RG 084 Soil Conservation

The Dust Bowl of the 1930s led to a federal push for soil conservation. The Soil Conservation Act passed by Congress in 1935 created the Soil Conservation Service (SCS). The act sought to control and prevent soil erosion, flooding, and other threats to natural resources. As a bridge between the federal government and local landowners, the establishment of soil and water conservation districts across the United States was proposed. By 1938, 22 states passed legislation allowing landowners to form voluntary soil conservation districts. In 1939, the Iowa General Assembly enacted similar legislation and created the State Soil Conservation Committee (later the Department of Soil Conservation) to serve as an agency of the state. In 1986, the Department of Soil Conservation has been a division within the Department of Agriculture. The records in our holdings begin in 1940; the following is a partial list of the series: