What is a District?

Why you have it…What it is…How it works…

WHAT A DISTRICT IS A conservation district is a legal subdivision of state government, responsible under state law for conservation work within its boundaries just as counties are responsible for road and other services. Boundaries in Massachusetts are along county lines.

The purpose of districts are: to focus attention on land, water, and related resource problems; to develop programs to solve them; to enlist and coordinate help from all public and private sources that can contribute to accomplishing the district goals, and to make all citizens aware of the interrelationship between human activities and the natural environment.

Districts are governed by citizens who know local problems. In Massachusetts the district’s governing body is called the board of supervisors. The board of supervisors is comprised of seven elected members. Any landowner or land occupier of the county is eligible to become a supervisor. The election is held at the Annual Meeting of the District in December. Presently, there are about 17,000 men and women serving as district officials in the nation. Nearly every district employs staff to assist the supervisors in carrying out their responsibilities and objectives.

The Division of Conservation Service in the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs employs staff to assist districts, disseminate information, and provide guidance. The Division also provides limited financial aid to districts. The State Commission for Soil, Water and Related Resources provides guidance and assistance to the Director of the Division of Conservation Services in his administration of the districts.



HOW THE DISTRICTS WORK It is the district supervisors’ responsibility to plan and direct the district programs, obtain assistance, coordinate the help of governmental agencies, assign priority to requests for assistance and to resource development efforts and serve as a community clearing house fort information service.

One hundred percent of the districts’ operating funds are obtained from fund raisers and workshops throughout the year.

The Plymouth County Conservation District meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the conference room at 15 Cranberry Highway (Route 28), West Wareham. The Annual Meeting is held between December and February at a location announced at least a month prior to the meeting. Meeting notices are posted in all town halls in the county, announced in the local news media and are open to the public.

Most of the district’s effectiveness is due to our ability to work with local, state, and federal agencies to solve environmental problems. Some of the cooperating agencies are: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, formerly SCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA, formerly ASCS), Extension Service, Forests & Parks, Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association, DEP, Fish & Wildlife, Audubon Society, MACC, Mass. Dept of Agriculture, UMASS Cranberry Experiment Station, and the Cranberry Marketing Committee.

WHAT DISTRICTS DO Programs include workshops on issues of local environmental concerns, trees and shrubs for erosion prevention, food and habitat for wildlife and birds, developing conservation plans for landowners, water quality and supply, designing and installing conservation practices, agricultural inventory and evaluations, on-site reviews, monetary support of environmental and agricultural organizations both private and public, and soils information.