USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Celebrates 75th Anniversary with Ceremony April 27 at the Arkansas State Capitol

A Conservation Legacy Reaching Back to 1935

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- 2010 marks the 75th anniversary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the beginning of the federal commitment to conserving natural resources on private lands.A 75th Anniversary Commemoration program will take place on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, at 10:30 a.m. at the Arkansas State Capitol in the second floor rotunda.

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe, U.S. Representative Marion Berry, NRCS Central Region Regional Conservationist Tom Christensen, and Arkansas NRCS State Conservationist Michael Sullivan are among those who will give remarks. Gov. Beebe will also read a proclamation declaring April 27 as Natural Resources Conservation Service Day in Arkansas.

NRCS was created as the Soil Conservation Service within the USDA on April 27, 1935, in response to the devastation of the Dust Bowl on the nation’s agricultural land. The agency’s primary mission then was to conserve soil on agricultural land. It became NRCS in 1994 to better reflect its expanded role of servicing other natural resources such as soil, water, air, plants and animals on private and tribal lands.

“This agency’s rich conservation legacy has resulted in many benefits to the nation’s citizens-abundant food and fiber, cleaner water, pure air, productive soils and open spaces to use and enjoy,” said Michael Sullivan, Arkansas NRCS state conservationist.

Seventy percent of the land in the United States is privately owned, making stewardship by private landowners absolutely critical to the health of our nation’s environment.

NRCS works with landowners through conservation planning and assistance designed to benefit the soil, water, air, plants, and animals that result in productive lands and healthy ecosystems.

Science and technology are critical to good conservation. NRCS experts from many disciplines come together to help landowners conserve natural resources in efficient, smart and sustainable ways. Whether developed in a laboratory or on the land, NRCS science and technology helps landowners make the right decisions for every natural resource.

NRCS succeeds through partnerships, working closely with individual farmers and ranchers, landowners, local conservation districts, government agencies, Tribes, Earth Team volunteers and many other people and groups that care about the quality of America’s natural resources.

NRCS employees work at the local level – in field offices at USDA Service Centers in nearly every county in the Nation. NRCS employees’ understanding of local resource concerns and challenges result in conservation solutions that last.

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