Environmental Law Institute - National Wetlands Awards

David Carter grew up on a small farm in southwestern Iowa near the town of Randolph. He and his younger brother Eric both helped on the farm, and they developed strong work habits from their parents Rodney and Sarah Carter. Upon graduation from Iowa State University, Mr. Carter returned home and began working for the Fremont County Soil and Water Conservation District, ultimately as the wetland specialist and project coordinator for the Two Rivers Project, an effort supported by federal, state, and county agencies to enroll farmers into the wetland and floodplain programs offered by Natural Resources Conservation Service and other agencies. Since joining the project, Mr. Carter has helped with the enrollment of 12 new wetland and floodplain easements in Fremont County through the Wetland Reserve Program and Emergency Watershed Program, totaling 3,040 acres, as well as the restoration of nearly 4,200 acres on 21 easements. There are still many acres to be restored, and he is actively working to enroll more acres. Along with his main duties as administrator of the 37 reserve easements within the county, Mr. Carter works with the Conservation Reserve Program to install small wetlands, filterstrips, and shallow water areas for wildlife habitat. He also works in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help landowners find funding and information to support wetland habitat development and restoration.

Mr. Carter produces the Two Rivers Project Newsletter, which annually updates the public about the easement programs and other pertinent information about wetlands. He has recently created a website for the district that includes Two Rivers Project news and links to other conservation agencies.

— James Gulliford, US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, Kansas City, Kansas