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Board Composition:
The District is governed by the Board of Supervisors. The board consists of 5 members who are elected to 4-year terms on a non-partisan ballot at a general election. The board may also contain advisor(s) who provide guidance to the board concerning various district operations; however, they do not have voting authority.
Day-to-day operations of the district are undertaken by the District Manager under the direction of the board.
The district is also assisted by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) District Conservationist who is assigned to that district.
Current Members:
Supervisor: Dave Thom, Chairman
Supervisor: Paul Nettinga, Vice-Chairman
Supervisor: Oonagh Wood, Treasurer
Supervisor: Tamarah Carter
Supervisor: Greg Neugebauer
Advisors: Stuart Adrian and Gladwin Paulsen
District Manager: Mike Baldwin
NRCS District Conservationist: Paige Uher
Board Meetings:
Agendas Minutes
History of the District:
In the beginning…
The establishment of the district dates back to late 1940. On November 12 of that year, a referendum was held to decide if the district would be created. It passed with more than 2/3 of the voters in favor of creating the district. Then on December 10, the South Dakota Secretary of State signed the “Certificate of Organization” formally creating the district. Of note, the original district boundary did not include all of Custer County, but only the eastern portion of the county, roughly from US Highway 79 to the eastern county border.
Then on May 29, 1946, voters approved a new referendum to add the western portion of the County to the District. Finally in 1968, all townsites and Federal lands were included within the District.
Why was the District created?
The origin of conservation districts can trace its roots back to the “Dust Bowl” era of the 1930’s. Severe drought and unsustainable agricultural practices resulted in severe soil erosion, economic hardships across the Plains states, and a large migration of people away from the affected areas to other parts of the country.
One federal response to the crisis was the creation of the Soil Conservation Service in 1935, now known as the Natural Resources Conservation District (NRCS). The new agency helped farmers to combat soil erosion and implement more sustainable farming practices. However, the problem of soil erosion was too large for a single federal agency to tackle. Therefore, in 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt urged the States to take additional action. South Dakota State Legislators headed the call and introduced HB 206, which was later signed into law by the Governor G. T. Mickelson in March, 1937. The law allowed for the creation of soil conservation districts to manage natural resource concerns at the local level. Tri-County was South Dakota’s first district created while other districts were formed across the state through the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s. Today there are 68 districts covering every corner of the state.
While soil erosion and water conservation were the primary foci of the district in its early years, its role has expanded over time to address additional natural resource concerns. These include forest health (mitigating bark beetle and wildfire hazards), rangeland productivity and health, invasive species, habitat for wildlife and pollinators, and water development for livestock.
