VOTE411 Voter Guide

There are 45 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) in Oregon. SWCDs were created during the Dust Bowl to promote and assist in voluntary natural resource conservation, with a focus on agricultural and forest lands. Directors of SWCDs are elected but not paid; the Districts usually have a paid manager and sometimes a staff. Board meetings are open to the public.To qualify for this position, candidates must reside within the district; if the directors are selected by zone, the candidates must live within the zone. They must be registered voters. In counties with fewer than 250,000 population, candidates must also own or manage at least 10 acres within the district, and have an interest in natural resource conservation as evidenced by having served at least 1 year as a director or associate director and having a conservation plan approved by the district. Counties exempt from this additional requirement are Clackamas, Lane (Upper Willamette and Siuslaw SWCDs), Marion, Washington (Tualatin SWCD), and Multnomah (East Multnomah and West Multnomah SWCDs).Term: 4 years. This is a nonpartisan position.