District Training Materials
District Official Training Program
Category 1 – History of the Conservation Movement – Local, State, and National
This training includes:
- Dust Bowl Era
- Hugh Hamond Bennett
- Soil Erosion Service Formation
- Conservation Districts Origins – need for local input for conservation work
- Standard Conservation District Law
- Overview of State Conservation District Law formation
- Local conservation district formation & history
- Conservation District values
- Current information about districts (in state)
History of the Conservation Movement
Category 2 – What is a Conservation District?
This training includes:
- Conservation district purpose & function
- Legal definition in district law
- District as government entity
- Board member qualifications
- Overview of board member responsibilities & duties in policy development, planning, governance, district operations, officers & responsibilities, personnel management
What is a Conservation District
Category 3 – Fiduciary Responsibilities
This training includes:
- Fiduciary duties of district board members
- Available funding mechanisms
- Financial policies and procedures
- Budgeting & allocating resources
- Audit requirements
- Importance of financial planning
- Internal controls
Funding Mechanisms – Arizona Conservation Partnership
Financial Policies & Procedures
Category 4 – Legal Responsibilities
This training includes:
- Powers & authorities of conservation districts
- Powers & authorities of board members
- Legal responsibilities of a public offical
- Assessing resource needs
- Developing long range and annual plans
- Policy development & recommended policies
- District Liability
- Comply with local, state & federal laws, rules and regulations
- Non- discriminatory statements and policies (ex: sexual harassment)
Arizona Conservation District Authorities
Local Work Group Responsibilites
Category 5 – Roles and Responsibilities of Local, State and National Associations and Partners
This training includes:
- Importance of forming partnerships for district program delivery
- Partnership development & group dynamics
- State association history and structure
- Area & regional associations history & structure
- National association history and structure
- Functions of an association
- Specific programs offered by local, state and national associations
- NRCS history, structure & responsibilities
- State conservation agency history, structure, position, and responsibilities
- Mutual Agreement between district, USDA and Governor
- Cooperative Agreements
- Other State Agencies structure & potential partner opportunities
- Other Federal agencies structure & potential partner opportunities
- Local agencies structure & potential partner opporunities
- Other partner organizations history, structure & responsibilities (non-government)
- Memorandums of Understanding and other agreement with specifics about roles and responsibilities
- Acronym listing of existing partnerships
- Examples of successful partnerships
- Locally Led
The Arizona Conservation Partnership
District Mutual, Cooperative Agreements
Category 6 – Ethics
This training Includes:
- Oath of Office
- Abuse of position
- Employee/ supervisor relationships
- Acceptance of gifts
- Conflict of interest
- Diversity
- Nepotism
- Confidentially
Category 7 – Understand Local, State and Federal Laws, Rules and Regulations Related to CD
This training includes:
- Overview of local state and federal laws, rules & regulations related to the districts
- State Conservation District Law
- State & Federal Freedom of Information Acts (FOIA) & compliance procedure
- Other state public records acts & compliance procedure
- State open public meetings act
- State & Federal ethics acts
- USDA requirements for shared office space
Arizona Public Records Law booklet
Category 8 – Employee Training
This training includes:
- Implement policies and activities as approved by board
- District personnel policies
- District organizational structure including who reports to whom
- Role of district board members, manager, staff
- Advice board on issues, projects, budgets and other matters
- Reporting to the board, residents, and partners about district activities & programs
- Development of training plans
- Training, certification and mentoring opportunities for district employees
- Working with partners agencies & organizations
- USDA requirements (if shared office location)
Category 9 – Financial Training
This training includes:
- Available funding mechanisms
- Budgeting & allocating resources
- Importance of financial planning
- Fundraising
- Financial policies & procedures
- Financial statements & accounting methods
- Fiduciary duties of district board members
- State audit & reporting requirements
- Internal controls
- Grant contracts & agreements
- Personnel records and reporting requirements
- Soliciting corporate and private fundingFinancial Training Overview
Funding Mechanisms – Arizona Conservation Partnership
Financial Policies & Procedures
Category 10 – Understanding State and National Resolutions Process
This training includes:
- Developing a district policy positions & resolutions
- Flowchart of resolution approval – district area, to state and national
- Determining the appropriate level of influence for the proposed resolution
Category 11 – Awareness of All Available Conservation Programs
This training includes:
- Awareness of natural resource needs
- Example of conservation management
- Promoting the ethic of resource stewardship
- Coordination with federal, state and local entities for program delivery
- Education activities
- Review of available federal, state, local and private conservation programs
- Examples of successful programs
- Acronym listing
- Cooperator agreement
- Conservation planning
Available Conservation Programs and Funding
Category 12 – Legislative Process Training
This training includes:
- Effective legislative relations
- Techniques for communicating effectively, credibly & building trust with elected officials
- State and federal bills & budget passage flow chart
- Lobbying restrictions for board members & staff
- Role of associations in legislative relations & lobbying
Operating in a Small Board – Al Gage
Category 13 – Awareness of Proper Protocol in Conducting Public Meetings
This training includes:
- State open public meetings act requirements & compliance
- Conducting effective board meetings
- Decision making
- Executive and/ or closed session rules & regulations
- Public hearings
Arizona Public Records Law booklet
Category 14 – Basic Operations
This training includes:
- Assessment of local natural resource conservation needs & issues
- Techniques for evaluating district program effectiveness
- Stakeholder input to planning
- Importance of long range & annual planning, budgeting money & workload
- Establish goals through strategic, long range, and annual planning
- Establish operations policies and procedures
- Implement a personnel management system
- Development of reports
- Contracting & bidding
- Agreements with other netities
- Overal district operations
- Leadership skills
- Media relations & public outreach
Category 15 – Election Process and Board Member Recruitment
This training includes:
- Characteristics of successful district board members
- Analyzing the needs in district and desirable qualities and needed skills for board member recruitment
- Board member recruitment techniques
- Creating a more diverse board representative of those served
- Board member election and/ or appointment process, procedures, forms and deadlines
- Orientation systems for new board members
- Board member removal