OACD Area I Meeting 2008

“Planting the Seeds for the Future”

Local Conservation Representatives Attend Area Meeting of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts

Conservation leaders discussed issues relevant to Oklahoma at the Area I Meeting of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts held in Cherokee on Oct. 30. Alfalfa County Conservation District hosted the meeting, sponsored by the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) and cosponsored by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC) in cooperation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

“Planting the Seeds for the Future,” the theme for the meeting for northwest Oklahoma’s conservation district directors and employees reflected plans for growing and renewing efforts for natural resource conservation activities that have played a vital role in Oklahoma since the era of the Dust Bowl.
OACD and OCC representatives explained new programs for carbon offsets in the state to help benefit the environment. Sarah Love, director of OK Carbon Initiative (OCI), an OACD program, explained how the organization will act as an aggregator. OCI will contract to sell offsets for landowners who practice conservation agriculture with no-till, pastureland management, rangeland management, and riparian protection. The increased vegetation of these practices removes more CO2 from the atmosphere than traditional agricultural practices. Stacy Hansen, director of OCC’s Carbon Sequestration Verification Program, explained the agency’s role as the entity that will verify the existence of carbon offsets and quantify the carbon value. She stated that a training session is scheduled at the OACD annual meeting for conservation districts who want to begin training to be carbon offset verifiers.

The OACD Area Meetings include contests cosponsored by the Oklahoma Association of Conservation District Employees (OACDE) for youth in categories of speeches, essays and posters. Western Farmers Electric Cooperative (WFEC) sponsors awards for the OACD/OACDE Awards. First place winners in the essay and poster contests, as well as first and second place winners in the speech contest, are eligible to compete at the state level during OACD’s Annual State Meeting to be held Feb. 22-24, 2009, in Midwest City. OACD President Scotty Herriman and Vice President Steve House and WFEC representative Kalun Kelley presented awards to the youth contest winners who are now eligible to compete in the state contest, scheduled for Feb. 24-26, 2008, in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma Conservation Executive Director Mike Thralls and OCC Area 1 Commissioner Matt Gard presented awards to conservation district directors for five, ten and fifteen years of service.

Area I 2008 Photos