Soil and Water Conservation Dist
Mission
Established in 1967 under New York state law by the then County Board of Supervisors, the Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District is charged with developing and carrying out soil, water and related natural resources conservation, management and educational activities. Professionals from the county Planning Department provide administrative and technical support to the District’s seven-member citizen board of directors.
Vision
To provide opportunities for research, collaboration across sectors and with community members, and environmental education around the topics of reforestation, habitat restoration, watershed management planning, resiliency planning, green career development, and agriculture in the urban, suburban and rural communities that makeup Westchester County.
Annual Plan of Work
The District’s objectives are generally focused on the natural environment within suburban and urban settings. The District’s work plan, which is a requirement of New York State, allows it to define distinct program areas, ensuring that each area is clearly articulated and strategically positioned. Doing so allows the District to execute activities within the broader scope of District operations, and expand on activities within each of those program areas in the years’ ahead. The District currently defines its program areas through watershed planning, agriculture, and supporting watershed-wide and regional planning within Westchester County.
Board Members and Meetings
Suzanne Nolan, Chair
John Patrick Diggins, Vice chair
Julie Gurdin, Secretary
Adrianna Bosco, Assistant Treasurer
Jan Blaire, Member
Paul Harris, Member
Harmeet Goindi, Member
Meetings are generally the third Tuesday of the month and available at: County of Westchester - Calendar
Soil and Water Conservation District Agricultural Programs
Soil Group Worksheets
The soil group worksheet is the first step to apply for an agricultural assessment. Within each county’s Soil and Water Conservation District office, a technician will classify all farmland to be enrolled in the program by soil productivity. They will plot each parcel of the farm on a soil map and calculate the acreage in each soil group. You should work with the technician to outline woodland areas and ineligible areas. You may exclude any area from the program, and this area should be clearly defined and marked on the map.
To obtain the application to get a soil group worksheet, please fill out and submit this worksheet form.
Watershed Planning
The current partnership between the Soil and Water Conservation District (the “District”) and the Department of Planning supports local watershed planning efforts by combining technical conservation expertise with comprehensive land-use planning. The District provides on-the-ground knowledge of soil health, water quality, and best management practices, while the planning department integrates these priorities into zoning, development review, and long-range planning. Together, they coordinate outreach, share data, and ensure that watershed protection measures are both scientifically sound and practically implementable. Please see “Watershed Planning” for more information on these combined efforts.