Collin County Judge, Chris Hill, signed a proclamation declaring the week of April 24 through May 1, 2022, as Soil & Water Stewardship Week throughout the county. Ben Scholz, Chairman, and Director Rick Foster of the Collin County Soil & Water Conservation District met with Judge Hill to officially sign the proclamation. The Collin County Soil & Water Conservation District has partnered with the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, Association of Texas Soil & Water Conservation Districts, Texas Wildlife Association, and Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association to highlight Soil and Water Stewardship Week and the importance of voluntary land stewardship in Texas. The statewide campaign’s focus this year is “Healthy Soils, Healthy Life.”
The basis of our lives all starts with the soil beneath our feet. Soil provides the food on our plates, the clothes on our backs, the foundation for our homes and offices, the luscious grass that the children play in and the trees we need to breathe. It all starts with soil…healthy soil, healthy life.
Healthy soil gives us life through providing clean air and water, ample crops and forests, productive grazing lands, diverse wildlife, and beautiful landscapes. Soil does all this by performing five essential functions: water management, sustaining plant and animal life, filtering and buffering potential pollutants, cycling nutrients as well as providing physical stability and support for everything above ground.
Since 1939, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) and Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) across Texas have been working to encourage the wise and productive use of natural resources. It is our goal to ensure the availability of those resources for future generations, so that all Texans’ present and future needs can be met in a manner that promotes a clean, healthy environment and strong economic growth.
Your local SWCD can work with you to develop a conservation plan for your farm or ranch to improve soil health and provide resources on responsible natural resource management. Conservation plans can be tailored to the needs of each individual landowner including crop rotation, wildlife habitat enhancement, forest management, nutrient management, pest management, irrigation system efficiency and erosion control measures.
As the population of the state continues to increase, maintaining the productivity of our soil and water resources becomes increasingly vital in meeting the food, fiber and resource needs for all Texans. TSSWCB and SWCDs are committed to working with farmers, ranchers, and private landowners to conserve and protect natural resources of Texas.
This campaign aims to bring more awareness and support to voluntary land stewardship because the way we manage our resources on private lands directly impacts our natural resources. Collin County SWCD is proud to collaborate with conservation partners across Texas to promote the importance of land stewardship.
For more information on “Healthy Soils, Healthy Life”, please visit www.tsswcb.texas.gov.