The Whitley County Conservation District coordinates assistance from all available sources - public and private, local, state, and federal - in an effort to develop locally-driven solutions to natural resources concerns in Whitley County, Kentucky. Because we live in a nation where farmland is owned by individual people rather than the government, a system was devised to cooperate with these landowners to help conserve land, water, forest, wildlife, and related resources for the benefit of all. Whitley County Conservation District is one of 121 such districts in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In the spring of 1945, a group of dedicated men got together to form the Whitley County Soil and Water Conservation District. Voters of Whitley County elected the first members of the Board of Supervisors, which comprised of R.V.Bruce of Williamsburg, T.L. Meadors of Ayers, and J.A. Leger of Rockholds. Davis and George T. Ingram were appointed to the Board by the State Commissioner of Conservation. One of the first items of business for this new Conservation District was to prepare a plan of work for 1946. Soil erosion was the top priority. Ninety-seven Whitley County farmers joined the fight, applying conservation practices to over 6,450 acres of land. That work still continues to this day. Conservation practices have changed and improved with better science and engineering. Today, the Conservation District acts as a gateway for farmers to improve farm management while incorporating soil, water, and related natural resource conservation practices. Other landowners, who may not call themselves farmers, are also participating in conservation practices in their backyards. It all matters!
