A common need for conservation when the worst dust bowl in the history of the nation occurred May 12th, 1932. Federal Government and local landowners realized that the long-term existence and the trust of the nation depended directly on the landowners themselves. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Soil Conservation Act of 1935, which established the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) through the USDA. Due to the landowner’s lack of trust in the Government, US Congress passed a resolution allowing the states to channel and control soil and water conservation assistance from the USDA to the landowners.
Texas passed the Texas State Soil Conservation Act of 1939, establishing local conservation districts. The Atascosa County Soil & Water Conservation District is a legal subdivision of the State of Texas. The state of Texas listened to local SWCD’s and found five common conservation problems: improper grazing management; undesirable brush and weeds; water erosion on cropland; wind erosion on cropland; and ineffective irrigation water management. Farmers also cited the following as indirect problems: high costs of conservation methods; absentee ownership of lands; contradictory objectives of government policies; and increased restriction on agricultural chemicals.
M.H. Shearrer and Henry Schorsch went before the State on June 29th, 1940 to have the district recognized as a public body. When the conservation district was brought into existence the five board members consisted of local farmers and ranchers that were demonstrating conservation practices. The board members are elected by neighboring landowners to serve without pay. The district still works directly with the USDA, through the National Resource Conservation Services (NRCS), for technical assistance and funding. Without the Atascosa County SWCD the landowners would not be able to receive assistance. The board members act as the voice of the county and its residents’ concerns for conservation through the annual local work group meeting. The SWCD operates through donations and money earned through various sales. The money that is raised is then used to educate locals in conservation as well as the children of Atascosa County. While the conservation needs have not changed much since the start of the Conservation Acts, there have been many advances since 1939.
