News Release

USDA Announces New District Conservationist in Imperial County

Media Contacts:
David Sanden (530) 691-5847
Eric Peitz (760) 355-2208 Ext. 106

IMPERIAL, Calif., Nov. 15, 2018 — USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Eric Peitz as the new District Conservationist at the NRCS field office in Imperial, California.

Originally from Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Peitz studied at Iowa State University in Ames, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy in 2003. While in college he worked for Pioneer Hi-Bred International as an Integrated Pest Management scout at a seed corn production facility and worked for them after graduation until 2004.

Peitz began his career with NRCS in 2005, first as a soil conservation technician in Montana and Iowa then as a soil conservationist in Iowa in 2007. While employed in Iowa, he served two Emergency Watershed Protection details as a project inspector in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. Peitz has also worked for NRCS in Arizona, Washington, and Nebraska. He came to California in 2011 to serve as a soil conservationist in Tulelake in Modoc County. Most recently, Peitz served as district conservationist in Susanville for six years starting in 2012.

“During my career with NRCS, I have had the opportunity to gain experience working in multiple states with different resource concerns across the West and Midwest,” says Peitz. “This has given me a greater appreciation for what’s out there. I’ve learned that farmers and ranchers are quite similar wherever you go — and they all have some of the same challenges.”

Popular conservation practices in Imperial County include installing subsurface drains, structures for water control, sprinkler systems, irrigation water management, irrigation ditch lining, deep tillage, nutrient management, replacement of agricultural equipment for air quality and energy efficiency improvement, and land smoothing.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to help address resource issues with customers and share my experiences with them and the NRCS staff,” says Peitz. “I am looking forward to addressing the resource challenges in the Imperial Valley and building strong partnerships to collaborate on conservation measures to achieve them.”

NRCS is a federal agency that works in partnership with resource conservation districts. With the mission of “Helping People Help the Land,” NRCS provides products and services that enable people to be good stewards of the nation’s soil, water, and related natural resources on non-federal lands.

More information on NRCS’ products and services can be found on the NRCS California web site at www.ca.nrcs.usda.gov.

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