Franklin County Conservation District

"Conserving our Natural Resources for the Future"

 

About Us
 

We are the Franklin County Conservation District, located in Ottawa Kansas.
 

Paperwork was filed with the State of Kansas to certify the creation of the Franklin County Conservation District on April 25, 1941. We were the 14th Conservation District to be established in Kansas; with Labette County being the first in 1938 and Shawnee County being the 105th in 1954.
 

Conservation Districts are political subdivisions of state government & are the primary local unit of government responsible for the conservation of soil, water and related natural resources within the county.

The district's governing board is comprised of five elected local citizens, known as supervisors. They establish local priorities, set policies and administer non-regulatory conservation programs during monthly board meetings. Although they serve as public officials supervisors do not draw salaries, they all volunteer their time and dedication to the protection of our natural resources.  Current Supervisors are Cecil Rockhold, Ron Dunbar, Stephen Curtis, Doug Smith and Dwayne LaGalle.

 

District employees are hired by the board of supervisors to manage daily operations of the district. While our office is located within the USDA Service Center, in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service; we are a completely separate agency from our USDA partners.

The non-regulatory conservation programs which are administered through the Franklin County Conservation District include the Non-Point Source Pollution Control Program and the Water Resource Cost-Share Program, Riparian Area Protection Program, Conservation Buffer Program and several grants (including WRAPS and KAWS funded projects) related to water quality improvement. All programs of the Franklin County Conservation District are available without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, age or handicap.

An annual meeting is held each January to report district activities and accomplishments since the last annual meeting and to advertise district programs. An election is also conducted to fill a three year term for position of supervisors. The Kansas Bankers Association Awards program has been a part of the district annual meeting since 1945. Each fall the key banker, representing the Franklin County Bankers Association, the county extension agent, chairman of the extension council, chairman of the conservation district and NRCS District Conservationist tour farms who have been nominated to receive the recognition. In addition to the bankers awards the conservation district has added a wildlife conservation award, grassland award and most recently a conservation buffer award was added in 2005.

The Franklin County Conservation District is a member of the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts, National Association of Conservation Districts, State Association of Kansas Watershed, Kansas Alliance of Wetlands and Streams, Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education and the Franklin County Farm Bureau Association.

The Franklin County Conservation District also provides contributions to the Kansas Association of Conservation District Employee Organization, Kansas Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom Education Committee, Marais des Cygnes Watershed Restoration And Protections Strategies Livestock Projects Grant, Marais des Cygnes Drainage District and the Kansas Water Quality Buffer Initiative through the work of our local employees.

 

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Contractor's List    Cost Share Programs    Education Programs    Grass Seed Sales

 

Frequently Asked Questions      History of the District     Franklin County History     Livestock WRAPS Grant