The Story
Beato Selected as Representative to the Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District
Chairman and Class of 2009 Senator Matt Beato. Courtesy of Student Assembly.
In a drawing held on Nov. 14, the Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District selected Matt Beato (’09) as one of its representatives for the City of Williamsburg.
The drawing resulted from a tie in the number of write-in votes between Beato and Ben Strahs (’09).
The write-in election occurred on Nov. 6, and the results were closer than expected.
“Williamsburg has two seats on the Colonial Soil and Water Conservation board. Only one person was running for the seat. I somehow managed to garner three votes, enough to tie for the lead with Ben Strahs and Stephen Colbert, who is not a Williamsburg resident,” Beato said.
Although Colbert, star of the popular Colbert Report on Comedy Central, received relatively abundant support, he lacked the Virginian voter registration necessary for candidacy. The city withdrew his name from the race.
While willingly accepting the board position, Beato admittedly did little to promote his name or candidacy during the election. “I did not campaign, run for, or otherwise seek this position,” Beato said. “This is one of those weird, coincidental things.”
The District’s policy following a tied election resorts to a random drawing between the candidates. At that point, Beato and Strahs received no opportunity to sway the results in their favor, even if they desired a campaign.
Ultimately fate favored Beato, a government major and the Chair of the Student Assembly Senate.
The foremost priority of the Colonial Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is the preservation of the planet’s resources. A subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, it serves not only the City of Williamsburg, but also the Counties of Charles City, James City, New Kent and York.
Beato will serve as one of two representatives dealing specifically with conservation matters concerning Williamsburg and, by extension, the College.
According to its website, the Colonial SWCD’s mission is “to cooperate, communicate, and educate landowners and operators, government agencies, schools, businesses and civic groups to preserve and protect our natural resources.”
The SWCD originates from the Great Depression and FDR’s subsequent New Deal policies. In 1935, Congress declared soil and water conservation a national priority. Two years later, FDR wrote to the governor of each state, calling for implementation of this policy and recommending legislation forming conservation districts. Thus, in 1944, Colonial SWCD was born.
After undergoing a number of alterations throughout its history, the Colonial SWCD now stands as one of 47 conservation districts within the state of Virginia.
One of the most important components of the SWCD is “the people who serve and are served.” The SWCD does not work alone. As a subdivision of the state, it receives help from Virginian agencies like the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Furthermore, its funding originates from both the state and the other local governments within its jurisdiction. These funds are delegated directly to groups formed to educate the public about the preservation of natural resources
Some environmental issues on which the SWCD focuses are the preservation of wildlife, control of soil erosion, water quality, prevention of flood damage and protection of both private and public lands.
The SWCD highlights the importance of the preservation of the watershed, which is the land that drains into a particular body of water. In Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay watershed remains the largest, draining from almost 60% of the state.
As the watershed is altered or disturbed, through building, farming and landscaping, run-off pollution occurs, damaging the people, plants and animals sheltered downstream. To prevent this pollution, the Colonial SWCD implements a number of educational programs about the watershed.
For more information on the District, visit the