The Dust Bowl and the Birth of Conservation
In the early 1930s, the United States faced an environmental crisis known as the Dust Bowl. Following a severe and prolonged drought in the Great Plains, the soil dried up and began to blow away. Massive black dust storms swept across the country, blocking sunlight and covering towns and farms in thick layers of dirt. Thousands of families were forced to leave their land in search of a better life.
These storms did not stay confined to the Midwest. Dust clouds traveled as far as Texas and New York. Dust reached the White House and even settled onto President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s desk. During a congressional hearing, soil scientist Hugh Hammond Bennett pulled back a curtain to reveal a sky darkened by dust. That moment helped convince Congress to take immediate action.
National Policy Takes Shape
Congress passed legislation declaring soil and water conservation a national priority. Since about three-fourths of land in the continental United States is privately owned, lawmakers realized that voluntary support from landowners would be essential for meaningful conservation work.
In 1937, President Roosevelt wrote to the governors of every state, recommending laws that would allow landowners to form local soil conservation districts. In South Carolina, Governor Olin D. Johnston signed the South Carolina Conservation Districts Law on April 17, 1937.
This law created a working partnership among the United States Secretary of Agriculture, the State of South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, and each local conservation district in the state.
More Than 75 Years of Conservation
Since the formation of South Carolina’s Conservation Districts, the mission has remained consistent:
- Implement best practices to stop soil erosion
- Maintain clean water sources
- Educate the public on the importance of soil and water conservation
Local conservation efforts have helped protect our natural resources, support farming and forestry, and improve environmental health across the state.
First in the Nation
South Carolina holds a special place in conservation history:
- On February 4, 1938, Mrs. Ploma Adams, a landowner in Oconee County, received the first conservation plan ever approved by a Soil and Water Conservation District in the United States. The plan was developed by the Upper Savannah Soil Conservation District.
- Before that, on December 18, 1933, one of the country’s first federal conservation demonstration projects began in the South Tyger River Watershed. The work started at J.L. Berry’s farm in Spartanburg County, where a large gully threatening farmland was successfully repaired.
A National Movement Begins in South Carolina
The first national office of the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) was located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. E.C. McArthur of Gaffney served as the organization’s first president. The office was housed in the Montgomery Building from 1946 until McArthur’s passing in 1947.
Today, a historical marker stands at the corner of West St. John and North Church Streets to honor this chapter of conservation history.
Location
900 Clemson rd.
Columbia, SC 29229
United States
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