Its annual budget is $89,402. Its work includes teaching people how to manage their horse manure. Its seven-member board votes on such issues as giving $50 in tree seedlings to local schools.

        From this fall's election, though, you'd think the very soul of Boone County was at stake. Eight people — an unheard-of number — are running for three seats on the board.

        Conservation districts are present in each county and function as subdivisions of state government. They help landowners with soil and water problems and set conservation priorities.

        In Kenton County, two people are running for three slots — a typical situation. What's up in Boone?

        Answer: the League of Kentucky Property Owners.

        This group, fiercely opposed to government involvement in land-use and environmental issues, is based in the county. Two members — Bernie Kunkel and David Kuchle — won seats on the Conservation District back when nobody was paying attention.

        Things quickly heated up. Last October, board member Linda Arlinghaus quit in frustration. She wanted to write a letter supporting a Fiscal Court study of voluntary farmland preservation; the property-rights activists were opposed.

        Over the last year, Mr. Kunkel has voted against 10 out of 30 motions before the board, and Mr. Kuchle has abstained 11 times, records show.

        Among the items they couldn't bring themselves to approve: The district's application for a $7,500 state grant to help landowners clean up dumps on their property.

        “It's not my money to give,” Mr. Kunkel says. “I'd much rather see people get tax cuts and basically do their own conservation efforts.”

        If this sounds odd — serving on a public conservation board while opposing public funding of conservation — Mr. Kunkel soon may have company.

        Running this year are two other members of the property league — Dumont Gouge and Brett Gaspard. Neither returned my calls.

        Current board member Bruce Ferguson worries that if the activists gain a majority, they may try to abolish the district altogether.

        Mr. Kunkel says he has no such motive and supports the district's mission of conservation education.

        Still, Mr. Ferguson and others have recruited alternative candidates. They include Lee McNeely, a bank vice president and avid bird-watcher.

        Then there's Sarah Drew, 25, who is finishing a master's degree in environmental science.

        She's chagrined that environmental issues have become so polarized. Her field, she says, could use more “ordinary people with a conservative viewpoint” to provide balance.

        She knows growth-versus-preservation is a touchy issue in Boone, and she doesn't yet have all the answers.

        I won't pretend to judge the candidates, since I didn't speak with all of them. But Ms. Drew's attitude struck me as refreshing. In this contentious realm, acknowledging uncertainty may be a virtue.

        E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com or call (859)578-5584

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