National Association of Conservation Districts

NACD History

When representatives from 32 soil conservation districts met in Washington, D.C. in 1946 and set in motion the process to organize a national association of conservation districts, over 1,600 soil conservation districts had already formed in 48 states.

Anyone who has read the minutes from the first annual meeting of the newly created National Association of Soil Conservation Districts can tell you that the health of the land and the welfare of future generations was a commitment taken very seriously by early district officials. A report from Nolen J. Fuqua of Oklahoma (at that time a council member, but later to become the fourth president of NASCD), though just one of the many delivered at the first annual meeting, exemplifies the commitment:

“We reorganized into a state organization at the beginning of soil conservation work in 1937. This was due to government men who came down telling us what we needed to do to serve as supervisors. We thought organization would help us and we voted unanimously last week to associate ourselves with the National Association.

Four of every five acres in Oklahoma farms and ranches are now being damaged by soil erosion, or have lost some of the precious topsoil before soil conservation treatment was applied. Less than 5,000,000 acres of farmlands have suffered no erosion damages, but more than three-fourths of the topsoil has been lost from 8,543,000 acres.

Farmers and ranchers, with the help of Soil Conservation Service technicians, have developed 34,000 coordinated conservation plans. These plans provide for sound land use, the proper combination of conservation practices, improvement of soil productivity, and an economical system of farming whereby man can not only save soil, but improve it and at the same time, increase his financial return from the land. Oklahoma has made the most outstanding record in the United States in seeding land removed from cultivation to native grasses. Almost a half-million acres have been seeded under the Soil Conservation Districts’ program. However, there is a big conservation job yet to be done.”

By forming a national organization in 1946 the districts provided the means to deliver a unified message to policy makers and to better coordinate district activities. Today we continue to reap the benefits of the conservation legacy our early district leaders left for us. However, as R. Neil Sampson noted in For Love of the Land: A History of the National Association of Conservation Districts, “the accomplishments of the first half-century are impressive, but the challenges ahead seem equally awesome.” Mr. Sampson saw the greatest challenge as being that of “moving people to constructive action.” He urged those attempting to understand the political forces that move Americans to action on soil and water conservation issues to first recognize the “potential that lies in the dedication, commitment and skill of those who love the land – the people of the soil conservation districts.”