The changing context of conservation district activity: A view from Missouri

Excerpt

FEW changes have occurred during the past 50 years in the state statutes or policies governing the conduct of conservation districts in Missouri. Districts were chartered in 1941 under the state's Soil and Water Conservation Districts Law (Chapter 278 of the Missouri Code).

The original law designated the curators of the University of Missouri as administrators of plans and funds provided by the state or programs emanating from the 1936 Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act. Responsibility for district administration shifted as a result of the Reorganization Act of 1974 to the State Soil and Water Districts Commission at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Perhaps the only other significant modification was the 1957 legislative authorization for subdistrict formation to carry out watershed protection and flood prevention work. Use of watersheds as a geographic and social model for implementation of targeted conservation efforts has been especially important in Missouri's Special Area Land Treatment program (9, 15).

A changing context

The lack of major changes in the Districts Law does not negate the fact that Missouri's conservation districts have experienced important evolutions in programs and local impact. Since 1984 in particular, a publicly approved sales tax of …