Board debates support for Lower Delta Soil and Water Conservation District; parish president urges project‑specific funding

Representatives of the Lower Delta Soil and Water Conservation District briefed the board on watershed work, federal grants and requests for partnership and local support, and the meeting turned into a debate over whether the district should receive recurring local funding.

A Lower Delta representative described outreach, grant administration and a $9.5 million LWI grant intended to reconnect bayous and create larger holding areas for water. The presenter said the organization partners with NRCS and FSA and works across multiple parishes, and asked the district for continued support and a letter of support for grant applications.

"We are in the process, we should be done by the end of 2027. We're going to reconnect Bayou Marin to uh Bayou Growth State, which is going to give us a larger, wider area for the water," the representative said, describing the project's scope and federal funding sources. The speaker also asked for a resolution or letter showing the district is in good working standing when applying for federal funds.

The parish president said he chose in 2020 not to continue funding the organization because many of its activities duplicate services already provided by parish departments and other agencies. He recommended not funding Lower Delta unless the organization comes with a specific project or match obligation that directly benefits West Ascension residents. On the record he said the district has a responsibility to ensure public funds deliver direct mitigation benefits to constituents and that he could not identify services provided specifically to West Ascension that justified continuing the payment without a defined deliverable.

Lower Delta said it would draft a resolution of support and asked the board to consider it; the board indicated it would accept a draft resolution for consideration. No vote to provide funding was recorded in the transcript; board members said they would consider task‑oriented, project‑specific partnerships and would provide a letter of support if a demonstrable, directly beneficial project is proposed.