Agricultural News
Oklahoma Conservation Leaders Meet for Annual Convention
Fri, 19 Feb 2010 7:02:32 CSTThe 2010 Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts are holding their annual meeting February 21-23 at the Reed Center in Midwest City. The 2010 meeting theme is "The Best Hard Times- Continued."
Among the speakers that will be addressing the Conservation leaders on Monday will be Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas, top Republican on the House Ag Committee. OACD will also welcome Jeff Eisenberg, new Executive Director of the National Association of Conservation Districts to their meeting as well.
They will be hosting many members of the State Legislature on Monday evening with a reception and banquet.
All 77 counties will be represented at the meeting as those gathered will be discussing conservation's heritage as well as the future of the movement to protect Oklahoma's soil, water and air.
Meanwhile, a Conservation Success story was announced earlier this week by NRCS and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. Here is the news release from USDA:
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the completion of the nation's first upstream flood-control dam project funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Turkey Creek Site 3 dam in Garfield County, Oklahoma protects six bridges, six county roads, and more than 500 acres of land from flooding.
"This Recovery Act project is a prime example of how federal, state and local agencies can work together to accomplish great things," said Vilsack. "I congratulate our conservation partnership for completing this important project two months ahead of schedule and for all of the hard work they've done to make this community a safer place."
USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service funded the $1,670,000 project. Following a final inspection, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held to commemorate this historic event.
Started in September 2009, the Turkey Creek Site 3 dam is the second dam of a planned 11 to be constructed within the Turkey Creek Watershed. When all 11 dams are completed, 6,000 residents will be better protected from flooding. The 244,000-acre watershed is located within four counties and all or part of eight rural communities.
"This project is a major addition to the network of more than 2,100 watershed dams that are in place protecting lives and property across Oklahoma," said NRCS State Conservationist Ron Hilliard.
Partners on this project include NRCS, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, the Turkey Creek Conservancy District, Garfield County Conservation District, and the Garfield County Commissioners.
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