Alaska's Soil and Water Conservation Districts formed after the Territory of
Alaska enacted legislation in 1947 that
allowed the formation of districts.
Districts are legal subdivisions of the
Alaska Department of Natural Resources,
authorized under Alaska State Statute
Chapter 41.10, Soil and Water
Conservation Law.
By the late 1940s, all states had
adopted laws reflecting the Standard
State Soil Conservation District Law,
promoted by President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. This was in response to the
Dust Bowl Days, and was designed to be a
grassroots complement to the Soil
Conservation Service (now USDA's Natural
Resources Conservation Service), which
was begun in 1935.
The conservation district concept was
developed to voluntarily enlist the
cooperation of landowners and users of
natural resources in carrying out the
program authorized by the Soil
Conservation Act of 1935.
The Alaska Association of
Conservation Districts was organized in
1965 to help the 12 Alaska districts do
cooperatively what they could not do
independently. In 1998, the AACD
incorporated with 501c3 status. Its work
includes administering programs that
encompass multiple districts and seeking
and administering grant funding. The
AACD is also the statewide voice on
conservation issues pertaining to and
requiring federal, state and local
legislative and agency support.
In 2005, Tyonek Tribal Conservation
District became the first federally
organized, Native conservation district
in Alaska. It works cooperatively with
AACD and the state-organized Districts.
Purpose
Districts work with landowners, land
managers, local government agencies and
other special interest groups in
addressing a broad spectrum of resources
concerns: erosion control, flood
prevention, water conservation and use,
wetlands, groundwater, water quality and
quantity, nonpoint source pollution and
community development. District
activities and interaction with private
landowners is voluntary, not regulatory.
Districts work with government agencies
to provide technical guidance and
resource management assistance.
Organization
Soil & Water Conservation districts
are comprised of cooperators within a
geographical area and each is
administered by a five-member board of
supervisors elected from those
cooperators by the cooperators. Their
positions are volunteer and they receive
no compensation for their work with the
local board. The chairperson of each
district, or another designated
supervisor, serves as that district's
representative on the AACD board.
