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Conservation Districts Law « 



(Title 76, Chapters 1 and 2, R.C.M. 1947) 



In 1939 the Conservation Districts Law was enacted, providing for the 

 formation of conservation districts to regulate primarily agricultural 

 use of land and water. Although the law is administered by the Department 

 of Natural Resources and Conservation, the districts become independent 

 political bodies upon their formation. The law allows the districts to 

 study soil erosion, flood water and sediment damages, and conservation 

 of soil and water, as well as carry out preventative land and water use 

 practices for such problems. Responsibilities also include administration 

 of the Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act of 1975, as it applies 

 to private lands. 



Districts have authority to formulate regulations governing land use 

 (within the district) in the interest of conserving soil and water resources. 

 Enforcement of adopted regulations may be difficult: 1) court injunctions 

 may be requested to stop the non-complying activity, but this may not 

 alleviate the problem or make reparation for damages; 2) the district 

 could petition the court to require the defendant to comply with the land 

 use regulation and perform whatever work is necessary; the court could 

 either dismiss the petition, require the defendant to perform the work, 

 or authorize the district to perform the work and recover the incurred 

 costs from the defendant. (An analysis of the enforcement procedure, as 

 applied to the Natural Streambed and Land Preservation Act, is discussed 

 in that section.). To date, the Sediment Control Ordinance of Lewis 

 and Clark County is the only land use regulation to be adopted by a 

 conservation district (described later). The effectiveness of this 



