What does a soil and water conservation supervisor do?

Rutherford County’s nonpartisan board helps guide conservation assistance, water quality projects and storm recovery.

Soil and water conservation supervisors help set local priorities for protecting farmland and waterways, guiding assistance programs that help landowners address erosion, runoff and storm damage.

In Rutherford County, voters selected candidates for two supervisor seats in the Nov. 3 election. The office is nonpartisan, meaning candidates run without party labels on the ballot.

Here is how the district works and what the unofficial election results show.

What is a soil and water conservation district?

Conservation districts are governmental subdivisions that work with landowners and local, state and federal partners to protect natural resources.

Their responsibilities include helping prevent soil erosion, improve water quality, restore streams and assist with disaster cleanup. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services describes their work as nonregulatory.

What decisions do supervisors make?

Supervisors establish local conservation priorities and review and approve district contracts for state assistance programs.

District staff and partner agencies provide technical assistance, helping landowners plan projects and navigate funding requirements. Supervisors guide the district’s priorities and program decisions.

Districts receive support from local, state and federal sources. All district funds are public money and must be properly administered and accounted for, according to the agriculture department.

How are supervisors selected?

Rutherford’s district has five supervisors. Three seats are elected in nonpartisan contests, and two are appointed by the state Soil and Water Conservation Commission upon the local board’s recommendation.

Supervisors serve four-year terms. The elected seats are staggered, so they are not all on the ballot at the same election.

How can the district help farmers?

Districts help administer North Carolina’s Agriculture Cost Share Program, which offers technical and financial assistance for agricultural practices intended to improve water quality.

Applications are ranked according to resource concerns identified in the county.

Approved participants may receive reimbursement for up to 75% of a predetermined average cost for an eligible practice.

That does not necessarily cover 75% of a landowner’s actual bill. Eligibility, approved practices and program requirements determine the assistance available.

What role do districts play after flooding?

Flooding can damage cropland, drainage systems and conservation projects while leaving debris in waterways.

Districts help landowners and government agencies coordinate cleanup and restoration. The state’s Streamflow Rehabilitation Assistance Program (StRAP) has received additional funding for Helene-related stream repairs in affected counties.

The agriculture department also says it is working with local districts to help farmers repair agricultural roads damaged by Helene.

What happened in Rutherford County’s election?

Clint Green and Shannon Buckley received the most votes in the contest for two seats, according to the unofficial results supplied for this report.

Candidate	Votes	Share of contest votes
Clint Green	10,378	32.88%
Shannon Buckley	9,821	31.12%
Cathy Darnell	4,789	15.17%
Reggie Hines	4,401	13.94%
Mortellus Amorello	1,825	5.78%
Miscellaneous write-ins	348	1.10%

Voters could select up to two candidates. The percentages represent each candidate’s share of all votes recorded in the contest, rather than the percentage of individual voters supporting that candidate.

The results remain unofficial pending canvass on Nov. 13.