There are two candidates for one position on the San Juan Islands Conservation District Board of Supervisors:
— Ed Kilduff, an environmental planner and geologist, as well as member of the San Juan County Solid Waste Advisory Committee.
— Henning Sehmsdorf, owner and operator of S&S Homestead Farm, and incumbent district supervisor.
The election is March 16. All San Juan County registered voters are eligible to vote. Deadline to request a ballot is Monday. Call 378-6621, e-mail j.byington@sanjuanislandscd.org, or visit the district office at 540 Guard St,. No. 150, Friday Harbor.
Supervisors serve three-year staggered terms. Their positions are at large. There are five supervisors. District office manager Josie Byington said candidate statements are posted on the district Web site, www.sanjuanislandscd.org. Their statements are also published below.
The Board of Supervisors is responsible for governance of the conservation district. The board approves district budgets, sets policy, and monitors use of district resources.
ED KILDUFF, LOPEZ ISLAND
My name is Ed Kilduff, and I am a candidate for the San Juan Islands Conservation District Board. I live on Lopez Island. I ask for your vote.
I am an advocate for bottoms-up, locally driven approaches that support rural landowners in protecting our lands and waters. I am a member of the county’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee, and interested in making local government transparent, accountable and participatory.
I have decades of experience working with regulators and the public challenging environmental projects.
I am one of only two LEED Accredited Professionals in San Juan County (LEED AP BD+ C). I am one of only two licensed hydrogeologists/engineering geologists in the county (LHG and LEG). There are District programs for agriculture and forest lands; as an owner of those lands, I have an interest in voluntary, incentive-based options that support working landscapes while protecting and enhancing our natural resources.
HENNING SEHMSDORF, LOPEZ ISLAND
Henning Sehmsdorf has been a supervisor of the San Juan Islands Conservation District for the last 10 years. A long-time farmer on Lopez Island, Henning understands the role of sustainable farming practices (see www.sshomestead.org ).
Henning started the Lopez Farm-to-School program, and on the board of directors of the Community Land Trust initiated the concept of the first federally inspected mobile slaughter unit. He has taken his concern for ecosystem protection beyond the county by serving on the board of Washington Tilth Producers, and for the last year and a half on a committee for the National Academy of Sciences to produce a science-based report on “21st Century Sustainable Agriculture.”
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “Agriculture is often responsible for environmental degradation. But at the same time farmers should be considered key players in stopping degradation of the ecological balance on which current and future generations depend.” In the light of this, the San Juan Islands Conservation board needs to have at least one active farmer.
