r-R£AT PLANS COIt-lITTEE SEEKING ANSaTlRS 



The Great Plains Comndttee, seeking answers, 

 wovad like to have the help of the Boards of 

 Bistrict Supervisors in the Great Plains. An- 

 swers to the following ouestions are requested: 



1) Of the acres vailnerable to wind erosion in 

 your District, what percentage was in the Con- 

 servation Reserve when the first Great Plains 

 contracts in your listrict were developed? 



2) Dd the farms and ranches now under Great 

 Plains contract have a considerable total acre- 

 age subject to serious wind erosion? 



3) Is there sufficient incentive under the 

 Great Plains Program to obtain the desired level 

 of cropland conversion? 



U) To what extent has the failure of Congress 

 to make annual appropriations at the level 

 authorized under the basic act contributed to 

 the failure of the program to get the desired 

 land use adjustment on the unit where such ad- 

 justments should be made? 



5) Has your Board approved each basic conser- 

 vation plan before the foxmiilation of the Great 

 Plains contract? 



Send your answers to the Great Plains Comm- 

 ittee's Staff Adviser, Robert S. McClelland, 

 638 Guaranty Bank Bioilding, Denver, Colorado, 

 80202. 



Your immediate attention is needed. The 

 Great Plains Program is being studied for the 

 possible usefulness of its concepts in other 

 regional programs. This committee hopes to 

 have ready the answers that will be needed. 



USTRICT LAW PROPOSAL WOULD AIL SOIL CONSERVATIOU 



(Taken from the February, 1965 Newsletter of the 

 Ai^cansas Association of Soil & Water Conservation 

 mstricts - by Leland HiVall) 



"li/hen an Arkansas Soil & Water Conservation 

 DLstrict undertakes a project under Public Law 

 566 (the Watershed Protection and Flood Preven- 

 tion Act), it finds itself in the predicament of 

 the Apostle Paul when he said: ' I have planted, 

 Appolos watered, but God gave the increase.* 

 "When the Ustrict completes the planting 

 state, it must step out of the picture and turn 

 the whole thing over to a drainage district, a 

 water improvement district or some other oi^ani- 

 zation that has the legal authority to 'water* 

 or cultivate the project. 



"Representative Marion H, Crank of Little 

 River County has introduced a bill in the Arkan- 

 sas Legislature that would amend Act 197 of 19373 

 the law under which the districts are chartered, 

 and broaden the authority of the SWCD. It would 

 permit the districts to handle construction, 

 operations and maintenance of the watershed pro- 

 ject. Sponsors of the measure claim it has the^ 



support of the political].y-potent organization 

 of districts and of other groups and individua' 

 who are familiar with the limitations of the 

 present law. 



"The District system was devised to carry out 

 the resource conservation programs at the state 

 and local level. The law that created the Soil 

 Conservation Service (a federal agency) set up a 

 division of authority in which the SOS would pro- 

 vide technical assistance and certain other ser- 

 vices. The work at the local level was to be 

 handled by an organization composed of the land- 

 owners who were to make use of the assistance. 



"Arkansas and the other states passed laws 

 authorizing the organization of distiricts to 

 deal with lando^mers. The districts were to be 

 under the control of a Board of Supervisors. The 

 Arkansas law contained no authority under which 

 the district could transact the type of business 

 that is required on construction projects," 



This paso March the Arkansas Legislato'rs 

 amended the State's 1937 District enabling act 

 which now provides districts with the authority 

 to meet all local responsibilities in watershed 

 development programs. 



"Sponsors of the bill argue that its major ad- 

 vantages are: 



1) It is a 'package' approach to conservation 

 in that it provides legal authority for doing 

 the complete soil and water conservation job in 

 a specific area. 



2) Since supervisors represent all sections 

 of a district (a district usually is a single 

 county) the board should be more objective than 

 a group from the watershed that is to receive 

 the treatment, 



3) Experience in planning and construction 

 can save time and money. Ihder the present 

 arrangement, the board of a watershed district 

 normally handles only a single project. The 

 district board, on the other hand, should be 

 able to increase its efficien6y with each pro- 

 ject. Desha County, for exar^jle, has eight 

 separate water improvement districts," 



Have you heard about the 

 VERY ingenious company that is 

 marketing a new brand of cigar- 

 ettes called "Less." Their slo- 

 gan is, "If you can't quit, 

 smoke Less . " 



The worst thing about the 

 younger generation is when 

 you are no longer considered 

 to be one of them. 



It has been suggested that 

 what the world REALLY needs is 

 an agreement not to have any 

 more wars until the old ones 

 are paid for. 



