April 3, 2010

On March 3, 1937, Governor Carl E. Bailey signed Act 197 into law, making Arkansas the first state in the nation to pass a law creating soil conservation districts. Due to legal considerations imposed by the state constitution, the law did not become operative until June 20. By 1940, one-fourth of the state was covered by ten soil conservation districts. The district program continued to grow until total coverage of the state was attained on June 2, 1955. This made Arkansas the sixteenth state to obtain total coverage.