By SCOTT RASMUSSEN
County reporter
This is it.
The Conservation District has three locally-elected positions on its Board of Supervisors and the term of one of those will soon expire.
And today is the last chance to request a ballot for the vote-by-mail-only election by registering your address at Conservation District headquarters. The post currently held by board chairman Jerry Kasparek is — as they say — up for grabs.
Anyone registered to vote in San Juan County is eligible to participate in the election. To receive a ballot, however, voters must contact the district either by telephone, in person or via the district website before midnight of March 12; by phone, (360) 378-6621, in person, 540 Guard St., #130, Friday Harbor, by e-mail, r.zee@sanjuanislandsscd.org.
The ballots, which will include the list of candidates, are slated to be mailed to those register by the end of the week. They must be returned and postmarked by March 26.
The San Juan Islands’ Conservation District provides education and information regarding the islands’ natural resources and offers technical assistance, generally at no cost, to local residents and organizations. Though headquartered in Friday Harbor, the district offers incentive-based programs that extend to all corners of the county and its staff provide assistance to islanders countywide.
According to the district, its mission is to work with landowners and residents to develop sustainable land use practices that protect and conserve San Juan County’s soils and water for habitat, forestry, farming, residential and other uses. Its programs include:
— Sustainable Farm & Forest Resource Planning
— Sustainable Building & Land Use Practices
— Water Quality & Watershed Assessment
— Native Plant Use & Wildlife Habitat Preservation
— Natural Resources Education Workshops
— Climate Change Impact Information
Supervised by a panel of five islanders, all volunteers, the district has expanded its influence in recent years and one of its new roles is providing administrative support to the newly-created county Agricultural Resources Committee. A legally-constituted arm of state government, the district, a non-regulartory agency, was established as a countywide entity in 1964 following the merger of independent “soil conservation districts” on Lopez, Orcas and San Juan islands.
Though its programs and operations are funded largely by grants, the District received an unprecedented — though temporary — financial boost two years ago when the former county commission instituted a $5 parcel fee on the district’s behalf. That fee is due to expire in 2010.
The district receives guidance and perennial assistance from the Washington State Conservation Commission, which oversees similar districts statewide. The commission also appoints two of the district’s five-person board of supervisors. One of those posts recently became vacant following the resignation of Thom Pence and islanders can also weigh in on the pending reappointment by contacting the state commission, according to district Natural Resources Educator Dana Kinsey.
