Jerry Scarborough Named 2008 Conservation Partner

Gainesville, FL., November 25, 2008 – Jerry Scarborough, former executive director of the Suwannee River Water Management District, was named the 2008 Conservation Partner of the Year by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Scarborough accepted his award at the NRCS State Technical Committee meeting in Gainesville.

Scarborough is a native of north central Florida and a University of Florida graduate. After 18 years as executive director of the Suwannee River Water Management District, Scarborough officially retired May 31. He started with the district in 1990. Prior to that, he served as Suwannee County Clerk of the Court for 14 years and is a former editor of the Suwannee Democrat newspaper. Under Jerry’s leadership, the district initiated a number of innovative partnership programs to protect natural resources while promoting rural economic development. These programs include the Suwannee River Partnership, the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail, Quality Communities, and the Suwannee Basin Interagency Alliance. Earlier this month Scarborough won his election to become Suwannee County Superintendent of Schools.

Since 1999, when the partnership began, 99% of poultry farmers, 90% of dairies, and 70% (representing more than 100,000 acres) of crop farmers in the Suwannee watershed have agreed to use agricultural conservation Best Management Practices (BMPs) in their fertilizations, irrigation and waste utilization practices. Better managed fertilizer, animal waste, and irrigation equals cleaner water for everyone. Over 1 billion gallons of water were saved last year per crop because of irrigation upgrades with the assistance of the partnership and NRCS.

Carlos Suarez, state conservationist for the NRCS cited Scarborough’s leadership of the Suwannee River Partnership as the main reason for the award. “Jerry Scarborough was a major player in the organization and success of the Suwannee River Partnership, of which NRCS is a partner. We thank him for his outstanding leadership and his assistance in NRCS’s mission of ‘helping people help the land’.”
 

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