Young Soil & Water Conservation District celebrates 50th anniversary

August 5, 2018 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Young SWCD. Originally, Young County was in the Upper West Fork (Trinity River) Soil and Water Conservation District. This district had a total of 1,596,997 acres consisting of parts of Jack, Wise, Montague, Clay, Archer and Young Counties. With this area being so large, in early 1968, the people of Young County felt there was sufficient interest with farmers and ranchers for Young County to have its own board of directors and perform as a stand alone district. After justifying this interest with no objections by the other counties in the Upper West Fork SWCD to the State Conservation Board, the process began. The Secretary of State signed the Certificate of Organization on August 5, 1968 creating the Young Soil and Water Conservation District #539.

The Young Soil and Water Conservation District operates as a non-profit political subdivision of the state government. The purpose of the district is to bring about a widespread understanding of soil and water conservation and to inform the public of the need to conserve soil, water and related natural resources. The elected five member board of directors carries out the administration of your conservation district. Assisting the district in applying conservation of soil and water practices on the land of producers is the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Anyone interested in discussing conservation practices should contact Jerry Gleason, RTL (Resource Team Leader) at the USDA Service Center at 1591 380 By-Pass in Graham or call 940-549-0422 ext. 3.