Soil and Water - The District Print
Departments - Soil and Water Conservation

Awards 

Haywood Soil and Water Conservation District strives for excellence. There are some important components to having a successful District. These include a supportive and involved Board of Supervisors, an energetic and caring staff, and certainly community members who are ready to work with us and accept the things we want to give; thus we all can work together toward conserving those natural resources that are vital to our lives: clean water and healthy soil. Haywood SWCD celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2003. It was named 2003 State District of the Year based on its educational programs at the annual meeting of the NC Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts in January 2004.


In 2004 our long-time Supervisor, James Ferguson, was named the National Conservation District Board Member of the Year by the National Conservation District Employees’ Association. James is also currently serving as the President of the NC Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (NCASWCD). He is the first Supervisor to hold this position two times, having also served in 1992.


Supervisor Bill Yarborough received two awards in 2006 from his employer, the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: The Commissioner's Award for Outstanding Service and the State Award of Excellence for Outstanding State Service. In January 2009. he was given additional reponsibilities as special assistant to the commissioner. He is also serving as Chairman of the Area I Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, which includes sixteen county districts.


Gail Heathman, the District's education coordinator, was named 2007 Environmental Educator of the Year by the NC Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

 

ABOUT CONSERVATION DISTRICTS

Haywood SWCD is one of 96 Soil and Water Conservation Districts in North Carolina. Soil and Water Conservation Districts were formed in 1937 - In fact, the first in the nation was the Brown Creek Soil and Water Conservation District in Anson County, NC. Our country owes a debt of gratitude to Dr. Hugh Hammond Bennett, who worked tirelessly to get legislation passed toward forming conservation districts following the devastation by the Dust Bowl.

NC CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP 

Haywood SWCD is a part of the North Carolina Conservation Partnership, which consists of the Division of Soil and Water Conservation (NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources, known as NC DENR), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA), the NC Soil and Water Commission, and the NC Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. What this means to the public is that federal, state and local programs are administered through Haywood SWCD.

 

Partnership Vision Statement: A dynamic partnership committed to quality leadership and customer service for the conservation of our natural resources.

 

Haywood SWCD 

A five-member Board of Supervisors governs Haywood SWCD. Two supervisors are appointed, and three are elected. The Board usually meets at the Ag Center at 10:00 a.m. on the second Tuesday of each month.

Soil and water are fundamental to life itself. Many people don't stop to realize the importance of clean water, nor the value of soil for growing crops and trees - not only to humans, but to all creatures. It can take hundreds of years for only an inch of topsoil to form - and virtually no time at all for it to wash away during a heavy rain if it is unprotected or has been disturbed. One place that it can end up, all too often, is in a creek or river where it then affects water quality and damages habitat for fish. Soil and water are linked to one another - and we depend on both. This, then, is what Haywood SWCD is all about - conserving soil and water through assistance to the public and through education. We offer technical assistance on the following:

  • Erosion Control

  • Drainage System Design

  • Animal Waste Systems

  • Soil Testing

  • Stream bank Stabilization

  • No-Till and Minimum-Till

  • Pond Construction

  • Pasture and Hayland Management

  • Access Road Layout

  • Critical Area Stabilization

  • Grassed Waterways and Field Borders

  • Diversions

  • Heavy Use Areas

  • Forms for Wildlife Planting & Tree Seedlings

  • Sediment Control Basin

  • Watershed Planning

  • Outdoor Classrooms for Schools

Copies of The Haywood County Soil Survey are available at our office. While it’s wonderful to receive these honors, we at the District plan to continue to give our best to the public that we serve.