Defunding the Conservation District strips Louisville of vital agricultural resources

The Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District, which has worked to make Jefferson County sustainable since 1944, has been woefully undervalued by the Mayor’s office and is essentially defunded in the latest budget proposal. The Conservation District was created to protect and improve our county’s renewable natural resources of soil, water, woodland and wildlife. Technical assistance is provided free of charge to residents, through partnerships with the USDA and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The Conservation District requested $113,200 in the most recent budget and was allocated only $30,000 by the Mayor. As a Special Purpose Government Entity, with seven elected supervisors serving on the board, the Conservation District is limited in its ability to fundraise and expand capacity. Each county in Kentucky has a Conservation District, one county has two, usually supported by the fiscal court and a millage tax. Jefferson County’s Conservation District does not receive millage tax funding, which makes it completely reliant on Louisville Metro for its budget. Louisville Metro should fully fund the Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District budget request for hundreds of reasons, but for brevity I’ll cover three.

The Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District provides valuable resources to urban farmers

As the Chair of the Conservation District, I go to a lot of events within our community and two questions generally come up: “What is the Soil and Water Conservation District?” and “You offer free soil testing!?!" Soil tests for Jefferson County residents are free through the Conservation District utilizing the Jefferson County Extension Agency (which is facing a 90% budget cut). After handing out a soil sample envelope and instructions, it’s great to see folks get excited to learn about the soil on which they live. Through soil nutrient or lead testing, residents can make informed decisions about growing food crops or landscaping around their homes. From a shotgun home in Shelby Park to a farm on Floyd Fork, the Conservation District provides all residents of Jefferson County invaluable technical assistance and resources to make the best decisions about how to use their land.

Jefferson County’s Conservation District allows our community to utilize state and federal funds totaling millions of dollars over the past decade. The Conservation District works in partnership with the Kentucky Natural Resources Conservation Service to administer technical assistance and bring federal dollars into Jefferson County. In 2024, there are already 15 approved conservation project contracts bringing in federal funds totaling $275,000. That’s federal funds directly benefiting the residents of Jefferson County, that would not be available to the residents of the county without the Conservation District. That’s funding improving the waterways, the soil, the air and creating opportunities for improving agriculture within our community.

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Urban agriculture helps curb food insecurity in Louisville

Many residents in Louisville’s West and South Ends live in “food deserts,” which means they have poor access to fresh foods, which is linked to high rates of illness and lowered life expectancy and occurs in predominantly low-income communities. The Conservation District assists community gardens across Louisville, several in west and south Louisville, providing funding, free cover crops, workshops translated into six languages and soil testing. The Urban High Tunnel Program was created by the Conservation District to provide technical and financial assistance construction and maintenance of High Tunnel greenhouses within Jefferson County to help further urban agriculture within the communities most in need.

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The Mayor’s office should prioritize funding for the Soil and Water Conservation District because of its crucial role in protecting Louisville’s environmental health and sustainability, through its work in bringing federal and state funding, providing technical assistance to all residents, and to improve our urban agriculture infrastructure to improving access to fresh foods. Indeed, we do have limited resources Mayor, but what amount of funding and assistance does the King Louie statue downtown bring into Jefferson County to have its budget funded at $200,000?

Always include local nature—the land, the water, the air, the native creatures—within the membership of the community.” - Wendell Berry.

Sarah Beth Sammons has lived in Louisville for over a decade and is a registered Landscape Architect with over twenty years career experience. She’s also the current Chair of the Soil and Water Conservation District, Master Gardener, dendrophile, and a pickleball banger. She lives in Shelby Park with her two dogs and enjoys guiding hikes with friends and family, pointing out different plants ad nauseum. Sarah Beth is running for re-election on the Soil and Water Conservation Board this November.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville food deserts are fought by Conservation District. Fund it