But just as every cloud has a silver lining, the clouds of dust were no exception. Out of that disaster was born a commitment to soil conservation, which led to the passage of legislation establishing the Erosion Control Service as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The ECS later became the Soil Conservation Service and then the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which today continues to provide technical assistance to private landowners and managers to help them conserve their soil, water, and other natural resources.

Just a month after FDR sent his letter to the states, the Kansas Legislature passed a bill that created conservation districts in Kansas. The bill was signed into law by Governor Walter Huxman on March 25, 1937. The measure also provided for the creation of a state soil conservation committee as an agency of the state, whose purpose was to assist in the formation of conservation districts and to coordinate their affairs.

The State Conservation Commission (SCC) appointed two supervisors in each district and three additional supervisors were elected by the land occupiers to form a conservation district governing body. The legislation gave each district the authority to conduct surveys, investigations, research relating to soil erosion and its prevention, and other comprehensive plans. The state still operates under this legislation today.

Those words by President Franklin D. Roosevelt were included in a letter he sent to all state governors in February 1937, urging them to set up soil conservation districts to work with the Soil Conservation Service, which had just been established as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

His letter came on the heels of one of the darkest periods in Kansas history. During the 1930s, the entire Great Plains region suffered a severe drought. After several years of minimal rain, the region began to experience huge black dust storms, made worse by poor management of the soil by farmers. The worst dust storm in memory occurred on April 14, 1935, a day that came to be known as “Black Sunday.” It is estimated that on that day, 300 million tons of soil blew from the land.

“The Nation That Destroys Its Soil Destroys Itself”

History of KACD

KACD Leadership

The Kansas Association of Conservation Districts is governed by a five-member Board of Directors. Each director represents one of five multiple-county geographical areas of the state.

Area I
Jon Starns
Director
(Thomas County)
154 County Road 9
Winona, KS 67764
Phone: (785) 846-7692

Area II
Kyle Hoffman
Director
(Comanche County)
PO Box 396
Coldwater, KS 67029
Phone: (620) 582-2217

Area III
Gene Albers
President
(Kingman County)
3952 SW 160th Ave.
Cunningham, KS 67035
Phone: (620) 298-4282

Area IV
Bevin Law
Secretary/Treasurer
(Clay County)
287 Frontier Road
Longford, KS 67458
Phone: (785) 388-2683

Area V
Ronald Brown
Vice President
(Bourbon County)
1269 Birch Road
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Phone: (620) 547-2544

Executive Director Pat Lehman manages the day-to-day administrative functions of the organization. KACD is headquartered in Lawrence, Kansas.

Pat Lehman
KACD Executive Director
P.O. Box 3510
Lawrence, KS 66046
Phone: (785) 832-9400
Fax: (206) 338-2492
ptlehman@kacdnet.org