Soil & Water Stewardship Week 2011

Click here for a printable version of the Governor's Proclamation.

Governor Mary Fallin has proclaimed April 24 – May 1, 2011, as Soil and Water Stewardship Week in Oklahoma.

For more than 70 years, the state’s network of conservation districts has helped Oklahomans learn to conserve natural resources. Conservation practices in the United States have helped achieve a historic standard of living and protect us from the recurrence of disasters like the Dust Bowl. Despite recurrences of drought and other extreme weather events, Oklahomans today enjoy a wide variety of fresh, healthy food and drinking water.

Stewardship Week is one of the largest national annual programs to promote conservation. The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD, www.nacdnet.org) oversees the national program. Since 1955 NACD and the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts (OACD) have sponsored the Stewardship Week program. This year the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and Monsanto Company have partnered with OACD to sponsor some activities including production of public service announcements.

During the week local conservation districts will work with newspapers, radio station, communities, faith-based groups and local schools to promote the concept of Stewardship. This concept involves personal and social responsibility, including a duty to learn about and improve natural resources as we use them wisely, leaving a rich legacy for future generations.

“Conservation of our natural resources has played a critical role in providing clean water, abundant food, and healthy wildlife habitat, as well as jobs for our citizens and products that we use every day,” said Mike Thralls, executive director of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.