Like the humble earth they protect, North Carolina’s soil and water conservation districts don’t often receive a lot of notice. Yet these 96 government bodies — one for each county, excepting a five-county combined district on the northeastern coast — are key to preserving the state’s natural resources.
Since 1937, when Anson County established America’s first conservation district in response to the Dust Bowl, the groups have helped farmers and other landowners manage their holdings wisely. Each county district is managed by a board of five supervisors, and seats on all of those boards are up for grabs in this year’s midterm elections.
Buncombe County’s own soil and water conservation district is marking 75 years of service with a celebration
at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, at the Weaverville Community Center. In honor of the occasion, the Citizen Times spoke with Jennifer Harrison, director of the Buncombe district, to learn more about its work.
What do soil and water conservation districts do?
Among the district’s biggest responsibilities is managing federal and state grants that help landowners with water quality and erosion control. These “cost share” programs can reimburse the bulk of expenses for practices like livestock fencing, which keeps farm animals from polluting streams, or riparian buffers that use plants to prevent streambanks from falling away.
The district also holds conservation easements supported by Buncombe’s Farmland Preservation Program, which give landowners tax breaks when they forego development rights. Harrison noted that the county aims to protect at least 700 acres each year from development through 2030 — in the last fiscal year, she said, the county actually surpassed that goal with 932 acres.
And district staff are active in education, both in local schools and through site visits with landowners. Harrison is particularly proud of Camp RIO, a weeklong summer program in partnership with the Buncombe County Schools Migrant Education Program, which in 2025 won an innovation award from the National Association of Counties.
How has Helene changed that work?
Tropical Storm Helene hasn’t shifted the district’s approach, Harrison said, but it has drastically boosted the amount of money it’s overseeing.
Under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Watershed Protection program, for example, the district is managing $37.5 million across 209 projects for streambank repair and stabilization. In a typical year, said Harrison, the county sees about $300,000 from a state-funded program for the same work.
The district has handled disaster-related funds before, starting with its response to flooding from Hurricanes Frances and Ivan in 2004. At the time, the EWP provided about $3 million; Harrison said Helene’s much higher funding reflects the greater scope of damage, inflation of construction costs, and more rigorous project engineering.
How do supervisors shape conservation districts?
The district’s Board of Supervisors, said Harrison, determines its priorities for awarding money to conservation projects.
“They help set the ranking criteria for what the most important issues are for us to address,” Harrison explained. “Whether that’s erosion issues, water quality issues, soil health — what are we most eager to fund?”
Supervisors also help shape legislative action. Although they don’t have direct control over county or state law, they do advocate for change, both as a county board and as part of the N.C. Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
By funneling local concerns through that state body, Harrison said, Buncombe’s district can punch above its weight. “In smaller western counties, you don’t speak with your agricultural dollars like they do down east,” she said. “So it’s an important role to have a voice.”
Who’s on the ballot in Buncombe County?
Of the local district’s five supervisors, two are up for election this year. (One will be elected in 2028, and two are appointed by the state.)
Incumbent board Chair Sara Nichols and Secretary Anthony Cole are both seeking reelection. Nichols, who served as the director of the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District for nearly a decade, is currently the energy and economic development manager for the Land of Sky Regional Council. Cole is a local farmer who previously worked in soil science for N.C. State University’s extension.
The two challengers are Trent Duncan, on whom the Citizen Times could find no campaign information, and Alan Ditmore. Ditmore has run unsuccessfully in every election for the board since 2004, on a platform of diverting district funds to contraception funding.
Daniel Walton is the City Government Watchdog Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at dwalton@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: What role does Buncombe's Soil and Water Conservation District play?
