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July 6, 2018 CapitalPress.com 9 The Soil Conservation Service was created in 1935 LAND from Page 1 New machinery made for easier and faster farming, and vast tracts of native grasslands in the Plains — more than 100 million acres — were plowed to plant crops, according to the USDA. But the stock market crashed in 1929, and the Great Depres- sion followed. Wheat prices plummeted, and farmers in the Plains plowed up even more land to try to recoup their loss- es. Prices dropped further, and drought conditions set in, caus- ing widespread crop failure. Many farmers abandoned their fields to find work elsewhere, leaving behind a landscape that had changed from protective grassland to exposed soil. The result was large dust storms that blew exposed soil as far as the East Coast. Ben- nett seized the opportunity to explain the cause of the dust storms to Congress and push for a permanent soil conserva- tion agency. The Soil Conser- vation Service was created in 1935, and Bennett served as its first chief. Its predecessor, the tem- porary Soil Erosion Service — also led by Bennett — had established demonstration proj- ects to show landowners the benefits of conservation. As early as 1935, USDA manag- ers began to search for ways to extend conservation assistance to more farmers, believing the solution was to establish dem- ocratically organized soil con- servation districts to lead the conservation effort at the local level. To that end, USDA drafted the Standard State Soil Con- servation District Law, which President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sent to the governors of all states in 1937. The first conservation district was orga- nized in the Brown Creek wa- tershed of North Carolina that same year. In 1994, Congress gave the Soil Conservation Service a new name: the Natural Re- sources Conservation Service. Boots on the ground Today there are nearly 3,000 conservation districts across the country. And while their mission has evolved to also embrace water conservation and water and air quality, they remain focused on local boots- on-the-ground efforts. “Conservation districts played a pivotal role follow- ing the Great Depression, and they’re as relevant now as they ever have been,” Brent Van Dyke, president of the Nation- al Association of Conservation Districts, said. The only way to feed a growing population is to be sustainable and good stewards of natural resources, he said. With a conservation district in nearly every county and parish in the U.S., districts are helping 1928 – Hugh Hammond Bennett publishes “Soil Erosion: a National Menace” Hugh H. Bennett influencing the creation of the first federal soil erosion experiment station. 1932 – Dust Bowl begins on the Great Plains; Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected president; soil and water conservation becomes a national priority. a long way toward ensuring the land can be kept in farm- ing, and can also be a con- tributor to the ecosystem and conservation values.” Roughly one-quarter of all land in Oregon — 16.3 mil- lion acres — is in agricultural production. Over the next 20 years, 10.5 million of those acres will change ownership as the average age of farmers across the state rose to 60 in 2012. Despite this trend, re- searchers estimate that most Oregon farms and ranch- es do not have a succession plan in place, and 84 percent are sole proprietorships. That leaves them vulnerable to be- ing bought and converted to non-farm uses, such as subdi- visions, vacation homes and industrial development. In turn, McAdams said environmental goals become harder to achieve without having larger blocks of open space kept in agricultural pro- duction. “The commission has dis- cussed at great lengths how preventing fragmentation and preventing non-farm uses on For 80 years, the mission of Natural Resources Conservation Service has been to help farmers take better care of their land. Carol Ryan Dumas and Alan Kenaga/Capital Press 1938 – USDA makes SCS responsible for administering its drainage and irrigation assistance programs, snow survey, water supply forecasting and programs. an additional 63 watershed projects. 1954 – Congress passes the Watershed Protection and Flood Control Act giving SCS final watershed planning authority. 1944 – Congress passes the Flood Control Act authorizing SCS to begin work on its first 11 watershed projects. 1956 – USDA establishes the Soil Bank Program and SCS begins providing technical assistance for the retired cropland program. 1951 – Hugh Bennett steps down as SCS chief and retires the following year. A dust storm during the 1930s. 1933 – Congress passes the National Industrial Recovery Act with funding to fight soil erosion; the Soil Erosion Service is established in the Department of Interior with Hugh Bennett appointed as chief. 1935 – Congress passes the Soil Conservation Act creating the Soil Conservation Service in USDA; SCS begins expanding its soil conservation program. 1957 – Congress approves the Great Plains Conservation Program authorizing SCS to provide financial and technical assistance for conservation in the Plains states. 1952 – USDA merges the Soil Survey into SCS, transfers most of SCS’s research activities and land utilization projects between Agricultural Research Service and Forest Service. 1962 – USDA initiates the Resource Conservation and Development Program allowing SCS to work with landowners to develop long-term economic development plans for larger project areas. 