FOUNDED IN 1941
New Mexico has 47 soil and water conservation districts, divided into six regions.
Approximately 300 locally-elected officials serve on boards (5 supervisors are elected, consisting of 4 landowners, and one or two more may be appointed by the SWCC).
Supervisors serving on boards are by occupation (based on survey results of 20 SWCD's):
57% Rancher / Farmer
11.4% Government employee
10% Educator
1.4% Agriculturally-related
20% Non-agricultural (including bankers, engineers, independent contractors, construction, advertising and sales, communications, marketing, rock mason, well driller, oil & gas, lawyer and data analysis)
Soil and water conservation districts have authority to conduct a referendum for a one mil levy assessment (24 districts have passed mil levies, but several lack adequate funding to support district operations).
The State Legislature annually appropriates funds for district operations, with funds being distributed based on each district's level of performance. Some districts receive partial funding form county commissions and a few districts conduct tree and seed sales programs to support district operations.
Districts are required to conduct monthly meetings, comply with all state statutes governing political sub-divisions of the state such as the open meeting act, filing quarterly budgets with the Department of Finance Authority and being audited.
BENEFITS OF CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES
* Improved water quality and quantity
* Reduced water usage
* Increased plant cover
* Reduced soil erosion
* Improved wildlife habitat
* Abundant and inexpensive food and fiber
* Enhanced watershed functions
ABOUT CONSERVATION DISTRICTS
The Salado Soil and Water Conservation District serves a vast and ecologically diverse region of west-central New Mexico encompassing portions of Catron, Socorro, and Cibola counties. The District’s boundary spans thousands of square miles of high-desert rangeland, forested uplands, and riparian corridors at elevations ranging from approximately 5,500 to over 10,000 feet.
This is a landscape defined by distance—ranches measured in sections, not acres—and by the challenges that come with remoteness: limited infrastructure, sparse population, and significant distances between landowners and the agencies that serve them.