Klamath Soil and Water  
Conservation District   

Conservation District History

For over 60 years the Klamath Soil & Water Conservation District (KSWCD) has encouraged the development of practices to continue agricultural production on basin lands; reduce negative impacts to the ecosystem; maintain and improve soil and water quality; and enhance water supply. Klamath Basin area farmers have always been conservation-oriented with their land and water use, and constantly seek ways to improve water use.

For those of you interested in the local history of your Soil & Water Conservation District, you may be surprised to learn there were actually three separate districts in the early days. These were the Langell Valley Soil Conservation District, the Poe Valley Soil Conservation District, and the Klamath Soil Conservation District. Read on for a very good synopsis of the events surrounding the nationwide development of the Soil Conservation District concept, and some of the reasons behind the somewhat sudden interest in soil conservation in general.

The following text was copied from the website of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD). Their web address is www.nacdnet.org if you want to explore their site. Photos have been added to emphasize just how bad things had gotten during the Dust Bowl days of the 1930's.

"In the early 1930's, 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 County 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."

A big "thank you" goes to NACD for allowing us to reproduce their work in our website. Larger images of the above photos can be found in our Photo Gallery page; click on the Historical button.

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Langell Valley Soil Conservation District
Poe Valley Soil Conservation District
Klamath Soil Conservation District