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Soil and Water Conservation districts urge delegation to preserve effective local districts amid proposed regionalization
Summary
Representatives of the Soil and Water Conservation districts asked delegation members to protect the 15 high-performing districts from dissolution or unfavorable changes in a bill expected in 2026 and provided figures on program investments and economic impact.
Susie Bishop of Soil and Water Conservation told the delegation that 15 of the state's conservation districts—which she described as the most compliant and effective—have proposed regional boundary maps and prefer either retention under county names or regionalization rather than wholesale dissolution. Bishop said the group expects a bill in 2026 and urged the delegation to preserve effective districts.
She cited impacts from the districts' work, saying that over the last 10 years $133,400,000 was invested in agricultural cost-share projects with an estimated $354,000,000 economic impact and that 4,700,000 are enrolled in the Department of Agriculture best-management-practices program, figures she presented as evidence of the districts' value to local agriculture.
