Who We Are

Voting Members

Advisory Members

What We Do
Minutes
Reports
Contacts

Who We Are

The New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee is composed of voting and advisory members who represent a wide range of agricultural, environmental and other interests. The broad range of interests represented on the Committee allows it to carry out its work through a network of partnerships between state, federal and local agencies, as well as citizen interests and the private sector.

An act establishing the State Soil & Water Conservation Committee and Soil & Water Conservation Districts became law on April 23, 1940

Voting Members:

The New York State Soil and Water Conservation Committee was established as an agency of the State in 1940. It is made up of five voting members appointed by the Governor and representing agricultural and non-agricultural interests as provided for in New York State Soil & Water Conservation Law.
Current Voting Members are:

Advisory Members:

Nine persons advise the Committee by virtue of their positions as officials of state and federal agencies and organizations. These nine organizations are:

Dennis Hill addresses the NY Association of Conservation Districts at their 2001 Annual Meeting

Dennis Hill of Delaware County was elected Chair of the NYS Soil & Water Conservation Committee on May 20, 2002 at which time he also began his second five-year term on the State Committee, representing the NYS Grange. Responsibilities of the State Committee include establishing policy to guide and assist New York State’s 58 County Soil & Water Conservation Districts; working with conservation partners in effectively protecting NY’s waters from nonpoint sources of pollution, and advising other agencies on matters relating to soil and water conservation. Dennis and his wife Barb own and operate a 310-acre dairy and maple products farm in Delaware County in partnership with their sons Dwayne and David. Dennis has been the Grange Representative on the Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District Board for 16 years and has been Chair since 1997. He was a Division Director for the NY Association of Conservation Districts from 1992-97, and is presently a member of Delaware County’s Agricultural Farmland Protection Board. The Hills are also the proud recipients of Delaware County’s Conservation Farmer of the Year Award in 1996. A founding member of the New York City Watershed Agricultural Program, Dennis acted as a director from 1992-2001, serving on the Nominating Committee, Farm Selection Committee, Policy Committee, Ad Hoc Committee and Executive Committee. He is currently serving his seventh year on the NYS Grange Executive Committee, and was previously the Deputy State Master for 8 years. Currently Dennis is involved in many civic and agricultural organizations including serving as President of the Delaware County Maple Producers Association, and as a 16 year member of the Town Board.

George Proios of Suffolk County represents Urban, Suburban, and Rural Non-Farm Interests. He is the Assistant County Executive for Environmental Affairs for Suffolk County and the Chairman of their Soil & Water Conservation District. He sits on the County Agricultural Protection Board, helps coordinate Farm Development Rights Programs, and chairs the Peconic Estuary's Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) Strategy Committee. Previously, George had been the Executive Director of the New York State Legislative Commission on Water Resource Needs of Long Island for ten years. He was the first Director of Environmental Protection for Brookhaven, the largest Township on Long Island. George has also been a public sanitarian with the Suffolk County Health Department, working in the Water Quality unit and a science teacher who taught Biology, and Earth Science. He holds a B.A. degree in Biology from the University of Denver, and a M.A. in Science Education from SUNY at Stony Brook. He has been a member of the State's Non-Point Source Coordinating Committee since its inception and a member of DEC's Water Management Advisory Board for over 15 years. He has been a member of the New York State Water Resources Planning Council, Chairman of the Suffolk County Council on Environmental Quality, and a technical advisor to many of the numerous studies conducted on Long Island dealing with water including the 208 Study, the National Urban Runoff Program, and Non-Point Source Handbook. George has been the recipient of the Environmental Protection Agency's Special Award of Merit for the development of environmental programs.

Robert Aman of Tioga County represents the New York Association of Conservation Districts'. Bob has been farming for over 40 years and is the owner operator of AA Dairy, a 2200 acre 600 cow operation, in the town of Candor. Bob is in partnership with his two sons Wayne and Aaron whom he credits as having enabled him to become very active in conservation affairs. His broad based involvement includes serving as Division IV Representative for the NY Association of Conservation Districts since 1999; Farm Bureau Representative on the Tioga County Soil & Water Conservation District Board of Directors since 1998; Board member of the Tioga County Farmland Trust; the NYS Technical Committee for EQUIP; the Susquehanna River Basin Coalition, the South Central Resource Conservation and Development Council; the Farmers Home Administration Committee (1984-1988); and the First Pioneer Farm Credit Advisory Council. He also served as Chair of the Tioga County Comprehensive Plan Agricultural Committee. His community activities include serving on the Candor Central School Facility Advisory Committee and on the Youth Commission Pee Wee Football Committee. AA Dairy has received the 1999 NY Governor's Award for Pollution Prevention - Small Business Category, the 1999 NYS Governor's Employer Recognition Award, and the 1999 Superior Quality Producer Award from Dairy Farmers of America.

