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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.
Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) in Texas originated during the 1930s as a response to widespread soil erosion and agricultural devastation caused by the Dust Bowl. Severe drought conditions, coupled with poor land management practices, had stripped millions of acres of topsoil across the Great Plains, including much of Texas, leading to dramatic declines in farm productivity and massive dust storms.
In response, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration pushed for national conservation efforts, resulting in the Soil Conservation Act of 1935. This legislation established the Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) to promote better land stewardship. Texas followed this lead by passing legislation in 1939 that allowed for the creation of local conservation districts, empowering landowners to take coordinated action to protect soil and water resources.
The first Soil and Water Conservation District in Texas was organized in 1940 in Temple, Bell County. From there, the movement quickly spread, fueled by growing awareness among farmers and ranchers that collective conservation efforts were essential to the state’s agricultural future. By establishing local districts, Texans could implement erosion control measures, promote sustainable farming practices, and conserve water resources tailored to the unique needs of each region.
Today, there are nearly 200 SWCDs across Texas, each governed by a locally elected board of directors, continuing the work that began during one of the most environmentally challenging periods in American history.
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.
