As early as 1935 USDA managers began to search for ways to extend conservation assistance to more farmers. They believed the solution was to establish democratically organized soil conservation districts to lead the conservation planning effort at the local level. To create a framework for cooperation, USDA drafted the Standard State Soil Conservation Districts Law, which President Roosevelt sent to the governors of all the states in 1937. The first soil conservation district was organized in the Brown Creek watershed of North Carolina on August 4, 1937. Today, there over three thousand conservation districts across the country.

For more historical information please visit the following USDA webpage:  More Than 80 Years Helping People Help the Land: A Brief History of NRCS

and Hugh Hammond Bennett - The Story of America's Private Lands Conservation Movement - You tube Video Link