Efforts Riparian Management Federal Conservation Programs Conservation Education Urban Conservation Saline Seep Reclamation Rangeland Resources Forest Practices Resource Conservation and Development Water Reservations Conservation Equipment And That's Not All

 

Conservation Districts 101...by Mike Wendland

     Conservation Districts were organized in the 1930’s as a response to the severe erosion problems of the ‘ Dust Bowl’ days.  In 1937 President Roosevelt recommended that all states adopt legislation that  would allow for the formation of local conservation districts.  Today there are almost 3000 conservation districts nationwide.

     Montana passed legislation creating its conservation districts in 1939 to provide for local control of natural resource management programs and activities.  Montana has 58 conservation districts whose boundaries usually follow the states county lines.  These districts include the entire state and include municipalities which have petitioned to be included in district boundaries.  Conservation Districts are political subdivisions of the State of Montana, governed by a board of elected or appointed supervisors.  Each district has 5 elected supervisors and up to 2 supervisors appointed by the councils of the incorporated cities that lie within their boundaries.  Funding for the operation of conservation districts comes from a maximum of 1.5 mills levied on real property within the boundaries of the district.  In most cases, funding isn’t adequate to meet the goals of the district so they rely heavily on grants and other creative funding sources.

     The function of the Conservation district is “to take available technical, financial, and educational resources, whatever their source, and focus or coordinate them so that they meet the needs of the local land user for conservation of the natural resources in the district.”

     Conservation Districts work with their partners the NRCS, FSA, FWP, DEQ, and others to carry out this goal.  Conservation Districts have a long and successful history as the grass roots organization dedicated to the management and conservation of natural resources in the districts, and we hope to continue this agenda.

Burdock in Beaver Creek Park

     Through a grant the Hill County Conservation District received Doug Ireland was hired to spray burdock during the summer of 2004 in the Beaver Creek Park.

     Hill County Weed District employees brought out their weed spraying trucks to help Doug with the larger areas.  The product they used was Tordon with 2,4-D and sometimes Roundup.

     By the end of the summer approximately  70-80% of the Burdock was eliminated.  When a certain area was sprayed, Doug would monitor it each week to make sure progress was made and by doing this he saw results all the time.  The 2,4-D did a good job of killing the burdock without making the area around them look bad. 

           Before Spraying                                                        After Spraying