About Us
The Stearns County Soil & Water Conservation (SWCD) District is a local unit of government that manages and directs natural resource management programs at the local level. The SWCD works in both urban and rural settings, with landowners and with other units of government, to carry out a program for the conservation, use, and development of soil, water, and related resources.
Our Mission Statement:
To provide local leadership in the conservation of soil, water, and related natural resources through programs and partnerships with individuals, businesses, organizations, and government.
The SWCD has adopted the Stearns County Local Water Management Plan as our Plan of Operation.
Background
Legislation authorizing the formation of SWCDs was approved in response to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Burns-Homer-Pleasant Soil and Water Conservation District, later consolidated into Winona SWCD, became Minnesota's first SWCD in 1938. The last to form, the Ramsey Conservation District, was established in 1973. SWCDs are established through a petition to the state conservation authority, currently the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources. Today, districts work with landowners in rural and urban settings to carry out a program for the conservation, use, and development of soil, water, and related resources. SWCDs fill the crucial niche of providing soil and water conservation services to owners of private lands. Privately owned lands make up 78 percent of the land surface in Minnesota. Managed wisely, these working lands - farms, forests and urban areas - can contribute to the state's environmental goals of cleaner air and water, protection of fish and wildlife habitat and preservation of open spaces. State funds for SWCDs are administered through the Board of Water and Soil Resources. SWCDs must report annually to BWSR about the state funds they receive. SWCDs also receive funding from a variety of other sources, including revenue from fees and county funding.