HUDSON—A Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District supervisor, on a personal campaign to help citizens become better informed, says public documents and studies detailing government conservation programs are “not difficult to find.”
Dennis A. Benfield of Hudson, elected in 2006 on a promise to keep the public informed about district projects, pointed out that “a myriad of brochures, reports and formal studies about ecological problems are available directly from government agencies.”
“Some government programs and agencies,” Benfield said, “are just not necessary. But in the area of soil and water conservation, there’s a three-way partnership among state, federal and local government units that really works. The internet offers an easy way to stay informed.
“Alone, I’m not sure any one of these units of government could be nearly as effective as all three working hand in hand,” Benfield added.
On the federal level, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides most of the financial resources for the district through the Agricultural Cost-Share Program laid out every few years in what’s commonly called “the farm bill.”
One of the largest state agencies in North Carolina, with some 3,500 employees, is the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR), which offers even more financial assistance and specialized personnel resources through a state cost-share program.
The county portion of the partnership includes the provision of local office space and supplies, plus vehicles and travel expenses to implement the state and federal programs. The local board also directs its resources to tackle local conservation priorities.
Each government level, Benfield noted, has its own website which can be “googled” simply by typing in the name of the agency, NRCS or DENR. The Caldwell County website—co.caldwell.nc.us—has a page devoted to the Caldwell Soil & Water Conservation District.
“Anyone who’s even remotely interested in soil and water conservation can go to any one these websites and find a way to get detailed information on virtually any national, state or local program,” he said.
“Even if you don’t have a computer or internet access at home, you can go to a public library or to an institution like Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute and use their facilities to pull up all the information you need.”
Local soil conservation efforts began, Benfield said, 70 years ago this year during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in Anson County, NC. Topsoil from the “Dust Bowl” darkening the skies over Washington, DC, helped to convince Congress of the need.
The partnership at all three levels of government has been in place since the beginning, he said, even through occasional agency restructurings down through the decades. North Carolina has 96 soil and water districts, designated almost exclusively by counties.
In Caldwell County, a major area of focus is the 99-square-mile Lower Creek watershed, which drains into the Catawba River and Lake Rhodhiss, which is the primary source of drinking water for the county. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, rates the lake as “impaired.”
A number of recent and future projects on Lower Creek are designed to restore the stream’s natural banks, prevent erosion of topsoil from agricultural land and reduce pollution. Livestock, for instance, are being fed and watered from central locations and fenced out of the creek.
Becoming a major area of focus is the upper basin of the Yadkin River, which rises from the Eastern Continental Divide at Blowing Rock and provides drinking water and recreation to dozens of cities and towns as it flows through North Carolina on its way to South Carolina.
A recent study group of western NC officials, foresters and others interested in preserving the Yadkin met in early June to provide input for a plan of action to use and conserve the river. Caldwell County also plans a future reservoir for drinking water on a Yadkin tributary.
Benfield added that he has posted “a number of information pieces and photos about local soil and water conservation projects” on his personal website, “dennisbenfield.com.” Also, the county is said to be redesigning its website and the soil and water page.
“I’m not hugging trees, preaching about global warming or yelling ‘the sky is falling,’” Benfield said. “But we do need to stay informed about ways that man can use natural resources without harming them for future generations.
“The internet, today, makes that pretty easy.”
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