The Barry Conservation District
History
In the 107 years between the arrival of the first settlers to Barry County and the adoption of the Michigan Soil Conservation District law (Act 297) in 1937, literally thousands of acres in the county were rendered unfit for farming due to erosion. These “worn out” lands caused people to move away. Schools and businesses were closed as a result. Idled farmland was evident in every township.
Recognizing the problem and utilizing the 1937 law, Barry County Agricultural Agent Harold J. Foster took the lead role in working with Farm Bureau, granges and other interested parties in promoting conservation. After a series of informational meetings, the Barry Soil Conservation District was formed in November, 1944 by referendum vote. The District encompasses all of Barry County, including townships, cities and incorporated villages.
In the years since its foundation, the Barry Conservation District has seen some changes. For the first 45 years, the District worked primarily with farmers, introducing them to new technologies such as no-till drilling, crop rotation and windbreaks to reduce soil erosion. As land use patterns changed and farmland gave way to homes and businesses, the District began to work more closely with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to bring cost share programs to County farmers implementing soil, water and habitat conservation practices. Additionally, the District developed partnerships with the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR). Understanding that the future of the State’s resources is mostly in the hands of private landowners, these partnerships seek to provide resource conservation assistance to both farming and non-farm landowners.
In 1975, the District’s name was changed to the Barry Soil and Water Conservation District to recognize the importance of water as a resource. By 1999, when the District’s Board of Directors completed a new resource assessment, they recognized that many other resources including forestland, grasslands, wetlands, and certain declining plant and animal species needed attention. By changing their name to the Barry Conservation District, the Board expressed the increasingly broad conservation challenges created by a developing community.
Purpose
As a locally controlled governmental subdivision of the state, the Barry Conservation District is governed by a citizen-elected board of five Directors. The Board of Directors is charged to assess natural resources within the District, develop a plan of action to address natural resource issues, and employ staff to implement this plan through education, programs, projects and technical assistance provided to District landowners. Directors are elected to four-year terms, meet publicly each month to conduct business, publish annual reports and hold annual meetings.