Date: December 12, 2024  

Dear Conservation Partners

The Windham County Natural Resources Conservation District is seeking a consultant to guide our upcoming strategic planning process. We have been awarded funding from Watersheds United Vermont to support the creation of a new 5-year strategic plan to guide the district’s programming and growth.

Windham NRCD is one of the 14 Natural Resources Conservation Districts in Vermont, established by the 1939 Soil Conservation Act. Our original mission was to help farms combat soil erosion, but we have since grown to assist all land stewards improve their environmental stewardship through the implementation of conservation practices and environmental education on a range of natural resource topics. Districts also act as a bridge between the local level and state and federal agencies. We help land stewards access government programing and funding and collect input at the local level and use it to communicate needs on the ground to our government partners. We are overseen by a publicly elected Board of Supervisors who are residents of our District. Vermont’s conservation districts are almost entirely dependent on grant funding for our operating budget.

Windham NRCD has experienced dramatic growth over the past five years, increasing from a staff or 0.5 FTEs in 2019 to our current staff of 4 full-time staff and 8 seasonal staff. This growth in staffing and budget has been accompanied by an expansion in our array of services offered. As a result, we now lack a strategic plan that meets our expanded capacity and scope of work. We intend to develop a comprehensive planning document that will help us grow sustainably and allow us to navigate the ever-shifting landscape of state and federal funding and programming.

Proposals will be accepted via email at windhamcountynrcd@gmail.com until 5 PM on Monday, February 3. For questions or further information, please contact Executive Director Cory Ross at ross.wcnrcd@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Cory Ross

Executive Director, Windam County NRCD

For more information, please review the full RFP below: