The White County, Ill., Soil and Water Conservation District (CWSWCD) has awarded Paul Blankenberger its Conservationist of the Year award.
At the group's 62nd annual meeting, Board Member Darin Whetstone presented Blankenberger with a plaque commemorating the event. Whetstone, along with fellow board members Kevin Winter and Robert Lamp, Jr., were re-elected to another term by the WCSWCD membership.
Blankenberger was recognized for a White County project that involved the installation of terraces serving as erosion control devices. The project, which is about half-finished, will result in about 40 terrace basins over approximately 160 acres of ground.
Blankenberger told The Carmi Times that this was the first such award he has received. "I'm honored," he said. "As farmers, we are stewards of the land. We're actually here for only a very short time. I hope to leave things in a better condition than when I started for the next generation."
Board President Charles Nolan served as the meeting's emcee; he announced the award winner and introduced the guest speaker, his daughter who recently returned from an agricultural Peace Corps volunteer trip in Lesotho, Africa.
Source: The Carmi Times
