The Yuma County Conservation District (YCCD), in Wray, board of supervisors and staff members recently attended the Colorado Association of Conservation District’s (CACD) Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs.
The YCCD award recipients included Supervisor Chester Zwirn who was inducted into the CACD Hall of Fame. The purpose of this award is to recognize a supervisor that has been innovative with conservation and agricultural initiatives, has participated in activities that have proven successful in reaching out to a variety of audiences, engaging new partnerships, and spreading the conservation message. Chester is currently a member of the Yuma County Conservation District (YCCD) board of supervisors. He has been a member of the YCCD board of supervisors since 1997 and has held the offices of President, vice president and secretary/treasurer for the YCCD throughout his tenure. According to a news clipping from February 5, 1997 announcing his appointment to the YCCD Chester stated, “I want to be an asset to the Yuma County area by making people aware of laws about erosion and conservation with a goal to find solutions to these problems before and after they happen.”
The second award recipient was Supervisor Margaret Lenz who received the CACD Supervisor of the Year Award. The purpose of this award is to recognize outstanding conservation and agricultural efforts and activities who have made an especially valuable contribution to their conservation district programs and to the state conservation movement. Margaret is currently a member of the Yuma County Conservation District (YCCD) board of supervisors and holds the office of President. She leads the YCCD with passion and has a strong focus on conservation and preservation of our environment. The main focus of what Margaret stands for is to offer as many programs and opportunities to the producers in our conservation district and county as possible.
The third award recipient was the YCCD who received the NRCS Earth Team Volunteer Award. This award is presented to the most effective Earth Team program in a conservation district that demonstrates shared leadership among district officials, NRCS employees and Earth Team volunteers. This award was due to the partnership between the YCCD, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Wray FFA Chapter, Idalia FFA Chapter and Liberty FFA Chapters.
YCCD District Manager Tanya Fell also graduated from the year-long Colorado Conservation District Employees Association (CCDEA) Leadership Program. This program provided impactful professional development that strengthened not only the individual participants but the board members and staff of the YCCD. The focus was to empower individuals to be leaders and promote effective working relationships both within and outside their districts, regionally, and state-wide.
This annual meeting featured more than 25 educational sessions focusing on agricultural producers’ long history of resource conservation by applying the lessons learned in the past to ensure future success. The CACD serves as the unified voice for conservation districts across Colorado through facilitating outreach, education and support of landowners for stewardship of natural resources.