1953 – USDA eliminates SCS’s regional offices and enhances the technical role of state offices; Congress passes the Agricultural Appropriations Act authorizing Large-scale soil erosion on a U.S. farm. 1920 1930 1932-38 farmers, ranchers and commu- nities accomplish that. Conservation districts work to protect soil productivity, water quality and quantity, air quality and wildlife habi- tat. They conserve and restore wetlands, protect groundwater resources and control soil ero- sion. That work is done on fed- eral, state and private land. Districts bring people, agen- cies, utilities and government together to network to solve natural resource issues identi- fied at the local level, he said. “We’re that conduit that connects all the dots,” he said. Each district is unique be- cause natural resource issues vary across the U.S. The dis- trict board consists of locally elected leaders who volunteer their time. They identify con- cerns through locally generated consensus and work to address those concerns, he said. “Our strength is in that locally led initiative,” Van farmland can lead to conser- vation outcomes,” McAdams said. The Agricultural Heri- tage Program is intended to complement Oregon’s existing land use planning laws. McAdams said Ore- gon has lost 500,000 acres from agricultural produc- tion and 65,500 acres from Exclusive Farm Use zon- ing even since the state land use program was adopted in 1974. Members of the Agricul- tural Heritage Commission represent a range of interests, from farm production to nat- ural resources and wildlife. The group met seven times since Feb. 1 to write rules for the program, most recently on June 25 at Cascade Locks. Public hearings are sched- uled for 1-4 p.m. July 16 at the Department of State Lands building in Salem, and 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. July 17 at the Harney County Commu- nity Center in Burns. Meta Loftsgaarden, OWEB executive director, said she was impressed at how much the commission was able to accomplish in a short period of time. 1985 – The Food Security Act makes conservation a prerequi- site for participation in USDA programs and establishes the Conservation Reserve Program. 1994 – Congress renames SCS the Natural Resources Conser- vation Service; NRCS assumes management of the Wetland Reserve Program. Source: USDA NRCS Photos courtesy USDA NCRS 1944 1940 1977 – Congress passes the Clean Water Act, heightening protection for wetlands, and the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act requiring USDA to monitor soil and water resources on non-federal lands. 2005 – NRCS prioritizes nutrient management plans; reducing non-point source pollution, air emissions and erosion control; promoting habitat conservation. 1937 – USDA drafts the Standard State Soil Conserva- tion District Law. First soil conservation district is organized in the Brown Creek watershed of N. Carolina. 1928 1972 – Congress passes the Federal Water Pollution Control Act amendments; makes water quality and non-point source pollution major areas of concern. 1996 – Congress creates the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, giving NRCS the leadership role for conservation programs. 1936 – SCS assumes responsi- bility for performing surveys and devising flood-control plans for selected watersheds under the Flood Control Act. Roughly one-quarter of Oregon land is in agricultural production HERITAGE from Page 1 History of soil and water conservation 1970 – Congress passes the National Environmental Policy Act; requires agencies to evaluate and report on environ- mental impacts of their activities. 1951-57 1950 1962 1960 1970 1972 1977 1970 Dyke said. Districts empower and equip landowners with infor- mation and the resources they need to make decisions and implement best-management practices, he said. They work with millions of landowners and land managers nationwide to provide technical and finan- cial assistance. “We solve major resource concerns through this process,” he said. NACD believes in volun- tary, incentive-based conserva- tion with people agreeing on what needs to be done to better their community. Without con- servation districts, much of the conservation taking place today wouldn’t happen, he said. Mandatory federal policy isn’t going to accomplish as much as the voluntary efforts led by districts that believe in what they’re doing and want to make things better for the community, he said, adding 1980 1985 1994 1996 1990 that checking a regulatory box doesn’t get to what caused the issue or how to keep it from happening again. With the districts’ coordina- tion, everyone has “skin in the game,” Van Dyke said. Partners, priorities Districts are a government body with elected supervi- sors who lead conservation efforts at the county level, Steve Schuyler, NRCS district conservationist for Twin Falls County, said. The supervisors tell NRCS what the concerns are and to prioritize them, he said. “Everything we do meets the priorities set up for us for our district,” he said. In Twin Falls County, for example, the goals include sage grouse conservation, improv- ing water quality, managing livestock waste, stream bank restoration, soil health and weed management, he said. 2005 2000 Today 2010 2020 “Districts are a critical link in getting any conservation done,” he said. They work with local rec- reation districts, cities, canal companies and other agencies, and those partnerships are cru- cial, he said. “Partnerships are how we get projects implemented be- cause our agency doesn’t have the money or personnel to get a project in,” Schuyler said. One such partnership with the Twin Falls Canal Company focused on reducing sediment and phosphates going into the Snake River by building set- tling ponds for irrigation runoff. Another involved stockgrowers and the U.S. Forest Service in- stalling troughs and water lines on grazing land to keep cattle away from creek banks. The district also partnered with a neighboring conserva- tion district and an irrigation district to install pumps on the Snake River to supplement ir- rigation water in an area where well levels were dropping. “A lot of these projects would not get done without our district’s help,” Schuyler said. Not only do the districts set priorities, they also provide funding for conservation proj- ects, he