Flood Control Collection

On April 27, 1935, the U.S. Congress established the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) as a permanent agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Hugh Hammond Bennett was appointed the first chief of SCS. Watershed planning became an important part of the agency's mission in the 1930s. Bennett recognized that successful soil and water conservation needed to begin at the watershed level. SCS organized its early demonstration projects on a watershed scale. A series of laws formed the basis of SCS erosion control programs. The Flood Control Act of 1936 authorized SCS to study methods for erosion control and flood prevention. The Flood Control Act of 1944 enabled the agency to begin work on its first 11 watershed projects. Passage of the Agricultural Appropriations Act of 1953 authorized 63 more projects. Congress enacted the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act in 1954. With this law, SCS gained permanent watershed planning authority. In 1994, SCS was renamed the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).