Happy 80^th birthday to the Soil Conservation Act!

This ground-breaking legislation created the Soil Conservation Service, now the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and kicked off the conservation district movement in the U.S.

So what happened roughly 80 years ago that spurred Congress to take action to protect our nation’s soil?

In the early 1930s, along with the greatest depression this nation ever experienced, came an equally unparalleled ecological disaster known as the Dust Bowl. Following a severe and sustained drought in the Great Plains, the region’s soil began to erode and blow away, creating huge black dust storms that blotted out the sun and swallowed the countryside. Thousands of “dust refugees” left the black fog to seek better lives.

But the storms stretched across the nation. They reached south to Texas and east to New York. Dust even sifted into the White House and onto the desk of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

On Capitol Hill, while testifying about the erosion problem, soil scientist Hugh Hammond Bennett threw back the curtains to reveal a sky blackened by dust. Congress unanimously passed legislation declaring soil and water conservation a national policy and priority. Because nearly three-fourths of the continental United States is privately owned, Congress realized that only active, voluntary support from landowners would guarantee the success of conservation work on private land.

In 1937, President Roosevelt wrote the governors of all the states recommending legislation that would allow local landowners to form soil conservation districts. Brown Creek Soil & Water Conservation District in North Carolina was the first district established. The movement caught on across the country with district-enabling legislation passed in every state. Today, the country is blanketed with nearly 3,000 conservation districts.

We’ve made great strides in soil health in the past 80 years. But there’s still much work to be done. It’s important that we remember our roots, and don’t take the health of our soil and other natural resources for granted.

Soil health is at our very roots, and conservation districts continue to be at the forefront of these efforts today, working in close partnership with local, state and federal partners to assist producers and landowners in the education, planning and implementation of soil conservation at the local level. Soil health has been a top priority for NACD in recent years.

The soil health movement continues to gain momentum across the nation. Congress recently took steps to recognize the value of locally-led soil and water conservation, with the introduction of a bipartisan resolution in both the House and Senate. This resolution is supported by NACD, the Soil Science Society of America, and a variety of conservation and agriculture groups.

It’s encouraging to see a bipartisan group of representatives in Washington voicing their support for our nation’s soils and locally-led natural resource conservation. Providing for a projected world population of nine billion by 2050, while preserving our precious natural resource base, will require a coordinated, voluntary, incentive-based approach to private land conservation with participation from local, state and federal partners. We hope that all members of Congress will sign on as cosponsors to show their support for soil health and the value of locally-led soil and water conservation efforts.

Happy 80^th, SCA! Here’s to a continuing legacy of locally-led natural-resource conservation!

Tags: Soil Health, Dust Bowl, Concurrent Resolution, Soil Conservation Act, USDA NRCS