Soil and Water Conservation

Soil and water conservation is the use of engineering, agronomic or vegetative actions to preserve resources in order to protect the land and ecological system and to avoid disasters resulting from erosion, mudslides and debris flow. In the United States, government entities known as Soil and Water Conservation Districts are responsible for planning and carrying out conservation measures. Here is how they cope with the problems they face:
 

Soil erosion and contamination resulting from overuse, salinization and acidification can be prevented by making good choices in vegetative cover, preventing erosion, managing salinity, controlling acidity, promoting the well-being of helpful soil organisms, preventing and remedying soil contamination, and mineralization. The effects of erosive forces and chemical change from nutrient depletion means that resolutions concerning proper crop rotation, cover crops, and planted windbreaks are essential to the ability of surface soils to keep their integrity.
 

With assistance from Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District, at least one farmer was able to improve stream bank protection and drainage, while protecting the quality of the water. The farmer used a structure for water control, harnessing the perennial stream bisecting his farmland and the wetlands at the southern end of his farm. The result is less topsoil being washed away, while the integrity of the stream and the wetlands remain intact – an example other farmers would do well to follow. Failure to implement good soil and water conservation practices has turned many fertile farms into temporary dust bowls and even permanent deserts. The fate of farmers in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and parts of Colorado in the mid-1930’s illustrate only too well the need for communities to develop, and stick to, a proper soil and water conservation plan.