VOTE411 Voter Guide

Led by a nonpartisan Board of Supervisors, the District strives to educate residents, land users and businesses on ways to protect natural resources, promote best management practices, and conserve, improve and sustain the environment. It is one of 58 such districts in Florida, and nearly 3,000 nationwide, after soil and water conservation became a Congressional priority in the 1930s Dust Bowl. A not-for-profit 501(c)(3), the District is a division of the State of Florida. It does not levy taxes, issue bonds or enforce land use laws. It works with agencies and local businesses countywide to provide conservation services — including evaluations by a mobile irrigation lab — at reduced rates. The five-member Board of Supervisors is locally elected and all serve without pay; terms are four years. Supervisors must be engaged or employed in or retired from agriculture, but the state allows eligible voters without those qualifications to seek election if no one with the agricultural background files to run.