History of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs)
Documentation throughout the early history of the United States demonstrates that soil erosion has been a consistent concern. The earliest settlers and scientists recognized human influence on erosion; however, little was done to correct land management practices. This neglect continued into the United States’ Civil War in which several texts and documents described streams and rivers choked with large amounts of sediment from poorly managed agricultural lands. Since resources seemed limitless in this period, it was common for land owners to move further west once their cropland productivity had diminished.
In the early twentieth century, a number of writers, such as Hugh H. Bennett, warned of the severe long-term problems confronting the nation because of the persistent erosion of croplands and advocated government programs to educate farmers and persuade them to change their methods. In 1928 Bennett’s work, “Soil Erosion, A National Menace” was published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and attracted the attention of several politicians including Representative James P. Buchanan of Texas (Patrick, 1961).
In 1929 the first recognition of soil erosion and its effects by the United States government occurred when Congress enacted the Buchanan Amendment to the Agricultural Appropriation Bill. This Bill appropriated $160,000 to the USDA for the investigation of erosion and its impacts to the soil of the United States (ODNR, 2001).
In May of 1934 the largest dust storm in United States’ recorded history “swept eastward from the Great Plains to the Atlantic Ocean, obscuring the sun and depositing obvious films of dust as it moved” (ODNR, 2001). The Natural Resources Conservation Service has a great powerpoint with images of the dust bowl (pdf). This catastrophic storm and the subsequent Great Plains “Dust Bowl” period resulted in public upheaval that catalyzed congressional action for soil and water 
conservation. Faced with this calamity and the massive unemployment resulting from the United States’ Great Depression, the Roosevelt Administration established the federal Soil Erosion Service (SES) in the Department of Interior to create jobs and deal with a great natural resource problem (Peterson, 2002). In 1935 the SES became the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) within USDA with the enactment of the Soil Conservation Act of 1935, Public Law No. 46 (ODNR, 2001).
The establishment of the SCS marked the beginning of federal funding and natural resource education to landowners, especially farmers. However, inherent difficulties surfaced with the direct relationship of the federal government and local landowners. Federal policymakers recognized local landowner distrust for the federal government and the threat it posed to the longevity of the agency, so a resolution was passed to allow the states to establish state soil conservation agencies and procedures whereby local Soil and Water Conservation Districts could be formed (ODNR, 2001).
In Ohio on May 16, 1941 the 94th General Assembly passed House Bill 646, or the Ohio Soil Conservation District Enabling Act, which created the Ohio Soil Conservation Committee (OSCC) as an agency of the State of Ohio. The Act also established procedures for the formation of local Soil Conservation Districts and the election of local Boards of Supervisors and defined the authorities and responsibilities of local District Boards (ODNR, 2001).
The focus of the Soil Conservation Districts’ programs remained mainly agricultural for many years until many urbanizing counties began to recognize the impacts of residential and other urban and suburban development to soil erosion and started addressing issues such as water conservation, watershed management, and stream protection (ODNR, 2001).
Today SWCDs continue to serve as the community liaison and program administrators for agricultural resource conservation services outlined in the federally mandated Farm Bill (ODNR, 2001). They also provide technical assistance on urban drainage issues, assist in the regulation of local development ordinances, and assist in the administration of the Six Minimum Control Measures (MCMs) outlined in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Stormwater program.
Butler SWCD
In the early 1940s residents of Butler County who were concerned about local soil and water resource protection petitioned to organize a local Soil and Water Conservation District and, in May of 1942, the Butler SWCD was established. A subdivision of the state of Ohio, the district is funded in part by the Butler County Board of Commissioners with a state match from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Soil and Water Conservation. The Butler SWCD office is located in Hamilton, OH, the Butler County seat, and employs a small staff of varying backgrounds and experience. The office also houses employees of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Farm Services Agency (FSA). Together these agencies are able to administer federal funding and cost sharing to local farmers who are implementing conservation practices on their land.
The Butler SWCD staff is directed by an independently elected Board of Supervisors and provides free urban and agricultural technical assistance and environmental education to Butler County residents.