In the early 1930's, we had three events, the dust bowl, the depression, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The dust bowl, caused by extremely dry years...
In the early 1930's, we had three events, the dust
bowl, the depression, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. The dust bowl, caused by extremely dry years
and its attendant soil losses made control of erosion more compelling. The loss of farm ownership caused by crop
failures from the dust storms was only one of the problems. Loss of active
farms, in turn, brought loss of agribusiness in all of its phases. Over-extended retail credit and loss of
industrial production caused by the stock market crash of 1929 put a great percentage
of the work force on the unemployed list, resulting in the depression. President Roosevelt implemented the Works
Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
Fortunately for soil conservation, a great man
stood on the sidelines. Any history of
soil and water conservation should start with its greatest single
benefactor,
Hugh Hammond Bennett. The son of a
plantation owner, Bennett was born April 15, 1881, near Wadesboro,
North Carolina. He studied geology and chemistry, graduating
from college in 1903.
His first job was as a chemist with the Bureau
of Soils, U.S. Department of Agriculture mapping soils. The work carried him to Virginia,
Alabama, and New York.
While mapping in Louisa
County, Virginia, Bennett
and a fellow mapper realized that the loss of fertility in the soil was caused
by sheet erosion and its results.
In the early 1900's, officials of the Bureau of
Soils believed that the soil was indestructible. Bennett's theories were
ignored.
Bennett travelled to foreign countries to help
cope with soil problems. He continued to
preach the gospel of controlling erosion.
Finally, in 1929, Congress appropriated $160,000.00 to study soil
erosion in the United States. This was the first concentrated effort to
solve the problem.
By 1933, ten research stations were set up
around the country to measure soil losses.
This helped draw the problem to the attention of other government people
who had the ear of Franklin D. Roosevelt, then President of the U.S. The Great Depression had started with its
bank failures and bread lines. Huge
numbers of men were idle. Roosevelt was looking for projects to employ the Civilian
Conservation Corps (CCC) which consisted of young men and the Works Progress
Administration for older unemployed workers.
Bennett continued his flamboyant, impressive
pleas for government backing of concentrated efforts to control soil erosion.
September 19, 1933 was a memorable date. Funds were appropriated
by Congress to set up
the Soil Erosion Service under the Department of Interior.
Bennett was to be its head. The Soil Erosion Service was changed
to Soil
Conservation Service (SCS) under the Department of Agriculture in
1935. Bennett assembled teams of engineers, agronomists,
biologists, foresters, and soil surveyors. These men were assigned to
forty
erosion control projects in 31 states.
They planned dams, diversion ditches, wind breaks, cover crops,
reforestation, etc. They also planned
small runoff measurement stations to determine the rate of erosion.
Hugh Hammond Bennett's monument is a better
earth.
It was decided that a more efficient method of
application of soil conservation would be on a county-by-county basis. The Soil Conservation Districts law was
passed. The projects were put on a
maintenance basis and the staff transferred to the districts as they were voted
in by the various county government bodies.
The high interest of the professional staff of
the SCS projects, the CCC camps, and the general public brought about
organizations to promote soil conservation in the 1940's. Mainly they were "Friends of the
Land" and "Soil Conservation Society of America" (SCSA). The SCSA was organized in 1945 with Hugh
Bennett as the original founder.
Chapters were chartered in states, parts of states, or groups of
states. Later the Society became
international.
Interest became high in New York State
in 1946. The SCS and other groups such
as Cornell University,
Syracuse University, New York State Soil Conservation District
Association (NYSCD) and the State Committee on Soil Conservation became members
of Soil Conservation Society of America (SCSA).
There were 43 members living in New York State
as of July 13, 1946.
On February 5, 1946, fifteen New
York members signed a petition to the Soil Conservation Society
Council to establish the Empire State Chapter for the State of New York. This was
considered and approved by the Soil Conservation Society Council at Washington, DC
on April 4, 1946. The Chapter was to be
known as Empire State Chapter, New
York 13.
The constitution and bylaws for the chapter were
formulated in late 1946. They were
adopted at the first annual meeting at the Onondaga Hotel, Syracuse, New York,
on February 10, 1947.
The New York State SWCS chapter has now grown to a membership of over 150, and we hope to continue expanding with your help!
Letchworth