FCNRCD's Board of Supervisors

What is the Board of Supervisors?

Natural Resources Conservation Districts (District) work on everything from helping farmers implement conservation practices to restoring streams and improving water quality. With so many projects, partnerships, and community needs to balance, who helps set the direction? The answer is the Board of Supervisors—the local leaders who guide the District's work and ensure it continues to meet the needs of the community. 

Within Vermont, each District is governed by a board of publicly elected Supervisors who reside within the District. Every District has five elected or appointed Supervisors, each serving a five-year term. The Board plays a vital role in ensuring the District effectively represents the interests and concerns of local landowners. Supervisors provide leadership and oversight, helping the District fulfill its mission of supporting the community through partnerships and programs that enhance natural resources, protect water quality, improve soil health, and sustain Franklin County’s working landscape.

To serve as a Supervisor, individuals must meet several statutory requirements. They must reside within the District’s boundaries (in this case, live within Franklin County), possess the training and/or experience necessary to perform the duties of the position, and not be employees of the federal government. Land ownership is not required to serve on the Board.

What is the Board of Supervisors responsible for?

The Supervisors' responsibilities include developing and supporting the District's mission, guiding program priorities based on local natural resource needs, working with the staff, and providing financial oversight.

The powers of Supervisors (defined at this link in The Vermont Statues Online) further include:

• Developing and adjusting the plans of the District to specify the acts, procedures, performances, and avoidances that are necessary for the District to function efficiently.

• Providing financial guidance and direct operations for purchase, exchange, lease, gift, grant, or bequest of any property for the District.

• Participating in District projects related to natural resources, water quality, soil and stream bank erosion, engineering operations, growing and cultivating vegetation, etc.

• Participating in District duties such as surveying, research and

investigations on soil erosion and the prevention of such.

• Acting as legal guidance and responsible for the actions of the District.

• Providing landowners with machinery for agricultural or engineering needs, fertilizers, seeds, seedlings, and other materials or equipment that will assist landowners to carry out agriculture and natural resources projects and the maintenance of those machines or materials.

• Conducting demonstrations on properties the District has done work on (with landowner approvals) to showcase the process and progress of projects.

We thank our current Supervisors for all the hard work that they do! We are grateful to have them as part of the team, for their guidance, and for the knowledge that they share!

To learn more about each of our board members, please visit https://www.franklincountynrcd.org/boardofsupervisors 

Become an Associate Supervisor

Are you interested in serving as a Supervisor for the Franklin County NRCD? We always have openings for Associate Supervisors, who participate alongside the Board as non-voting members and have the opportunity to become more familiar with the District’s work and governance. We’re hoping to build a strong pipeline of future leadership so that, as current Supervisors transition out over time, the District remains well-positioned to carry its work forward.  

 Please contact us at info@franklincountyNRCD.org to learn more!