MINERAL COUNTY – A group dedicated to preserving the integrity of natural bodies of water in Mineral County including streams and rivers and to prevent their degradation met last week to outline their latest courses of action.

The Mineral County Conservation District meeting took place in Superior Tuesday, April 21 and included representatives from across the county. According to board members, one of their primary duties was to review landowner’s plans that might have an impact on rivers or streams in Mineral County to ensure the plans would not be detrimental to those natural resources.

Board members said their role was not so much law enforcement but more of an educational role to let people know what impact their behavior might have on waterways in Mineral County. Board member Dennis Hildebrand said the group’s efforts were on behalf of all those who call Mineral County home and those who choose the county as a recreational and tourism destination.

“We are functionaries of the state,” Hildebrand said. “At each local level, we have boards like the one here. We are the local influence on the waterways. We are not only concerned with water conservation but also soil conservation. We focus on wetlands and influence on the water. When someone wants to go in and do something, we are not here to say, ‘no you can’t do that.’ We are saying if you do it, make sure you aren’t doing it negatively. Our job is to help people do what they want to do with their property but not to the point of degradation of the land.”

In addition to concern over water and land, the group is also concerned with the air Mineral County residents breath everyday.

The group offers the use, for a small fee, of a wood chipper to cut down on air pollution from the common practice in the area of burning in the spring.

Board member Roger Hearst said the equipment provided an alternative to the typical way people in the area dispose of timber waste.

“The easiest way to get rid of your slash after cutting down a tree is to burn it,” Hearst said. “We thought if we had a chipper, we could reduce emissions in the air. It reduces emissions but it also produces a useful product in the woodchips.”

The other issue on the agenda for this particular meeting concerned a scholarship given away to local high school graduates. Last year, there was only one applicant so board members said they were hoping to have more a response this year and hopefully give away some much needed financial assistance to a graduate from each of the county’s three high schools.