Klamath Soil and Water  
Conservation District   

History - Klamath Soil Conservation District
 

Initial interest in formation of Klamath Soil Conservation District resulted from the need for drainage around the Midland area in early 1947.  The Klamath Soil Conservation District was then organized for the following purposes:

• providing for farm drainage
• correcting alkali problems
• soil fertility improvements
• improvement and maintenance of central drainage systems
• conservation of water
• land leveling
• improvement of farm irrigation systems
• encouragement of proper crop rotation
• improvement of pastures
• encouraging new types of pasture seedings

The District was located two miles south of Klamath Falls.  It extended from Klamath River on the west to one mile west of Klamath-Merrill Highway on the east.  It extended south to the foothills just south of the Ryan pumping sump.  The district contained about 20,505 acres of land; 16,872 of which were farmland.  The balance was owned by County, City and Federal agencies.  The two communities of Midland and Spring Lake were located within the district.  There were about 140 operating farms within the district, with a total population estimated at 600.  The principal sources of farm income in order of importance were:

• potatoes
• grain
• small seeds
• irrigated pasture
• beef cattle production
• dairy cattle
• sheep  
• poultry

The Soil Conservation Service committee accepted the petition for aid in the formation of a district on March 22, 1948.  The hearing was held on April 9, 1948 and the reports of the hearing were presented to the State Soil Conservation Committee and acted on favorably on August 26, 1948.

On January 18, 1948, a referendum on the creation of the proposed Klamath Soil Conservation District and election of supervisors was held.  The Oregon Secretary of State, Earl T. Newbry, issued a Certificate of Organization dated July 7, 1949.

During 1952 the Board met with the Bureau of Reclamation and Klamath Irrigation District to attempt to get deeper drainage.  To develop interest in this project, the Board conducted a tour of the area needing the drainage.  In 1954, the people carried through the petition stage and to a successful vote the Midland Drain.  Later opposition developed and attacked the legality of the petition.

During 1954 the District was enlarged to include the rest of the southwestern portion of the County.

On January 4, 1971 the Klamath Soil and Water Conservation District passed a resolution in favor of consolidating with the Poe Valley Soil and Water Conservation District.  The purposes for this were to

• reduce the administrative workload into a single district 
• increase the available Soil Conservation Service staff time for higher-priority projects
• broaden the base of influence by having one larger district 
• expand and enhance interest in Conservation District work 

Consolidation of the Klamath and Poe Valley Soil and Water Conservation Districts was completed during 1972.  The total area within the new district was 2,597,798 acres.

In February of 1973 a discussion on consolidation was begun between the Klamath and Langell Valley Soil and Water Conservation Districts.  In September a formal proposal for a merger was voted in unanimously and in December the resolution was signed. 

The above was compiled from historical documents and files. It is true and correct to the best of our knowledge. Any errors or omissions are unintentional, and will gladly be corrected if you can document corrections. Contact the webmaster if you are aware of any incorrect information or additional information which should be included.

Langell Valley SCD history
Poe Valley SCD history
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