Conservation District Pole

Where was the First Conservation District in the U.S.?

The first Conservation District in the U.S was the Brown Creek Soil Conservation District in North Carolina. It was established August 4, 1937. Within Ten years all state plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands had legislation for the ability to establish legislation.

A conservation district is a locally organized and locally operated unit of government functioning under Pennsylvania law with the assistance of the State Conservation Commission (SCC). Conservation Districts function in accordance with Act 217, the Conservation District Law. The Conservation District Law was enacted on May 15, 1945. The law defines a conservation district as a “public body, corporate and politic, exercising public powers”, meaning that members of the community who have different ideas and feelings but form a unified body to develop conservation programs for their county. The Conservation District Law states that each conservation district board of directors shall consist of one member of the county governing board, not more that four or less than two farmers, and not less than two or more than four public members. The farmer-public director ratio is determined by the county governing body and the SCC. Pennsylvania has sixty-six (66) conservation districts managed by over 475 directors who volunteer their time and talent to their communities’ conservation efforts.

History of Lawrence County's Conservation District
The Lawrence Conservation District was organized at the request of individual citizens and groups interested in various aspects of soil and water conservation. The county was initially declared a soil conservation district on November 28, 1961 by the County Commissioners George Bolinger, Joseph Gilmore, and Ray Bailey in accordance with provisions of the “Soil Conservation Law” of 1945, Act 217, of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. It began operations on April 18, 1962.

Thanks to all who answered the question and I will try to put up a new question periodically.

Reference: William G. Camp, Roy L. Donahue, "Environmental Science for Agricultural and Life Sciences", Pg 75, 1994.