TY - JOUR T1 - Soil conservation and SWCS: A forty-year retrospective JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 60A LP - 65A VL - 60 IS - 3 AU - Max Schnepf Y1 - 2005/05/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/60/3/60A.abstract N2 - The year was 1941. Hugh Bennett, chief of the Soil Conservation Service, and a small group of conservationists met to talk about the need for a new professional society to accommodate the interests of men and women who were joining the fight to control soil erosion and protect the productivity of American agriculture. Numerous professional societies existed. Most represented specific academic disciplines. Some were already contributing to the soil conservation cause, but none focused on soil conservation to the extent soil conservation leaders at the time thought necessary. While the intention to form a new society was clear at that 1941 meeting, it was not until September 1943 that a public announcement of that intention was made. Temporary officers were then elected, and qualified members were invited to join. In December 1944 those temporary officers were reelected and a council was formed. Those individuals agreed to serve until the first annual meeting of the new organization-the Soil Conservation Society of America-which took place in Chicago on December 12–13, 1946. The Society almost immediately initiated publication of two periodicals. “Notes and Activities” was to keep members abreast of internal events and activities. The … ER -