I - INTRODUCTION
INSIDE THIS SECTION:
BRIEF HISTORY OF CONSERVATION DISTRICT BOARDS
40 YEARS AGO - WORKING BOARDS, LITTLE OR NO STAFF, LIMITED BUDGETS, AND PRIMARILY ADVISORY AND REFERRAL IN NATURE
TODAY - OVERSEE NUMEROUS PROGRAMS, LARGE BUDGETS, LARGE PROFESSIONAL STAFFS, FACILITY OWNERSHIP, TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS, POLICY IN NATURE
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISTRICT STAFF
BEGAN AS CLERICAL, EDUCATION AND FIELD ASSISTANCE
TODAY MANAGE BUDGETS OF ONE MILLION, TECHNICAL PROGRAMS, PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION
SERVE AS MEDIATORS BETWEEN PUBLIC AND AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS
INTERACT WITH LEGISLATORS, FUNDERS, AGENCIES AND COMMUNITIES ON BEHALF OF BOARD
THE NEED FOR FOUNDATIONS
DISTRICT MANAGERS ARE DECISION MAKERS WITHIN BOARD POLICIES
SPECIAL INTERESTS, TALENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS BOARD AND STAFF BELONG TO RESULT IN DISTRICT PHILOSOPHY
DISTRICT STAFF ARE GATEKEEPERS TO INFORMATION NEEDED BY BOARD
DISTRICT STAFF ACT ON THE BEHALF OF THE BOARD
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CONSERVATION DISTRICT BOARDS
The earliest role of the conservation district was the identification and prioritization of the conservation needs of their respective jurisdictions. The boards of volunteer directors worked closely with the federal and state resource management agencies to deliver services to their constituents. District board members promoted available programs and services, lobbied for needed assistance, provided critical educational programs and assured vital community links. For the most part, districts served as a "referral agency" in that they worked with their various partners to promote and secure needed assistance for landowners.
Over the last two decades, conservation districts have moved into a professional service delivery arena. There are currently districts in Pennsylvania that are administering multi - million dollar budgets that encompass cost-share programs, technical assistance, equipment operation, facilities ownership and management, educational facilities and programs, and sophisticated legislative liaison relationships. Many state natural resource management and water quality agencies are using conservation districts as efficient program delivery partners. In many cases, districts exceed the financial and technical local capabilities of their State and Federal partners.
The expansion and success of Pennsylvania's conservation districts have resulted from the development of their administrative and technical capabilities. These capabilities are embodied by the emergence of a class of conservation district professionals, who serve at the discretion of the district boards. In districts that have successful programs there is a common link between the efficient and effective use of these district professionals and the overall success of the district's programs. The complexities of operating and maintaining extensive local conservation delivery programs, interacting on the growing sophistication of local, state and federal conservation issues, managing growing staff, and developing and implementing local policy are creating a demand for ever increasing abilities and professionalism of this class of district employees. The enhancement of these abilities and professionalism can help to both assure continued growth of conservation districts and maintain the essential relationship and connection between a district board and their staff.
This Guidance Document is an attempt to outline the history of the development of conservation district boards and professional staff. It also is aimed at helping to set the stage for discussion on more efficiently utilizing and coordinating the skills of these individuals in meeting the challenges of conservation district program delivery at the local, state and national levels.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISTRICT STAFF
The earliest conservation district employees appeared as clerical assistants to the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS). SCS provided conservation planning and technical assistance to the agricultural and general community but for the large part never provided clerical support for their technical staff at the field or county level. Since conservation districts were first organized as the local partner of SCS, the earliest staff were secured through local funds to provide this needed clerical support. In areas where sufficient resources were available, and the local sentiment was to accelerate services by the SCS, district staff were hired to serve as technicians to assist in the field (i.e. rod-man). For the most part, day-to-day supervision of these district individuals was assigned to the SCS District Conservationist, since they were the individuals who were using this service provided by the conservation district.
Additional duties for these early employees, were to promote the services available to the local residents being provided by the federal and state partners - primarily SCS. District business such as keeping Board meeting minutes, correspondence, etc. was usually a secondary workload.
We should also keep in mind that while there is currently much work being invested on "partnership" structure and defining roles, there was very little early on simply because it was not an issue. Since these times, many of the current partners, in particular districts, have gone a long way down their own individual program roads.
The appearance of district employees, especially ones that had duties beyond clerical support, was the first time conservation districts and their boards had a full-time physical presence in the community. The district employee was now available to attend outside meetings and include district views when it was not physically possible for the board members to do so. In other words, hiring district staff assured that the district's priorities and expertise were represented at the table. This district presence in the community was - and still is - physically tied to the individuals hired by the district. District staff become the spokespersons or representatives of their district board's views and wishes. An association in the community soon results in connecting the individual who is district staff to the larger governing body of the district, which is the district board.
