Conservation districts were first created by local citizens in 1937 to help conserve their water and soil. Now, every state in the nation is served by conservation districts border to border, each an official body created by an act of their state legislature.

Districts now focus on agricultural concerns, water quality, forestry, wildlife, environmental education, or other related issues. All conservation districts still share one important feature, we’re bottom-up, locally-led organizations.

Vermont has fourteen conservation districts, some established according to county boundaries, others according to watershed boundaries. BCCD was established in 1946 to serve all of Bennington County and its four watersheds – the Mettowee, the Batten Kill, the Hoosic, and the Deerfield. For more information on VT’s other conservation districts, refer to the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts site.

These watersheds encompass some of the most culturally, economically, and ecologically significant landscapes in Vermont. The health of the natural world around us and the vitality of our communities are deeply connected to wild and cultivated landscapes. The Bennington County Conservation District protects them by serving those who work them and live in them.