MANSFIELD — Conservation was celebrated in Richland County at the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD) annual celebration held on Thursday, Nov. 8.
The evening included live music, buffet dinner and the public election to elect two board supervisors. David L. Krichbaum and Henry L. Hopkins will begin serving a three-year term Jan. 1, 2019, and will join current Board Supervisors Brian Alt, Kyle Bailey and Fred Cooke. Barbara Zuagg Joudrey and Skip Malaska will complete their term Dec. 31, 2018.
An announcement was made that John Hidreth, District Program Administrator, who has been with Richland SWCD since 1990, will retire Dec. 12. Erica Thomas was introduced as the incoming District Program Administrator.
Jay Miller was recognized as the Conservationist of the Year and Linda Collins as the Volunteer of the Year. The 66-member volunteer team was also recognized. Together this year, they have contributed more than 2,350 hours, which has saved the General Fund approximately $ 56,000. Volunteers contribute high quality data that is used to track soil and water health in Richland County’s 8 watersheds and may be viewed on the Richland SWCD website.
Guest speaker, Harvey Webster, Chief Wildlife Officer and Museum Ambassador at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, provided an interesting and educational program on Ohio Birds of Prey.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture recognized Richland SWCD for 75 years of assisting land owners with conserving Richland County’s natural resources.
Richland SWCD thanked the evening’s donors which included Alta Florist & Greenhouse, Brown Derby Roadhouse and Steve’s Dakota Grill, DRM Productions, Inc., Farm Credit Mid-America, Malabar Farm Foundation, Richard and Janet Shellhouse and Rob Workman and Amy Crutchfield.
Call 419-747-8686 or go to http://richlandswcd.net/ to learn about programs and services provided by Richland SWCD.
The Richland Soil and Water Conservation District develops, implements and assists landowners, government agencies and our partners with a wide range of natural resource conservation programs.
Programs and assistance of the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District are available without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, disability or veteran status.
