About Us

Soil and Water Conservation Districts were created as a response to the Dust Bowl ecological disaster that swept the nation. Legislation was enacted to allow landowners to form districts to provide technical assistance for water and land resource management. The Crawford County Conservation District was founded on January 15, 1942. Our mission is to provide leadership to stimulate voluntary application of conservation practices by the local land users through the coordination of services with the Arkansas Conservation Partners. Conservation Districts have evolved from primarily conserving farm land to providing experience and guidance for all landscapes including our urban population.

District Coordinator

The district employs one district coordinator to handle all district activities and utilizes volunteers for special projects.

Sherrie Lech, District Coordinator

Local Board of Directors

The Crawford County Conservation District is a local governing volunteer board that works with a wide range of conservation partners to provide local technical expertise to help landowners adopt conservation practices on their property. The district is governed by five directors, three of which are elected and two are appointed and all serve three-year terms.

Gary Baxter, Board Chairman
(appointed director until 9-30-2024)
DeWite DeShazo,
Board Vice-Chairman
(elected director until 3-31-2024)
Shirley Williams, Board Secretary-Treasurer (elected director until 3-31-2024)
Thad Freeland, Board Member (elected director until 3-31-2024)
Brent Robertson, Board Member (appointed director until 8-31-2024)

CCCD Directors of the Past

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2018 CCCD Board Members Bill Gebhardt, Gary Baxter, Bill Jackson, Shirley Williams & DeWite DeShazo

2015 CCCD Board Members Bill Gebhardt, Gary Baxter, Bob Neidecker, Gene Robertson & James Arnold