Hi Mike,

This may only hit on part one of your question (why partners work with CDs). It's a list of questions that our agency and CDs sometimes pull from when trying to capture testimonials from landowners/partners who decided to work with their CD on a project. In my opinion, the questions that elicit the best answers are numbers 6, 7, 8, and 10.

1. What problem(s)/issue(s) were you experiencing that led you to contact the conservation district?
2. Had you previously tried anything else to solve the problem? If so, what?
3. Why did you choose to contact the conservation district, rather than a different entity or organization?
4. What was the result of the conservation district’s program(s)/service(s)? (Encourage specifics. Rather than “we saw a big improvement in salmon habitat,” ask the landowner or partner to state exactly what the improvement was, such as “we witnessed salmon migrating up our stream for the first time in x years…)
5. How did the conservation district’s service(s) help meet your objectives for your property/project?
6. What word or phrase best describes your relationship with the conservation district, and why?
7. What specific feature did you like most about working with the conservation district?
8. If someone called you and said, "Why should I support conservation districts," what would you tell them?
9. Would you consider working with us again? If so, on what kind of project?
10. How would you describe the importance of voluntary and incentive-based conservation services and programs?

When I took over the association, I had a meeting of some of the partners and asked them why they didn't work with us. They said;

• They didn't know us.
• Worried about our capacity and could we do a good job getting work done.
• Wanted to keep their money to themselves.

Thank you so much for sharing. This is helpful!