Letter to the Editor

Soil and water district elections important

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Dear editor:

The Elmore Soil and Water Conservation District (ESWCD) extends appreciation to any and all persons past and present who have served on the ESWCD board.

With several comments that were made after the last election held four years ago, I will try to give a short explanation for those who said that they "didn't know about the district election or what the district does."

The Elmore SWCD came into existence June 17, 1940, by request of President Roosevelt, after the serious consequences of the dust bowl in the mid to late '30's. He asked the governors of the states to form grass roots districts to address the problems of soil erosion. As a result soil types were identified and mapped. The responsibilities of the districts now include the acronym that I call SWAPAH which stands for Soil, Water, Air, Plants, and Animals and Humans.

The district officials serve on a multi-member board that establishes and implements programs to protect and conserve soil, water, prime and unique farmland, rangeland, woodland, wildlife, energy and other renewable resources on local, non-federal lands.

They identify local conservation needs, and develop, implement, and evaluate programs to meet them. They educate and inform landowners and operators, general public, and local, state and federal legislators on conservation issues and programs. They administer the district by delegating tasks through a structure of board officers and members, committees, and others; raise and budget district funds and report on activities to the public. They have the satisfaction of seeing conservation practices applied.

As an entity of state government, elections are held in accordance with general election guidelines. The district encompasses the boundary of Elmore County. This means that any eligible voter in Elmore County can vote. Absentee ballots are available since there is only one polling place, at the USDA Service Center at 795 S. Haskett St. The election dates coincide with the general election dates but are not necessarily on the general ballot.

There are 51 Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the State of Idaho and 3,000 plus Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the U.S. Elmore Soil and Water Conservation District is in Division III of the Idaho Association of Conservation Districts (IASCD). The annual IASCD conference is being held in Burley, Idaho the week of Nov. 17-20, 2010.

A Mountain Home High School student will represent Elmore Soil and Water Conservation District in a state-wide speech contest. The theme this year is "Conservation Habits=Healthy Habitats." This is one of the activities that is made available for the Elmore County youth.

The other main outreach to the education of students is the annual ninth-grade field day at the Gingerich Ranch and Bruneau Sand Dune State Park.

The activities stated above are just some of the things that the Elmore Soil and Water Conservation District does.

Sylvia "G.G." Gilliland