Also for the first time, the district board was presented - through the presence of a district employee - with a full-time set of eyes and ears able to bring back local resource issues to the members of the board. These issues were no longer necessarily colored with the agency perspectives that defined much of the programmatic views of the district's "partners". Often, many of the issues brought to the district boards by their employees were other then the traditional agricultural issues historically dealt with by conservation districts. These "district-based" perspectives and issues began the growth of Pennsylvania's conservation districts in directions that often resulted in the cultivation of new partnerships and associations as well as new program areas. In essence, the full-time employees gave the conservation district boards a full-time contact for the community that was truly independent and locally controlled. District staff assumed the role of interacting with legislators, funders, agencies and communities on behalf of board.
In many conservation districts, early employees were hired under soft dollars or program money. For many years this resulted in little continuity of people and program direction, as the individuals would leave soon after they developed the necessary skills. Quite often the only career ladder for the district employee was to secure a position within one of the cooperating agencies they worked with. As funding began to stabilize however, district staff began to grow not only in numbers but also in administrative, technical and political ability. District boards were directing staff to become the point of contact with agencies and legislators alike. District employees were developing the abilities to efficiently and effectively represent the needs and opinions of their respective districts. As mentioned earlier, they were doing so with the conviction of individuals that represent their home areas. One of the more obvious results of the increased capability of these newly emerging district professionals, was the securing of more and more programs, projects and grant dollars. This in turn resulted in growing number of staff. As the ability of the conservation districts to administer a cost effective and locally acceptable program increased, many agencies and organizations began to look to districts for similar program deliveries.
THE NEED FOR FOUNDATIONS
As district programs became bigger and more sophisticated over time, conservation district boards of directors were forced or influenced out of necessity into a policy setting role versus a day-to-day administrative role. District boards went from approving such items as stamps and stationary purchases to establishing policy on how to set spending guidelines for multiple grants, programs and staff. A real need emerged for securing a professional manager to make the day-to-day implementation decisions within a defined scope of authority and in line with the philosophy of the conservation district board. These professional managers became the day-to-day decision makers for the conservation district and had to pay special detail to operating within the policies set by their board of directors. The challenges for the district directors were to find individuals that had the skills and abilities as well as the philosophy that best represented the district board. Where district directors were successful, district programs grew by leaps and bounds. For the district professionals, the challenges were to condense and communicate information on increasing numbers of programs and issues for their boards in order to facilitate the policies decisions needed.
For the vast majority of conservation districts, the results have been dramatic increases in programs and responsibilities. Districts and their staff, all of which are local, are less constrained by many of the programmatic guidelines set up by partner agency programs. The approach by districts is usually more aggressive and creative due to the local need to get a problem addressed. This creates new partnering opportunities in which traditional programs can direct resources through the districts to accomplish goals that were difficult in the past. This creates even more growth for the districts. The facilitation of these emerging new relationships with the districts' traditional partners is often left to the district professional who now has a greater grasp than the district board on the many intricacies of the programs in question. This role of district professionals as "district spokesperson" with the various agencies has resulted in even greater influences and respect for them in some cases, and resentment in others.
It is vital to keep in mind that district employee/professionals are - or should be - driven by the same principles, values and goals as those of the district directors. As stated previously, both district directors and district staff are representative of the local area. District staff job positions usually attracts individuals because of the mission of the district and not the dollars. For the scope of program administration, both monetary and career ladder futures are not industry equivalent. The large proportion of district staff are extremely dedicated to the mission of conservation districts, as are their boards, and have created a new class of "professional volunteers" that is often uncounted. To accomplish the tasks set before them by their boards often involves flexible hours and for that matter a flexible life. The full-time representation of the conservation district within the community becomes a lifestyle for many that requires night meetings, weekends and overnight travel.
The result has been that district professionals have emerged in many areas as leaders in the community and even state and national conservation arenas. They have become effective administrators, orators, writers, lobbyists, negotiators, facilitators, educators and fund-raisers. In many Pennsylvania counties they represent the largest source of technical assistance in meeting local needs. They and the district they administer have become one of the most effective program delivery systems because they are local. District boards have learned to direct and utilize these talents to facilitate tremendous growth in many conservation districts. State and federal agencies and organizations have utilized these talents and skills to implement programs and further agendas. As a group or class of individuals, today's conservation district professionals are invaluable to the successful functioning of their district boards and they wield as much influence over the future of conservation programs in America as any other single group.
Conservation district staff act in the dual role of being the gatekeepers of important programmatic information needed by district boards and of being the district's representatives in the community. They carry the responsibility of analyzing the natural resource needs of the county, the effectiveness of the district programs in the community, and the current trends and forecasts in the conservation public service arena. They need to digest this information and present it in an unbiased format to the district directors. The directors need this information in order to make informed decisions affecting district policies and programs. Once the board of directors decides on the level and direction of district involvement in a particular environmental issue, it again becomes the responsibility of the professional district staff to accomplish the district involvement in a degree and manner that is true to the wishes and philosophy of the district board.