Worcester County joins Patriot Resource
Conservation & Development Area
(AMHERST, Mass.) June 15, 2004 – U.S.
Department of Agriculture Under Secretary Mark Rey has approved a
request to realign Worcester County from the Berkshire-Pioneer Resource
Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area to the Patriot RC&D Area,
effective immediately. This move affects Worcester County communities
and groups that may seek federal assistance with natural resource
conservation issues.
RC&D is a program of the USDA’s Natural
Resources Conservation Service that promotes natural resource
conservation, development, and use to improve economic activity, and to
enhance the environment and standard of living in communities within a
designated RC&D area.
“The realignment was requested by the Worcester
County Conservation District, with support from the Berkshire-Pioneer
RC&D Area Council, because district supervisors felt that Worcester
County now shares more common interests and resource concerns with the
Patriot RC&D Area,” explained Cecil B. Currin, State Conservationist for
NRCS in Massachusetts. “Such interests and concerns include development
pressure on agricultural land and open space, as well as water quality
and quantity.”
The Patriot RC&D Area, formed in 2002, is
Massachusetts newest RC&D area and now encompasses Essex, Middlesex,
Norfolk, Suffolk, and Worcester counties.
Worcester County groups may now contact the
Patriot RC&D Coordinator for assistance: Stephanie Wilsen, USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service, 319 Littleton Road, Suite 302, Westford,
MA 01886, 978-692-1904, x108,
stephanie.wilsen@ma.usda.gov.
RC&D areas are locally organized, sponsored and
led. Each RC&D area is guided by an RC&D council whose members are
recruited from the local community and empowered with leadership
responsibilities. USDA provides technical and financial assistance
through NRCS, while local sponsors secure additional funding and in-kind
services for RC&D projects. For more information on the RC&D program in
Massachusetts, visit
www.ma.nrcs.usda.gov. |
