Who We Are

Established 23 April 1947, Jackson County Conservation District is one of approximately 3,000 Conservation Districts (CDs) in the United States -- plus Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Pacific Basin Islands, and the District of Columbia  -- encompassing more than 778 million acres of private land nationwide. Every county in every state has its own Conservation District.

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), formed in 1946, enables us CDs to collectively accomplish what would be difficult or impossible to accomplish individually. NACD pools knowledge and experience, providing a louder voice for small CDs like ours, and maintains relationships with larger organizations and agencies.

Working together, we CDs seek out, coordinate, and use private and public funding to provide educational and financial assistance to communities and individual landowners in helping them manage their precious natural resources.

Jackson County Conservation District is a local not-for-profit unit of government under the umbrella of the Kentucky Division of Conservation, a state government agency. Our job is to protect soil and water quality so that Jackson Countians may continue enjoying and using them in perpetuity. We cannot simply create new healthy, abundant resources, so it is imperative that we carefully manage resources we already have. Conservation Districts exist to do just that.

Approximately 80% of JCCD's funding comes from property taxes paid by county residents; 5% comes from the state of Kentucky; the rest comes from various insignificant sources, such as interest earned on bank accounts. We are your tax dollars at work. We use this money to:

  • provide Jackson County schools with educational materials;

  • to purchase native grass seed and tree seedlings to give away each year;

  • to provide financial assistance for residents in need of septic systems;

  • fund razor and TetraPak recycling programs;

  • participate in a state cost share program that funnels hundreds of thousands of dollars into Jackson County each year;

  • to help farmers cover the cost of applying much-needed lime to pastures and hay fields;

  • to recognize and reward those who excel in safely managing soil and water on their properties; and

  • to provide a $1,000-per-semester academic scholarships for Jackson County students majoring in agriculture- and environment-related subjects.

We are a part of your community, quietly watching over your soil and water, doing our best to keep it all clean, healthy, and in place. We are here to help you. Thank you for supporting us in these endeavors!

To learn more about what we offer, to see if you qualify for any of our programs, and to learn how to apply, visit our Programs page, under "What We Do."