About the Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District
The mission of the Wayne County Soil & Water Conservation District is to serve as a local agency prepared to manage and conserve the soil, water, and natural resources of Wayne County.​
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The district was chartered by New York State in February of 1944. Since then, the district has developed programs related to the needs of Wayne County and follow a mission and vision to help the community thrive from care of the natural resources available to its residents.
Our District is unique as we are a local agency of Wayne County, but we are chartered by NYS Soil and Water Conservation Committee.
The programs, projects, and services developed and provided by the district are a reflection of the County’s needs. In 2012, the District’s Board of Directors embedded five priority areas within the Annual Plan of Operations as follows:
1. Provide critical water quality protection through technical assistance to the public and municipalities.
2. Support state mandated storm water program initiatives by conducting training, plan review, and on-site inspections.
3. Provide assistance to the agricultural community through agricultural value assessments, the Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) Program, the Graze NY Program, NYS Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement & Control grants, and the promotion of USDA programs and services.
4. Provide water resource quality protection through water testing, pollution prevention and abatement activities, and public education.
5. Provide technical assistance and services to the public at large and conservation partner agencies on other environment related issues.
District Staff
Ron Thorn, District Manager, Agricultural Planner
Email: Ron@wayneNYswcd.org
(315) 946-7200 ext. 2
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Kelly Reynolds, Account Clerk
Email: Kelly@wayneNYswcd.org
(315) 946-7200 ext. 1
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Ian Priestley, District Technician, AEM Specialist
Email: Ian@wayneNYswcd.org
(315) 946-7200 ext. 5
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Chris Hotto, District Technician, Soil Resource Specialist
Email: Chris@wayneNYswcd.org
(315) 946-7200 ext. 3
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Scott DeRue, District Technician, Water Resource Specialist
Email: Scott@wayneNYswcd.org
(315) 946-7200 ext. 4
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Chase Ayotte, District Technician
Email: Chase@wayneNYswcd.org
(315) 946-7200 ext. 6
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Annika Lachnor, Public Relations Specialist
Email: Annika@wayneNYswcd.org
(315) 946-7200 ext. 7
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Board of Directors
The Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Board of Directors convenes for business on the third Wednesday of every month at 8:30 a.m. at the District Office unless otherwise specified. All meetings are open to the public.
Lynn Chatfield, Chairman, County Legislator eastportbay@yahoo.com
Peter Stoep, Vice-Chairman, At Large Member Peter.stoep@outlook.com
Patricia VanLare, Treasurer, Grange Representative pvalnare2@yahoo.com
Steve Olson, Farm Bureau steveolson.hcf@gmail.com
Jim Brady, County Legislator Lyonssupervisor@rochester.rr.com