Fifty years ago this past June, the Niobrara Conservation District was formed under the name of the Niobrara Soil and Water Conservation District. As a counter reaction to the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s, and a way to conserve natural resources including soil, the Soil Conservation Service—now the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)—was formed after much research. The NRCS stems from the Soil Conservation Act of 1935 and was designed to both develop and implement different soil erosion programs meant to control the process.  The process was then brought to the state and then local levels to alleviate different agencies from covering the same ground under the Presidents Conservation District Law. In 1941, in March, State Legislature passed an act that allowed and established various conservation districts to protect natural resources in Wyoming. However, it wasn’t until March 15, 1968 that the idea of Niobrara County having their own Conservation District came to fruition under the direction of Si West, whom, on March 15, 1968 held community meetings to research the possible interest of a soil and water conservation district in Niobrara County. George Danielson, an Area Conservationist for the SCS, was present at the meetings and explained what duties a District would be required to carry out including soil surveys, range surveys, and aerial photos among other items. By late March of 1968, landowners petitioned for the Niobrara Soil and Water Conservation District through the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee. After cutting through red tape and establishing boundaries so as not to interfere with other agencies, the Niobrara Soil and Water Conservation District was officially approved with the appointment of Phil Joss and Russell Thompson being appointed supervisors on June 3, 1968. In 1969, to comply with laws and during the general election, five board members for the district were elected and included:  Russell Thompson as chair, Bill Bredthauer, Ed Boner, Charles Lund and E.D. Rumney.  In 1972, the name and territory boundaries were changed, and the Niobrara Conservation District was set. 

Today, fifty years later, the Niobrara Conservation District is run by a board with Lisa Shaw and Heidi Sturman at the helm, running the office and keeping compliance in their projects. Their duties include local, area, and state meetings, wildlife escape ramps, household hazardous waste collection, educating the locals on the preservation needs of natural resources, and tree sales and planting. “We do education for adults and students covering the gamut of natural resource topics. We brought in the big dogs as far as presenters like Allen Savory who was the leader in Holistic Management to Gabe Brown who is a guru in soil health, the new hot topic.  The focus is the land, the resources and the health of the community-that’s the constant in the equation.  I know Pete Hansen was a huge leader when he served on the board before my time and I often wonder what he thinks about the direction everything has gone. We work to try to protect the land as development and change happen. We are not opposed to these things, they just need to be done responsibly” states Lisa Shaw. 

“Conservation Districts as a whole have changed from being the secretarial assistance to the soil conservation (federal) organization and the approval of projects on the land cost shared through them has changed to us (conservation district’s), doing a lot more on the ground” says Shaw. For Shaw, things were different when she first started in 1993 when, as she explains, her job was part time and three days a week. Today, along with Shaw and Sturman, there is enough work to occasionally warrant part time help. “If I had it to do all over again, I would have gone to college to be a natural resource professional so I could better help my community but as it was I wanted to be a radiologist. Being a ranch girl, I figured I would be outside a lot with the job but had no clue what I was getting myself in to.  I could not have asked for a more fulfilling career. You know the saying; “doing what you love, loving what you do”, or however it goes – for 25 years so far!  I love my job and working with people in Niobrara County and Wyoming. The trees and windbreaks provide much gratification, affecting the landscape for generations to come and I get to say “I did that”” expresses Shaw, adding, “Working with the ranchers one on one or planning a community wide Household Hazardous Waste collection are also very gratifying to me, but going to the school to educate the future leaders about the world around them is the best! Oh and the people across Wyoming that either work for or with the District are also the best.  I have made some lifetime friendships through this relationship”.

For Sturman, her career started in 1999, “The District was looking for someone to implement a surface water monitoring program.  My first days on the job were spent in Lander at Water Quality training, organized by the Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts, to train District personnel.  There was a series of trainings, which I spent the next couple of months attending, to teach districts how to develop and implement a surface water quality monitoring program to collect credible, defensible water quality data”. Since then, Sturman’s position at the District has changed some and her position has grown to include “planting trees, assisting in rangeland monitoring, youth education, and recently adding managing the Wyoming Water Development Commission, Small Waters Program”. According to Sturman, “we are always doing a variety of things”. Sturman adds, “The District mandate is to assist, promote, and protect public lands and natural resources, soil, water, and wildlife resources… All the board members over the years have been very cognizant to adhere to this mandate.  I am honored to be part of an entity that works so hard on the part of the public and their resources”.