Letter from the Chairman

Greetings,

The CCNRD board of supervisors asks that you take the time to read the CCNRD Annual Report for 2008-2009. Included with this report is the CCNRD Annual Plan of Work for 2009-2010. In the past year, the board and staff members have pursed an aggressive agenda as we strive to provide the residents of Crook County with the information and education needed to maintain and improve their quality of life. We do not plan to slow down in the coming year.

Recent events make it clear that we must remain diligent in our efforts to protect your natural resource interests. In 2009, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) contracted with an environmental consulting firm to write a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) on the Belle Fourche River which may ultimately place new demands on local residents. The TMDL being set for the Belle Fourche River will also include Stonepile Creek and Donkey Creek in Campbell County as well as the portion of Donkey Creek in Crook County. Although, currently, TMDLs do not have any enforcement component, non-point source pollution is being increasingly regulated at the state and national level. The best protection Wyoming landowners have from this type of regulation is to implement best management practices (BMPs) in good faith. The locally developed watershed plans written with the help of conservation districts throughout Wyoming have provided both time and cost-share money to prepare for TMDLs. I’m proud to say that here in Crook County, landowners have been implementing many BMPs. Through the CCNRD Cost-Share Program we have funded 26 projects throughout the watershed, and there are also many projects that landowners have done on their own. To these people, we say thank you and keep up the good work! To show how residents have and will continue to improve local water quality, CCNRD completed its ninth season of water quality monitoring this year.

2009 was a busy year for CCNRD. In March, our employees put together an electronic recycling program which was a huge success. We are pursuing funding for similar programs to improve waste management and recycling options in Crook County. One of the new things we have been learning about is the Use Attainability Analysis (UAA) process. This involves assessing a given stream to determine if its WDEQ designated use reflects how the water can actually be used. Without UAAs, Wyoming streams, regardless of any actual uses, are classified as Class 1 recreational steams. This classification carries with it higher standards of quality than any other classification. Many of the streams in Crook County do not fit the description for Class 1 recreation and we are planning on doing some UAAs as funding allows.

Funding issues continue to be a problem for CCNRD. At this time, we plan to have the mill levy put on the general election ballot in November 2010 in another attempt to secure a local, long-term funding source. The CCNRD board has sought and received some funding from the Crook County Commissioners to keep the district operating. We really appreciate their support.

Whereas we are an unfunded district, what we have done with a very limited budget is nothing short of fantastic! The CCNRD board is proud of what our staff has accomplished this past year. If you have not been in and met our staff members, please stop by. Our employees are Sarah Barton, office manager, Jinx Hilty, financial manager, and TJ and Dave Schrall, water quality personnel.

REMEMBER, WE ARE NOT HERE TO PROTECT YOUR NATURAL RESOURCES BUT TO HELP YOU PROTECT YOUR NATURAL RESOURCES!

Sincerely,

Wayne Garman
Chairman