What is locally-led conservation planning?

The Orleans County NRCD annually conducts surveys and hosts a Local Workgroup meeting to engage community members and conservation partners in a conversation about natural resource concerns. This approach involves community stakeholders and concerned citizens in the natural resource planning, implementation of solutions, and evaluation of results.

The process is called locally-led conservation planning. The goal is to identify the greatest natural resource concerns by getting input from Orleans County residents, farmers, foresters, and land stewards to guide our work at the OCNRCD, to inform the State's priorities, and to secure federal resources for obligation in the Orleans County Local Fund Pool. 

2025 PUBLIC MEETING and COMMUNITY DINNER - Locally Led Conservation Planning

January 16, 5:30-7 pm (location TBD) - Mark your calendars and join us! Your voice is needed. The outcomes of this meeting will be used determine our county's natural resources priorities. 

Why engage in Locally Led Conservation Planning?

Conservation Districts were created to lead locally-led conservation efforts in their community, connecting on-the-ground local knowledge with decision making at the state and national level. According to the USDA-NRCS website, “As early as 1935, USDA managers began to search for ways to extend conservation assistance to more farmers. They believed the solution was to establish democratically organized soil conservation districts to lead the conservation planning effort at the local level.”  

Community engagement in natural resource decision making is a fundamental way to expand access to information and meaningful involvement in the distribution of natural resource funding. The participation of community stakeholders in assessing local natural resource conservation needs, setting community conservation goals, and developing an action plan is key in the District's effort to obtaining locally-focused, county-level federal funding to carry out the plan, to implement solutions, and to measure our success. 

For a great overview of the locally led conservation history and  process, check out this PowerPoint presentation created by our colleagues at the White River NRCD.