said. Nationwide, NRCS fund- ing for conservation programs totaled more than $4.8 billion in 2017. Funding at the local level varies from year to year, depending on participation in NRCS programs. Revenue for the Twin Falls conservation district in 2017 included $20,000 in feder- al funding, $21,281 in state funding and $8,281 in county funding for a total of $49,531. But grants from several sourc- es, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, provides additional funding for conservation proj- ects. Twin Falls County is home to three conservation districts — Twin Falls, Balanced Rock and Snake River. Combined, the districts received about $1.02 million in federal and state grants in 2017. With co- operators contributing another $774,000, about $1.8 million was spent on conservation grant projects in the county. Conservation priorities have changed over the decades, and they will continue to change as a growing population puts more pressure on natural re- sources, Schuyler said. “There will always be con- cerns about natural resources and how to preserve and protect them. The role of the districts will continue to be relevant, and maybe even more so, going forward,” Schuyler said. But they also face the threat of lack of participation as farms get larger and more demands are placed on producers’ time, he said. “I hope they don’t go the way of the Grange,” he said. Beyond the farm Conservation districts have a unique role in communities, Bill Bitzenberg, chairman of the Twin Falls Soil and Water Conservation District, said. “Districts are where the rub- ber meets the road. We are the link between quality of life and the community,” he said. No one else is going to make suggestions and provide farmers and ranchers with as- sistance to improve things for the benefit of local communi- ties. Districts link those private landowners with agencies to accomplish things that matter to the community, he said. They help farmers and ranchers conserve water, im- prove water and air quality, reduce wind and water erosion, reduce wildfires, improve wild- life habitat and conserve spe- cies. Perdue: Work is underway on bilateral deals with Japan, India TRADE from Page 1 Canada and Australia are only too happy to take over Washington’s big wheat mar- ket in Japan, he said. Squires said he’s con- cerned about the U.S. drop- ping out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement and asked Perdue what, if any, bilateral agreements the administration is working on. Perdue said he hasn’t giv- en up on TPP, that the presi- dent has said he may look at TPP again but prefers bilat- eral agreements. Perdue said work is underway on bilater- al deals with Japan and India, and that India has been diffi- cult in a lot of ways. Michelle Hennings, exec- utive director of the Wash- ington Association of Wheat Growers, and Matt Harris, assistant executive director of the Washington State Po- tato Commission, also voiced concerns about trade. Perdue said he knows there’s a lot of anxiety that Canada, Mexico and China are the three top trading part- ners and that all are engaged in U.S. trade disputes. “I think the president rightly called out China for its bad acts and thefts of in- tellectual property, even agri- cultural products like reverse engineering genetics in corn seed,” he said. “Most farmers Dan Wheat/Capital Press U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and U.S. Sec- retary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue met with agricultural and forestry leaders in Spokane July 2. applaud him for that.” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has told him, he said, that Mexico should fall quickly into place on North American Free Trade Agreement revisions as soon as that nation’s elec- tion is over. Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won the election over the week- end. “Both Mexico and the U.S. understand the re- lationship needs to work out. We’ve benefited from NAFTA and Mexico certain- ly has,” Perdue said. “I hope we can get Mexico done quickly and then Canada will follow. Public comments are not always what happens in private.” McMorris Rodgers said she’s joined Rep. Dan New- house, R-Wash., in asking for a doubling of federal Market Access Program funding to aid export promotions. She also said House lead- ership will keep its commit- ment to Newhouse and others to bring up a standalone ag labor bill for a vote before the August recess. It will address E-verify (electronic verifica- tion of employment eligibil- ity), transitioning illegals in the domestic workforce and a more workable guestworker program, she said. Chris Voigt, executive director of the state Potato Commission, said an Obama administration rule required two under-served vegetables, such as kale and spinach, be served before potatoes could be served in the USDA school breakfast program. Schools stopped serving vegetables but there’s legislation pend- ing to encourage USDA to change the rule, Voigt said. “I don’t need any encour- agement to do that. This is the first I’ve heard of that. We will check on that and get that kind of silliness out of our regulations,” Perdue replied. State Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville and a wheat farmer, said Con- servation Reserve Program priorities need more consis- tency and greater flexibility for grazing. The program requires sagebrush be pre- served one year and torn out the next, he said. Perdue re- plied environmental restric- tions from other agencies may come into play. Duane Vaagen, owner of Vaagen Brothers Lum- ber, spoke about a propos- al for a private program to thin national forests. Mark Benson, vice president of PotlachDeltic Corp., one of the nation’s largest lumber producers, thanked Perdue for Trump administration regulatory relief and said he’s happy the Timber In- vestment Act is in the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill.