District Honors Conservationist of the Year

The Board of Directors of North Plains Groundwater Conservation District named former USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas State Conservationist, Don Gohmert, as the district's 2011 Conservationist of the Year. Gohmert served as the state conservationist until 2010 when he retired from the NRCS after a 40-year career in natural resource conservation. The board chose Gohmert to receive the honor based on his encouragement and support during the beginning stages and throughout the development of the district's irrigation conservation demonstrations known as the "200-12 Project."

"Don saw the vision of how the board wanted to be leaders in agricultural conservation, not just regulators," said Danny Krienke, North Plains GCD board member and president of the board when the "200-12 Project" was started. "Don agreed that this was exactly the kind of work that a groundwater conservation district should be doing and he encouraged us to seek funding through the NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) program," said Bob Zimmer, North Plains GCD board president.

The district, along with the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation, Texas Tech University, and High Plains Underground Water Conservation District received a CIG in 2011 for almost $500,000 to be used to demonstrate water efficient agricultural practices over the next three years.

After the presentation of the award Gohmert said he expects these demonstrations to have far reaching impact beyond the Texas Panhandle-Plains region. "I believe the idea that agriculture producers are important to the economy and our way of life and that they must be responsible for using only what they need to efficiently produce the crop is an approach with statewide, even worldwide implications," said Gohmert. "I wouldn't be surprised if this project ends up being one of the best CIG grants ever awarded by NRCS," he added.

If applied throughout the Panhandle-Plains region, the water efficient practices of the "200-12 Project" could save as much as 580,000 acre feet of water annually. "Based on the Texas Water Development Board's 2009 Water Use Estimates, that annual savings could supply Amarillo and Lubbock for almost 10 years, while extending the viability of the region's agricultural economy," said Steve Walthour, North Plains GCD general manager. "A conservation initiative like this one has the potential to positively impact the future in a significant way and Don Gohmert was instrumental in making this happen," Walthour said.