Richmond Soil & Water Conservation District

Promotion of Conservation Through
Education * Information * Technical Assistance * Economic Incentives

The Mission of Richmond Soil & Water Conservation District is to take available technical, financial and educational resources and administer programs designed to encourage individual responsibility to conserve, improve and sustain our soil and water resources for future generations.
Richmond SWCD offers free technical assistance to landowners in the county with land management, drainage, wetlands, soils information, best management practices and other land resource problems.

About Our Organization

A five-member Board of Supervisors governs Richmond Soil and Water Conservation District. Three are elected in the general election; two are appointed by the North Carolina Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

Terms of office are for four years and are staggered. The terms of office begin on the first Monday in December following election or appointment. Supervisors do not receive a salary.

District Board of Supervisors

• Jeff W. Joyner.....................Chairman
• Johnny McInnis…………....Vice Chairman
• Jim Chandler…………...........Secretary/Treasurer
• Jerry Mac Snead....................Member
• Ryan Carriker…………...........Member

The Board of Supervisors meetings are scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month at 10am, unless otherwise specified. The meetings are held in Meeting Room C of the Agricultural Center Building located at 123 Caroline Street, Rockingham, NC. The next board meeting is scheduled for August 19th at 10am.

The board chairman may call special meetings. The meetings are open to the public and a notice of the meetings is posted on the outer door of the Richmond County Agricultural Center Building.

History of Soil & Water Conservation Districts

In the 1930’s, when dust clouds from the Great Plains darkened the eastern skies, our nation was in peril. During the height of this Dust Bowl, Hugh Hammond Bennett provided testimony before a Congressional committee that resulted in the Soil Conservation Act of April 27, 1935, which created the Soil Conservation Service at USDA (United States Department of Agriculture).

Today, our land is in far different shape that it was in 1935, thanks to an ongoing conservation partnership that helps local land owners with solutions to their natural resource problems.

The Richmond County Soil and Water Conservation District was established by petition and vote of the people under provisions of the Soil Conservation Districts Law of 1937, Chapter 139 of the General Statutes, providing for the creation of Soil Conservation Districts. The District is a governmental subdivision of this State and a body corporate and politic. A Board of Supervisors governs it. The District’s responsibilities are to prevent soiled erosion, protect water resources and other related natural resources from abuse and deterioration.