Kennebec County Soil & Water Conservation District

“to protect and enhance Maine's soil and water resources by providing educational programs, conservation information and technical assistance to municipalities, schools, landowners and residents of Kennebec County."

District Board of Supervisors

Every Soil and Water Conservation District in the country is directed by a Board of Supervisors.  These volunteers set the priorities for the District, and direct the staff. The KCSWCD Board of Supervisors recently developed a comprehensive mission to encourage wise land use and maintain the economic base of industries that use the soil and water of Kennebec County while improving the quality of waters in the county. Water quality is our priority and we are developing aggressive and diverse programs to improve water quality throughout the county.

 

KCSWCD Board of Supervisors

Marianne Hubert currently serves as Vice Chairperson of the KCSWCD Board of Supervisors.  She grew up in a rural, agricultural area of Switzerland where dairy cows were kept for cheese making. She understands that “People in agriculture must be able to make a living.”

 

 

 

Dan Tibbetts is an organic dairy farmer from Winsdor. He has a background in Veterinary Sciences and has taught agricultural sciences at Lee Academy.

 

 

Rob Mohlar serves as the Chairperson. Rob worked as the District Conservation Engineer for three years before moving on to another position. Luckily the District will be able to work with Rob in his new role as Supervisor. Rob lives in Readfield.

 

 

Clif Buuck was elected to a full three year term this past fall and started in January, 2008. Clif has worked with the Kennebec District in his capacity as the Code Enforcement Officer for the town of Readfield. Clif has also worked on conservation issues in western Maine when he was employed by the town of Wilton.

Linda Leotskos - Linda has been willing to serve on the Board of Supervisors in order to complete this year of Peter Hanley's term in office. Peter needed to resign from the Board and Linda was willing and able to step in until we hold the next elections and select a replacement.   We will try and get a picture of Linda shortly.

District Staff

Dale Finseth is the Executive Director of the KCSWCD. Dale takes care of the daily workings of the District. He organizes the shrub, trout, wreath  and bulb sales, publishes the District newsletter, and is in charge of all of the district finances. Dale lives in Gardiner, but is originally from Poulsbo, WA.  He has a Masters degree in Political Science, Public Policy and Administration from Western Washington State College in Bellingham.  Dale has worked for several successful non-profit organizations and has been a valuable member of the District staff since he started in May, 2001.

 

John Blais is the Watershed Project Director. John started in the spring of 2007 and is responsible for grant applications and coordinating District projects. He works to see that grant activities are carried out on time. John has a long history of working in conservation and also has experience working for and engineering firm. John is an avid outdoorsman and operates his own guide service. He and his family live in Waterville.

 

 

 

 

Josh Platt, Education and Outreach Coordinator, NPS Technician. Josh has worked as a landscaper in the Portland area and for the Maine Coast Heritage Trust in Topsham. At MCHT Josh acted as their Stewardship Assistant where he worked with landowners and state agencies on conservation easement properties located all over Maine. Josh has worked for L.L. Bean's and Longfellow's Greenhouse in Manchester. Josh has a Bachelors Degree in Natural Resources with a concentration in Land Use Planning from the University of Maine at Orono. Josh has worked for the District since January of 2002.

 

Art Grindle, GIS Technician. Art comes to the District from southern New Hampshire, where he has been a conservationist with the City of Manchester, NH for six years.  Prior to working in Manchester, he worked in community conservation in New Hampshire's Lakes Region, as well as various consulting companies.  Growing up in Bucksport, Maine and graduating from Unity College, Art is glad to be getting back to his roots in the central Maine area.  Art has worked part-time with the District for the past couple years and now has the opportunity to use his experience with GIS mapping. He is stepping into our GIS position  now that Jeff has taken a new job with TRCSolutions.