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Soil and water conservation districts (SWCD) are boards of local farmers and ranchers that work to combat soil and water erosion and to enhance water quality and quantity in the state of Texas.
Like a county or school district, a soil and water conservation district is a political subdivision of state government.
Powers and Duties
A conservation district may carry out preventive and control measures within its boundaries, including engineering operations, methods of cultivation (e.g. strip-cropping), planting of soil-stabilizing vegetation, reforestation, and irrigation.
Conservation districts may acquire and make available to landowners within the district machinery, equipment, seed, seedlings, fertilizer, fish for stocking farm ponds, or other supplies essential for the purposes of a conservation program.
Conservation districts may also acquire real estate.
If approved by 90 percent of the eligible voters in the conservation district, the district may adopt an ordinance governing the use of land within the district. Such an ordinance may require observance of particular methods of cultivation; require the retirement of certain highly erosive areas from cultivation; and require necessary engineering operations, including the construction of terraces, terrace outlets, check dams, dikes, ponds, or ditches.
A conservation district may execute notes on the faith and credit for the purpose of making repairs, additions, or improvements to any property or equipment owned by the conservation district.
Election of Directors
Each SWCD consists of a board of five directors serving staggered four-year terms. The directors are elected by the agricultural landowners of the district.
To assure geographical representation on the district’s governing board, SWCDs are divided into five subdivisions. The board is made up of one landowner from each of five subdivisions.
Each district director must be actively engaged in farming or ranching.
State Funding and Support
SWCDs receive technical assistance, training, and grants from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, an agency that serves as a coordinating body for SWCDs statewide.
Map
Click here for a map of SWCDs.
