New Deal Accomplishment: More than 3,000 conservation districts, all across the United States and its territories

America's vast network of conservation districts was born from the Soil Conservation Service, the CCC, FDR, and New Deal model legislation.

Above: These are members of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Company 2889, at Camp SCS-9-T, in Bogata, Texas, 1936. This company was one of the many CCC companies across the United States that worked under the direction of the New Deal's Soil Conservation Service (SCS). Company 2889, alongside SCS technicians and engineers, worked on private farms showing owners how to protect their land from soil erosion and premature water loss. The CCC enrollees "sodded pastures, built gully control and check dams, terraced fields, and made outlet channels." Quote and photo from: Civilian Conservation Corps, Official Annual, 1936, Tyler District, 8th Corps Area (Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Direct Advertising Co., 1936). Used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: The New Deal's Soil Conservation Service did extensive work in Texas. This is part of a longer newspaper article appearing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 9, 1937, p. 16. Image from newspapers.com, used here for educational and non-commercial purposes.

Above: Dr. Hugh Bennett, the "Father of Soil Conservation" and the head of the Soil Conservation Service, testifies before Congress, March 9, 1938, and explains how soil erosion and the degradation of agricultural land contributes to unemployment. In earlier testimony before Congress, "soil scientist Hugh Hammond Bennett threw back the curtains to reveal a sky blackened by dust. Bennett's testimony moved Congress to unanimously pass legislation declaring soil and water conservation a national policy and priority" ("Our History," West Virginia Conservation Agency, accessed November 16, 2025). Photo by Harris & Ewing, from the Library of Congress.

Above: This comes from the 1941 annual report of the Soil Conservation Service, and shows the types and volume of work by the SCS. Image from Hathitrust.

Above: The description for this photograph--taken in September 1939--reads: "CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) working with Soil Conservation Service making diversion terrace to prevent gullying, Vernon County, Wisconsin." Photo by John Vachon, Farm Security Administration, and provided by the Library of Congress.

Above: The Soil Conservation Service performed a large amount of work on American Indian reservations, protecting the land from soil and water loss. Work included: "the building of check dams, terracing, baffle construction, sodding work and tree planting." Quote and photo from the December 1, 1937 edition of Indians at Work, a publication of the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs.

Above: A puppet show by American Indian students, highlighting the value of water and soil conservation. From the July 1, 1937 edition of Indians at Work, a publication of the U.S. Office of Indian Affairs.

Above: The description for this photograph (ca. 1938) reads: "Sediment load testing equipment, built across Rocky Creek, Iredell Co., N.C. by the WPA in cooperation with the Soil Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture. The project is located near Statesville, North Carolina." Photo from the National Archives.

Above: "Resources of the Soil," a mural study by Ben Cunningham (1904-1975), created while he was in the New Deal's Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture, 1938. The finished version was painted for the Ukiah, California Post Office. Image from the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Above: "Starvation," a lithograph by Bernard Steffen (1907-1980), created while he was in the WPA's Federal Art Project, between 1935 and 1939. The scene shows a dry and barren land, where both water and soil has run off. This artwork was a gift by Jean Nichols to the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Above: A stamp issued by the U.S. Post Office Department, 1959, depicting the benefits of soil conservation (compare this to the previous image, "Starvation"). Image scanned from a private collection.

Above: Some of the earliest Soil Conservation Service projects: Outlined areas are demonstration projects (for example, teaching landowners best practices in soil conservation and water retention); solid triangles show nurseries managed by the Soil Conservation Service; and solid squares show experimental facilities. Image from a progress report by the WPA, March 1936.

Conservation Districts - A New Deal Legacy of Environmental Protection

The National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) explains that "Following the devastation of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt recommended the Standard State Soil Conservation Districts Act be signed into law by all state governors. This act gave states a step-by-step guide to create conservation districts and listing their powers and responsibilities. The first conservation district, Brown Creek Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), was established in North Carolina on August 4, 1937. Arkansas became the first state to enact legislation regarding conservation districts. By July 1, 1945, all 48 states had passed district-enabling acts...

"Now, conservation districts have a more powerful national voice than ever. NACD represents nearly 3,000 districts in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands."

(The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service puts the total number of conservation districts at "over 3,000.")

The Washington State Conservation Commission provides a good general description of what conservation districts do:

"Conservation districts, or 'CDs,' connect people with voluntary actions that protect the health of our air, water, soil, habitats, and farmland [and can help with] funding... Technical expertise for planning, permitting, and project construction... Habitat restoration and enhancement; Livestock and nutrient management; Soil, forest, and rangeland health; Natural disaster preparedness and recovery; Irrigation water management; Stormwater management; Environmental education; Urban agriculture."

To find out what Conservation Districts do in your state, just do an Internet search, for example, "New York Conservation Districts" or "Hawaii Conservation Districts."

Conservation districts are one of the many great environmental legacies of the New Deal. Others include wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries, wastewater management facilities, and thousands of new or improved parks at the national, state, and local level.