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What is a SWCD?
What is a SWCD?
We are a governmental sub-division of the State of Indiana, locally led by five Supervisors (3 elected, 2 appointed by the State Soil Board) who guide goals, staff performance, and budgeting to promote and encourage soil and water conservation, habitat and wildlife stewardship, and the wise use of natural resources.
Cass County SWCD was formed in 1946.
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iaswcd.org/about/what-are-swcds/
Soil and Water conservation Districts, or SWCDs, are local government units that play a crucial role in managing and directing natural resource management programs. In Indiana, there are 92 districts (one in each county). They collaborate with various local, regional, and state government bodies, private nonprofits, and educational institutions to offer top-notch conservation services to private landowners. Their goal is to encourage the wise use, development, and conservation of our state's soil, water, and related resources, tailored to the unique needs of their local areas.
History of Conservation Districts
History of Conservation Districts
Origin
Origin
www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/surviving-the-dust-bowl-biography-hugh-hammond-bennett/
In the 1930s, the extent of the damage inflicted on the southern plains by the drought and dust storms was noticed only a little outside of the region. The United States was still trying to recover from the shock of the Great Depression. Most Americans were too worried about getting food on their plates to even think about the flight of farmers in the Great Plains. Certain members of Roosevelt's administration realized that the average American's fate was closely tied to that of Dust Bowl farmers. One of these was Hugh Hammond Bennett. Bennet is considered the father of soil and water conservation in the United States. Without him, SWCDs as we know them today would not exist. Bennet's mission to address the problems of land depletion was spurred on by the 1909 Burea of Soils announcement, "The solid is the one indestructible, immutable asset that the nation possesses. It is the one resource that cannot be exhausted; that cannot be used up." Throughout his career, Bennett worked to prove just how wrong this statement was. He gained the support of Congress with the help of a providentially timed storm from the plains that hit Washington D.C. in May 1934, while he was testifying before a congressional committee. Experiencing a debilitating dust storm for the first time in the Capital, Congress put its weight behind the Soil Conservation Act of 1935, which focused on improving farming techniques.
SWCDs in Indiana
SWCDs in Indiana
Vanderburgh SWCD, the first Soil and Water Conservation District in Indiana was established in 1940 shortly after Indiana’s first District Law (IC 13-3-1) was enacted. Indiana’s District Law, which authorized the creation of soil and water conservation districts by a petition process, was developed from model legislation provided to all the states by President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration in 1937. The majority of Indiana’s 92 districts were established under the Indiana District Law in the 1945-1960 timeframe. In 1974 the last district (Tipton) was established, resulting in a district being in place in all 92 Indiana counties.
In the early years of the conservation district movement in Indiana, the primary focus of districts was to get landowners to become district cooperators so that the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), now called Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), could work with them to develop conservation plans for reducing erosion and improving their land’s productive capacity. The typical conservation plans included decisions made by the respective landowner on crop rotations, structural erosion control practices, drainage improvements, and liming. In the late 70s and 80s, the focus shifted more toward ways to reduce runoff, as well as the off-site impacts of sediment, attached nutrients, and pesticides on water quality. From the late 80’s to the present day, the federally funded Farm Bill conservation programs have been the driving force for conservation implementation by NRCS. During this time, districts have carried a larger load in conservation education and non-Farm Bill-related conservation applications because Farm Bill conservation programs implementation, while getting good conservation on the land, has consumed all the time and resources of NRCS. As we look to the future, both soil and water quality will remain key focus areas because of their impact on economic development, tied to improved quality of life for local citizens. Districts that are functioning well will be viewed as the local hub that serves as a clearinghouse to connect land users to sources of educational, technical, and financial assistance to assist in solving soil and water quality problems
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