The Annual Work Plan is inclusive of all District programs and partners, addresses a broad range of resource needs within the District, and links operations, priorities and funding sources. It should state measurable goals and objectives, and the District Board should review the Work Plan at least semi-annually to evaluate if goals and objectives are being met.

• Calvert 2024 Annual Plan & Analysis
• Kent Soil & Water Conservation District Long Range Strategic Plan 2024-2030
• St. Mary’s SCD Long Range Strategic Plan
• St. Mary’s SCD 2024 Annual Work Plan & Workload Analysis
• Washington County SCD Strategic Plan 2020-2025
• Annual Work Plan and Five Year Plan Templates (from the Washington State Conservation Commission)
•  “What Do Conservation Districts Do? Annual Work Plan” video produced by the Whidbey County Island Conservation District

A personnel manual, at a minimum, includes policies and procedures concerning all employees of the district, such as leave, timekeeping and reporting, discipline, and performance evaluation.

• Anne Arundel
• Caroline 
• St. Mary’s
• Talbot
• NACD Personnel Management Reference Book for Conservation District Officials

Should include at a minimum a statement of purpose, statement of mission, membership composition, officers, terms of office for members and officers, meetings, responsibilities of members, voting privileges, committees, conflict of interest and amendments.

• Open Meeting Engagement Policy (Washington SCD, October 2022)
• District Bylaws (St. Mary’s SCD, revised August 2022)
• Conflict of Interest Policy (St. Mary’s SCD)
• MASCD District Records Retention Policy (April 2014)
• Maryland Conservation District Supervisor Handbook
• MASCD Manual

• MASCD Advocacy Webinar with NACD’s Eric Hansen– this webinar was recorded in 2021, when elected officials were still having virtual meetings during the pandemic. If you’re short on time, check out the sections on Congressional Meeting Preparation and Effective Advocacy, beginning at 16:45.
  • Really short on time? Here are NACD’s tips for effective legislative visits in factsheet form.
• “Say Yes- 10 Reasons to Support SCDs”– a good recap of the basics for policymakers that might not be familiar with the Districts. 
• MASCD’s Policy Book is Chapter 5 in our Association Manual. Find a list of MASCD’s positions on topics relevant to the Districts. 
• Maryland Resources
  • Find Your Maryland State Elected Officials
  • Membership Lists for key Senate Committees, including Education, Energy and Environment & Budget and Taxation
  • Membership Lists for key House Committees, including Environment and Transportation & Appropriations
  • Overview of Maryland’s Legislative Process and “Legislative Lingo” Resource Documents
• Federal Resources
  • Find Your Representative
  • List of Senators
• Other Advocacy Resources
  • PACD’s Legislative Toolbox
  • Legislative Field Tour Guide
  • NACD District Guides available for members include “Establishing and Maintaining Relationships with Lawmakers” and “Tips for Working with Local Media”. Their Grassroots Advocacy page includes examples of District-led advocacy events and their “August Recess Guide to Grassroots Engagement” for federal legislators. 

• 5 Questions for Board Diversity
• NACD’s BOD DEI Statement
• NACD’s DEI Toolkit– includes a list of partners and resources on communications, awareness and implementation strategies
• NASCA Webinar: Recruiting Minority Candidates to Conservation Positions

• Washington State Soil Conservation Commission Marketing Toolkit– includes lots of resources and templates for districts to promote their work!
• Canva– a free online tool that provides easy-to-use templates to create social media posts, flyers, annual reports, newsletters and other materials
• Image galleries- free resources for photos and graphics to use in your outreach materials:
  • Northeast SARE Cover Crop Image Gallery- Edwin Remsberg’s images available for public use (follow usage guidelines)
  • UMD Center for Environmental Science IAN Image Library– good source for aerial photos and graphics
  • Pexels & Pixabay– free images online- a good place to look for stock photos of agriculture, Maryland and Chesapeake Bay
  • Noun Project– free source for icons

• Maryland Code- Agriculture, Title 8 Soil Conservation; Subtitle 3 State Soil Conservation Districts
• Maryland Conservation District Supervisor Handbook
• Supervisor Training Resources
• MASCD Manual
• Open Meetings Act Training from UMD’s Institute for Governmental Service and Research