2025 Strategic Plan Year-in-Review
2025 Wakulla Soil & Water Conservation District Strategic Plan
2025 Year-in-Review
Statement of purpose—Following the Dust Bowl, there was national recognition of a need to declare soil and water conservation a national priority, and Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) were established nationally in 1935. The power to create SWCDs in Florida was established in 1937. Per the Florida Conservation District Handbook:
“The powers, duties, and responsibilities of Florida conservation districts include the development and implementation of soil and water conservation practices on private land. These duties are performed in conjunction with federal, state, regional, and local partners through funding and technical assistance. Funding programs include state and federal cost-share for environmental protection practices as well as federal disaster relief and emergency watershed projects.”
2025 Goals and Objectives
Goal: Public education
Objective: The WCSWCD will host a public meeting to share stories and information to interested participants about the unique nature of the karst system in Wakulla County.
Outcome: Several of our members assisted other organizations in hosting public meetings about the unique nature of the karst system including public presentations by cave divers and biologists with Friends of Wakulla Springs, assisting FSU digital media students in creating a short middle school film about karst, providing public tours of the Wakulla Springs watershed through FSU Wakulla Springs Lab, and assisting with a presentation of karst and springs at the Wakulla Environmental Institute. The Soil & Water Board did not directly host any events as a lead organization.
Objective: Participate in the state-wide SWCD Poster Contest by engaging local middle school students in poster creation for the contents.
This objective was established too late to participate in the 2025 state-wide poster contest. The board is prepping for the 2026 contest. Contest materials will be distributed in January and contest winners will be selected in March.
Objective: Support and train one college student to assist in running the district’s social media pages.
FSU student Riley McFarland assisted for the 2025 year. She provided photographs and interviews which can be used for social media. She is assisting with building a new social media page.
Objective: Support interns at the FSU Wakulla Springs Lab in their efforts to educate the public regarding the topography and soil types of Wakulla County.
Supervisor Kellie Keys trained four FSU interns to assist giving tours about the Wakulla Springs watershed.
Objective: Post a map of prominent soil and water features on website.
The state no longer financially supports the Soil & Water Board website, so a new website is being built to replace the former one. More educational materials will be planned for posting in 2026.
Compliance with state budget and administration requirements
Objective: Formalize agreement with Wakulla County for District’s allocation.
Formalized through email discussion with Brandy King, former director, and Kelly Graves, Wakulla County Finance Director and Chief Deputy Clerk, who confirms that a Supervisor should send a yearly invoice from a Board Supervisor via email to request yearly funding of $5,000.
Objective: Formalize budgeting procedures with the newly elected treasurer.
Supervisors Kellie Keys and Emily Johnson are now on the bank account. Former supervisors Dallas Marshall and Harvey Leimbach were removed from the bank account. Cal Jamison and David Shepard remain on the bank account. Emily Johnson is the treasurer and has updated all budget matters. The board is still formalizing written procedures.
Objective: Post all meetings and yearly strategic plans on the district website.
This document will be posted when the new website in completed which will replace the website formerly supported through state funding.
Objective: Post previously completed studies and other relevant documents on the district website.
The board is in the process of organizing these former studies.
Objective: Complete four-hour mandatory ethics training for supervisors.
Supervisors, except newly elected Supervisor Cole Hall have completed ethics training.
Record keeping
Objective: Create a new agreement with the IFAS extension office to ensure consistent availability of WCSWCD records.
Agreement renews annually in January. Paperwork is held by the extension office, and there is no fee. Files are held in a file cabinet in our meeting room, and Supervisor Cal Jamison holds the key for the single file cabinet. The IFAS Extension Office does not hold a keys, so records can only be accessed by supervisors.
Create a long-term vision and plan for scientific, education, and conservation projects.
Objective: e-create a local training plan for tree identification for lawn care and clearing businesses, potentially working with IFAS extension office.
The board is working with local contacts and plant experts on this possibility.
Objective: Compile a resource of volunteers to act as a resource for identifying tree species to conserve during land clearing.
The board has identified a number of citizen who could act as resources for this list, but no formal list has been established.
2025 Performance Measures and Standards
Public Education
Solicit feedback from public event through short interviews with five attendees. Use this to create goals for 2026.
The Soil & Water Board did not directly host any events, though several events were held in the area and supported by the board.
Submit poster winner to state and follow state protocols.
The board did not participate in last year’s poster contest but will participate in 2026.
Exit interview with intern.
Intern is still current and decided to stay with us for another year.
Feedback discussions with FSU Wakulla Springs Lab. Supervisor Kellie Keys is the communication director, but other staff lead scientific research.
Ongoing, positive relationship with this entity.
Compliance with state budgeting and administrative requirements
File formalized agreement with Wakulla County
Supervisor David Shepard has formalized this agreement and holds the paperwork.
Record and file budgeting procedures
Meeting minutes and agenda will now appear on this website. Bank records updated and current; procedures still being formalized.
Check website for functionality and meeting postings
Website formally hosted through the state on Streamline was no longer funded. Website updates were moved to a SquareSpace website in order to save the board funding, and the content appears on the website on which this material is posted.
Check posting of dye trace study
Not completed.
File training certificates of Supervisors
New Supervisor Cole Hall will formally turn in paperwork in 2026.
Record keeping
File new agreement with IFAS Extension Office
Supervisor Cal Jamison now holds the only key to the file cabinet which ensures only supervisors can access our paper records. IFAS records formalized with Supervisor David Shepard.
Long-term vision
Review meeting discussion on the topic at end of 2025
These goals reviewed, and this report created.
Assign Supervisor to maintain volunteer list.
This goal will be assessed again in 2026.