NRCS History Articles

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Performance Based Conservation: The Journey toward Green Payments (PDF; 241 KB)

Brief History

• Natural Resources Conservation Service

Partnerships

The Preparation of the Standard State Soil Conservation Districts Law:

Preparation 1 (PDF; 1.8 MB)
Preparation 2 (PDF; 2.3 MB)
State 1 (PDF; 1.2 MB)
State 2 (PDF; 1.2 MB)
State 3 (PDF; 1.6 MB)

• Conservation Districts: Getting to the Roots

People

• Hugh Hammond Bennett
• Walter Clay Lowdermilk's Journal: Forester to Land Conservationist

Programs and Activities

A History of Water Resources Activities of the U.S. Department of Agriculture:

Part 1 (PDF; 1.5 MB)
Part 2 (PDF; 1.7 MB)
Part 3 (PDF; 1.7 MB)
Part 4 (PDF; 1.4 MB)
Part 5 (PDF; 1.3 MB)

• Small Watersheds and the USDA: Legacy of the Flood Control Act of 1936
• Bringing Federal Coordination to Snow Surveys
• Snow Surveying Comes of Age in the West
• Land Capability Classification
• The Civilian Conservation Corps: Demonstrating the Value of Soil Conservation
• Coon Valley, Wisconsin: A Conservation Success Story

Workforce

• Eroding the Color Line: The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) and the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Women in the Soil Conservation Service

The Great Plains

• Conserving the Plains: The Soil Conservation Service in the Great Plains
• Great Plains Conservation Program, 1956–1981: Short Administrative and Legislative History

Historical Notes Series

Readings in the History of the Soil Conservation Service:
Part 1 (PDF; 1.5 MB)
Part 2 (PDF; 2 MB)
Part 3 (PDF; 2.4 MB)
Part 4 (PDF; 2.1 MB)
Part 5 (PDF; 2 MB)

Engineering in the Soil Conservation Service:
Part 1 (PDF; 1.9 MB)
Part 2 (PDF; 1.6 MB)
Part 3 (PDF; 810 KB)

Interviews with Chiefs of the Soil Conservation Service:
Part 1 (PDF; 1.8 MB)
Part 2 (PDF; 2.7 MB)
Part 3 (PDF; 3.5 MB)
Part 4 (PDF; 3.3 MB)

The Soil Conservation Responds to the 1993 Midwest Floods:
Part 1 (PDF; 1.3 MB)
Part 2 (PDF; 1.9 MB)
Part 3 (PDF; 1.9 MB)
Part 4 (PDF; 1.5 MB)
Part 5 (PDF; 797 KB)

Historical Changes in Soil Erosion: 1930–1992, The Northern Mississippi Valley Loess Hills:
Part 1 (PDF; 2 MB)
Part 2 (PDF; 2.1 MB)
Part 3 (PDF; 1.3 MB)

Conservation and Culture: The SCS, Soil Science and Conservation on Tribal Land in the Southwest, 1934–1994:
Part 1 (PDF; 1.1 MB)
Part 2 (PDF; 588 KB)
Part 3 (PDF; 914 KB)

The History of Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecasting (PDF; 5.2 MB)
 

Historical Insight Series

Hugh Hammond Bennett and the Creation of the Soil Erosion Service     
PDF version (PDF; 2 MB)

Technical Assistance: The Engine of Conservation (PDF; 55 KB)
Performance Based Conservation: The Journey toward Green Payments (PDF; 241 KB)
Soil Conservation Institutions in New Zealand and the United States: The Case of Donald Williams’ Advisory Trip (PDF; 87 KB)

References

• The Soil and Water Conservation Movement: A Short List of References

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