FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 16, 2010
For More Information Contact: Paige Buck, State Public Affairs Specialist, (217) 353.6606
                                                  Jody Christiansen, Public Affairs Specialist (217) 353.6627

Local Work Groups Include More “Locals”

Champaign, IL— A critical part of making progress on resource issues affecting local issues--agriculture, water quality, transportation or flooding—requires the use of what is called a “Local Work Group.” Typically organized on a county-boundary basis, these groups include “the local folks who make good things happen,” according to Rich Nichols, Executive Director of the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts (AISWCD). Recent policy changes in the new Farm Bill widened the doors for membership on these local teams. Because the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) works closely with Districts at the local level, NRCS supports the change and stands alongside local partners to ensure even more ’good things’ happen.

Many county groups have been organized and functioning well in Illinois for years. However, some groups may need to re-fresh their membership or revisit their commitment to pressing local issues in order to ‘jump-start’ local efforts.

It is national policy that determines who can participate on these teams; representatives are formal members who cast votes in order to prioritize projects designed to address local natural resource concerns.

Typical members include Federal, State and locally elected officials and other local community organizations. “Previously, private groups, entities or clubs were not allowed to hold an official seat on the team,” Nichols explains. “While we always held open, public meetings and encouraged input from other groups, they were not actually recognized as voting members.”

With the new policy, now non-governmental organizations and entities can join and contribute to the local decision-making body in a more complete and meaningful way.

“For your local work group, you may include locally active environmental clubs, maybe the Park District or Forest Preserve—any active and motivated group with ideas, energy, and funds to help us get things done,” Nichols adds.

Illinois’ NRCS State Conservationist Bill Gradle is optimistic about what this policy update could mean for all Local Work Groups and SWCDs in Illinois. “NRCS is optimistic about what this can do to the progress we’ll see on the land and in our local communities and what it could mean across the whole state,” said Gradle.

To learn more about the Local Work Group in any Illinois County, visit the SWCD office or the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) staff located at the USDA Service Center. To learn more, visit www.aiswcd.org or www.il.nrcs.usda.gov.

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