Parsons picked for new role at SERCD

After a year with the Saratoga-Encampment-Rawlins Conservation District (SERCD), Joe Parsons is now the Supervisory Resource Specialist for the organization.

Parson’s old and somewhat unique position was funded by a partnership among the Game and Fish, the Conservation District, the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.

Although the list of his employers is now much shorter, the list of his duties is not.

“Before I was dealing with sage grouse, working with private landowners to help with sage grouse habitat,” Parsons said. “Now its the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) documents to zone changes to helping install pipelines and stock tanks, wildlife friendly fences and river restoration work.”

SERCD is like many other conservation districts across the country. They may have different names but they serve the same purpose - providing locals a platform to interact with national agencies dealing with conservation.

Conservation districts evolved from the Soil Conservation Service established by Congress in 1935, which became the NRCS.

“You couldn’t have federal employees in communities without community involvement and each state did it a little different,” Parsons said.

Parsons hails from Hulett, about nine miles from Devil’s Tower. After service in the Marine Corps, Parsons attended junior college in Powell where he guided elk hunters and anglers in the Powell-Cody area.

After transferring to the University of Wyoming and graduating with a degree in wildlife biology, Parsons came to Saratoga to work for SERCD.

Parsons plans to continue SERCD’s accomplishments throughout the district. Some of the ongoing projects include further work on the Encampment River restoration near Riverside and installing fences around wildfire burned areas to allow them to regenerate.

“I’ll continue work with private landowners and the Game and Fish on the Platte Valley Mule Deer Habitat Initiative and help move that forward and help apply for grants,” Parsons said.

Parsons’ position is a new one and combines the work of Cody Waldrip, the previous resource specialist, who moved on to other opportunities, and Glenn Leavengood, who is now taking a more administrative role.