It’s hard to imagine a time when the land was bleak. Today, we’re used to driving past rows of green crops, golden fields of grain, and white cotton stretching across the horizon. But during the Dust Bowl era of the early 1930s, that wasn’t the case. An extended drought and poor land management had left large portions of America’s farmland devastated. Without vegetation to hold it in place, the soil literally blew away—carried off by relentless winds. This environmental disaster, combined with the collapse of the U.S. financial system, created a national crisis.

Amid the devastation, a North Carolina-born soil scientist named Hugh Hammond Bennett began to rise to national prominence. Long before the Dust Bowl, Bennett had been warning that soil erosion was a looming threat to agriculture. In 1928, he wrote, “Soil erosion is the biggest problem confronting the farmers of the Nation over a tremendous part of its agricultural lands.”

Bennett wasn’t just a scientist—he was a passionate advocate for conservation. When the time came to convince Congress that soil protection should be a national priority, he was the obvious choice. His research, paired with his gift for storytelling, persuaded lawmakers to act. In 1935, Congress created the Soil Conservation Service (now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS), and Bennett was named its first director.

The new agency launched conservation projects across the country, but it quickly became clear that local involvement was key. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent model legislation to the governors of each state, encouraging the formation of local conservation districts to guide efforts at the community level.

Alabama responded. In 1939, the Alabama Legislature passed legislation establishing both the Alabama Soil and Water Conservation Committee (ASWCC) and a framework for local soil and water conservation districts. These districts empowered local landowners and communities to take an active role in restoring and protecting their natural resources.

Today, Alabama has 67 local soil and water conservation districts, one in each county.