Conservation Agency Celebrates 70th Anniversary

Contact: Jasper Parker, 405-742-1243

Stillwater, Oklahoma Apr. 27, 2005—Oklahoma’s landscape looked much different in 1935 than it does today. The state was in the middle of the “Dust Bowl” with severe soil erosion stripping the land of soil and crops. It was a bleak time for those who were working to scrape out a living from the land. In an effort to help stop the soil erosion the federal government created the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) which hired soil conservationists, soil scientists and engineers to provide technical assistance to farmers and ranchers. The agency, whose name was changed to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in 1994, celebrates its 70th anniversary this month.

 The SCS was created on April 27, 1935, as an agency in the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The name was changed in a USDA reorganization plan to the Natural Resources Conservation Service to better reflect its current role in natural resource issues. The NRCS helps people conserve, protect, maintain and improve the state’s natural resources and environment by providing assistance with flood control, water quality problems, water and wind soil erosion, animal waste management, urban conservation issues, wildlife management and other natural resource issues.

 In 1937 Oklahoma was one of the first states to adopt state legislation authorizing the formation of local conservation districts. These subdivisions of state government were formed to serve as the voice of local people on conservation issues and to set local conservation work priorities. They also serve as a local unit of government for NRCS employees to work through and that has resulted in a conservation partnership that has lasted for over 60 years. The state currently has 88 conservation districts and most districts share office space with NRCS.

 “We should recognize the efforts of the NRCS employees over the past 70 years for all the assistance they have provided,” said Darrel Dominick, state conservationist, NRCS. “These employees provided help to farmers and ranchers in installing millions of feet of terraces, thousands of acres of waterways, grassland plantings and gully shaping, and two thousand miles of shelterbelts. They also provided the engineering assistance in the installation of over 200,000 farm ponds and 2,000 flood control dams and assistance in developing thousands of conservation plans that landowners have used to better manage their land.”

 Governor Brad Henry has issued a state proclamation designating April 27, 2005, as Conservation Day in Oklahoma in honor of the 70th anniversary of NRCS.

Technical help from NRCS has always been provided free of charge to landowners through local offices in each county. For more information about NRCS, contact your local county NRCS office.

All programs and services of the Natural Resources Conservation Service are provided in a nondiscriminatory manner.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s Target Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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