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The 1930's Dust Bowl disaster spurred the U.S. Congress to declare soil and water conservation a national policy and priority in 1935. To elicit the active support of land owners on a local level, soil and water conservation districts serving conservation needs at a county level were created to work in partnership with the federal government. Today there are approximately 3000 conservation districts nationwide involved in efforts as varied as their conservation needs and the local citizenry that they serve.

The governing body of a soil and water conservation district consists of five elected supervisors. The office of a soil and water conservation district supervisor is nonpartisan and district wide. Candidates are elected in a general election to a 4-year term. Vacancies are filled by appointment by the remaining supervisors until the next general election. Supervisors receive no monetary compensation for their services.

The Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District was established effective July 20, 1987 as an independent special district in accordance with the provisions of the Soil and Water Conservation Law, Chapter 582, Florida Statutes, originally enacted by the Florida Legislature in 1937. This action was taken by the Florida Department of Agriculture, in concert with the Florida Department of State. The District received it's charter in 1988. The Jackson Soil & Water Conservation District operates as a governmental subdivision of the State as evidenced by its certificate of due organization on file with the United States Department of Agriculture.

The Jackson Soil & Water Conservation District was organized for the purpose of providing procedures for assisting landowners with agricultural issues related to the conservation of natural resources. As a subdivision of State Government, we have the ability to seek, utilize and coordinate financial and technical assistance from all available sources, be they local, state or federal, so that all people will have a better environment in which to live. It is our goal to identify present and future needs for the conservation protection and development of natural resources within Jackson County. We are prepared to exercise, within our boundaries, public powers as authorized by law, as amended and supplemented.

It is our hope that Jackson County becomes a strong "Conservation Community", a group of informed citizens and agencies who work together to protect our natural resource base by providing education and information about critical local natural resource issues. It is a pleasure and an honor to serve you and to help raise conservation awareness within Jackson County, Florida.

For information regarding any of our services and/or funding opportunities, please contact Lola Allard @ (850) 526-2610 ext 101 or (850) 718-6357.

Code of Ethics

The Code of Ethics for Public Officers and Employees, adopted by the Legislature as Part III of Chapter 112, Florida Statutes, contains standards of ethics conduct and disclosures applicable to public officers, employees, candidates, lobbyists, and others in Florida State and local government.

The "Sunshine Ammendment", adopted by Florida voters through a constitutional initiative in 1976 as Article II, Section 8, Florida Constitution, contains standards of ethical conduct and disclosures applicable to public officers and employees; it also requires the Legislature to adopt the code of ethics described above.

For more information, please visit the Florida Commission on Ethics website:

www.ethics.state.fl.us and select "Ethics Laws" in the side menu.

Anyone wishing to have a "LINK" placed on our website, please contact us.

Jackson County Board of County Commissioners (Jackson County, Florida) - Jackson County BOCC

Florida Conservation District Employees Association - FCDEA

Association of Florida Conservation Districts - AFCD

National Association of Conservation Districts - NACD

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services/Office of Agricultural Water Policy - FDACS / OAWP

Mobile Irrigation Labs - MIL

United States Department of Agriculture / Natural Resources Conservation Service - USDA / NRCS

Resource Conservation and Development - RC&D

Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences / University of Florida Extension - IFAS / UofF

Northwest Florida Water Management District - NWFWMD

Florida Department of Environmental Protection - FDEP

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity - FDEO