John Dickinson of Washington County represents the New York Farm Bureau. John and his wife Denise own and operate Ideal Dairy Farms in Hudson Falls. John has been a member of the Washington County Farm Bureau since 1982, served on the Board of Directors since 1996 and was elected Vice-Chair in 2003. He has been the Farm Bureau Representative on the Washington County Soil & Water Conservation District Board and a member of the County Water Quality Coordinating Committee since 1999. Active in many civic and agricultural organizations, John is currently serving on the Cobleskill College Ag Business Advisory Committee, First Pioneer Farm Credit Board of Directors, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Technological Transfer Advisory Committee, and the Saratoga-Warren-Washington County Work Force Investment Board. He is a Trustee for the Kingsbury Baptist Church and a Dairy Farmers of America Delegate. Raised on a dairy farm, John went on to earn a degree in Animal Husbandry/Dairy from SUNY Cobleskill. As a Herd Manager after college, he successfully developed a genetics program utilizing Artificial Insemination and Raising Replacement. In 1981, John and Denise started their own dairy business with an 80 cow herd, which over the years has expanded to become a 2100 acre, 750 cow, operation recognized as a Dairy of Distinction.

Dale Stein of Genesee County is the Representative-At-Large for Farm Interests. Dale is the senior partner in Stein Farms LLC, a 750 cow, 2000 acre dairy farm. In partnership with him are his son Nathan and brothers Ray and Ken. Dale is active in several agricultural groups and organizations, serving on the Genesee County Farm Bureau Board of Directors since 2000, and as President since 2004. He serves as Co-Chairman of the Agricultural Practices Board for the Town of LeRoy, is on the Genesee County Agricultural Protection Board, and is the New York Representative to the American Farm Bureau Dairy Committee. He is a member of the Genesee County Soil and Water Conservation District AEM Advisory Committee, and has served as a Director for the Genesee County Cooperative Extension. Active in environmental work all his life, Dale manages a 2,500 acre area for the improvement and diversification of wildlife. Dale has planted over 10,000 trees and built several types of feeding areas and nesting habitats for small birds and mammals. He owns a half-mile section of Oatka Creek, which is maintained as a public fishing area and stocked with 8,000 trout annually by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. Dale resides on the farm with his wife Lilly and daughter Casey, who is also actively involved in the farm operation.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University
The College is the state's "land grant" institution for agricultural education. As such, it has an important role in national and international research, as well as educating future farmers and others involved in agriculture and the life sciences in New York.
Principal Member: Susan Henry, Dean
Representative: Lee Telega

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
The College is the state's flagship institution for the education of future environmental scientists and foresters. Research of national and international importance is conducted here, as well as continuing education programs for professionals already working the environmental field.
Principal Member: Cornelius B. "Neil" Murphy, President
Representative: Peter Black

Cornell Cooperative Extension
Cornell Cooperative Extension brings the most recent agricultural and conservation research from Cornell University and other land-grant institutions to those who need it: farmers, agribusiness and other community members through a statewide network of agents serving each county in the state. Cooperative Extension also coordinates outreach activities associated with the State Committee's Agricultural Environmental Management initiative, identifies research needs for Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and identifies training needs and develops training materials and programs.
Principal Member: Helene Dillard, Director
Representative: Deborah Grantham

New York State Conservation District Employees' Association, Inc.
This organization represents the staff of the 58 county Soil and Water Conservation Districts in New York on conservation issues at the State level. It works with other conservation partner agencies to provide training opportunities for field staff, and educates and informs pertinent parties about soil and water conservation funding needs.
Principal Member: Jeff Carmichael , President
Representative: Steve Lorraine

New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets
The Department provides staff, office space and administrative support for the NYS Soil and Water Conservation Committee. It also administers state funds available for the Committee's Agricultural Nonpoint Source Abatement and Control Program, chairs the Agricultural Environmental Management Steering Committee and administers state farmland protection programs.
Principal Member: Patrick Hooker, Commissioner
Representative: Jackie Moody-Czub

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
As the State's environmental agency, the DEC administers the permit program for point source discharges, including the discharge of agricultural pollutants to state waters, and sets and enforces the State's water quality standards. It also coordinates the administration of programs to address nonpoint source pollution in New York State, which rely on many agencies (including all of the advisory members to the State Committee) for implementation. DEC also coordinates the annual update of the Agricultural Management Practices Catalogue and chairs a workgroup that is determining the best way to address environmental issues associated with farms considered "Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)" under the federal Clean Water Act. DEC also provides funding through the State Committee for staff, training and mini-grants for County Water Quality Coordinating Committees.
The DEC, through its Office of Natural Resources, also manages New York's other natural resources. Forest, plant and animal resources are managed and protected for sustainable use by citizens according to State policy. Fish and wildlife habitat is protected and enhanced under numerous legislative authorities.
Principal Member: Alexander B. Grannis, Commissioner
Representative: Vacant

New York State Department of Health (DOH)
The Department of Health is responsible for the protection of public drinking water supplies under state and federal law. It also delineates public water system wellhead and critical watershed protection areas. DOH is working closely with the State Committee to carry out assessments of public drinking water sources (the Source Water Assessment Program) in New York, as required under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
Principal Member: Richard Daines, Commissioner
Representative: Lloyd Wilson

New York State Department of State
Together with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of State has the lead responsibility for assuring that New York meets the requirements under the federal Coastal Zone Act reauthorization Amendments of 1990 to minimize pollution from agriculture and other nonpoint sources.
Principal Member: Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, Secretary of State
Representative: Peter Q. Manning

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
In cooperation with Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the state, the NRCS provides technical assistance to private landowners through county Soil and Water Conservation Districts in the form of natural resource planning and technical standards for the implementation of practices to prevent soil erosion and nonpoint source water pollution. NRCS also administers federal funds to protect natural resources.
Principal Member: Ron Alvarado, Acting State Conservationist
Representative: Dennis DeWeese