The mission of the Anchorage Soil & Water Conservation District (ASWCD) is to help property owners protect their rights while conserving Alaska's natural resources. (Please see our page on Conservation vs. Preservation .) The District accomplishes its mission by providing technical, financial and education resources to property owners and participating in community endeavors such as the Chester Creek Rehabilitation Project.
The ASWCD is one of 12 Districts in Alaska formed by State Charter in 1997. It operates under Alaska Statute 41.10, the Alaska Soil and Water Conservation Law, and is a legal subdivision of the State Department of Natural Resources. The 12 Alaska Districts are overseen by the Natural Resources Conservation and Development Board, which is apointed by the Governor.
Soil and Water Conservation Districts grew out of the "Dust Bowl" years of the 1930's. Congress created the Soil Conservation Service to support sustainable land development on private lands. The service evolved into what is now called the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The NRCS was founded with the mission to "provide leadership in the partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain and improve our natural resources and environment."
At the same time, people recognized the need for an intermediary, non-regulatory agency. To work as a conduit between private property owners and state, local and federal agencies and the concept of the Conservation Districts was born. Today, virtually the entire United States is divided into more than 3,000 Districts.
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