The U.S Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announced this week that William “Woody” Loftis has been selected as the new district conservationist to oversee its operations in the Lake Tahoe Basin, according to a press statement from the service.

Loftis started working in the South Lake Tahoe field office in 2000. Most of that time was spent as project leader for the recently published Soil Survey of the Tahoe Basin Area, California and Nevada, according to the statement.

As part of his new duties, Loftis will be responsible for overseeing the development of backyard conservation management plans for 28,000 single-family residential parcels around Lake Tahoe. Local ordinances require that each private parcel have a plan in place to reduce runoff and to control erosion.

Loftis says he’s looking forward to his new role. “First and foremost, I would like to help private land owners take pride in doing their part to preserve such a treasure as Lake Tahoe and the Tahoe Basin,” Loftis said in the statement. “Secondly, I will make sure the Tahoe Basin has access to the technical skills and knowledge base for which the Natural Resources Conservation Service is so proud.”