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Text Box: As conservation programs expanded during the 1960’s and 1970’s, the office staff was increased and many miles of terraces were constructed. Early terrace systems in the county were entirely made up of broad base terraces. These were mostly built by farmers themselves using whirlwind terracers or plows. There were no cost-share programs at that time. Grassed back-slope terraces started to be built on slopes that were too great to accommodate conventional terrace systems. They were not widely accepted initially, but interest began to increase. By the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, many farms had at least a few grassed backslope terraces on them. Southwest Iowa has had a greater amount of terracing done than any other part of the state. The early 1980’s saw another new development with the construction of narrowbase terraces. These were built on steeper slopes as were the grassed backslope terraces, and the narrowbase cost

Text Box: The Fremont County Soil and Water Conservation District was organized in 1941. This came about as the result of local landowners, working with state and federal agencies taking the initiative to form a local unit of government dedicated to the preservation of soil and water resources. The Department of Agriculture at that time had an agency named the Soil Erosion Service. The name was later changed to the Soil Conservation Service, and this agency was directed to assist the newly formed Districts. Some conservation work had already been introduced into the county prior to the formation of the District and some farms had erosion control practices in use. However, the formation of the District greatly strengthened and organized the efforts that were already being undertaken. During the 1940’s and 1950’s, Fremont County was subjected to numerous episodes of severe flooding. In 1952, the county experienced the most severe flood damage recorded. Water covered the entire Missouri River bottom,

Text Box: extending from the bluffs in Nebraska to the base of the bluffs in Iowa. It surpassed the 1881 flood in total acres covered with floodwaters. The District personnel spent a lot of time surveying drainage ditches for reconstruction after the flood. Three major watershed projects were completed during the 1950’s and 1960’s. These included Simpson Creek, Hound Dog, and Hamburg watersheds. At the time, watershed work consisted of building large dams to control gully erosion that was eroding adjacent crop fields. In the early part of 1959, the District’s office and equipment were destroyed by a fire. The fire destroyed the office as well as the hardware store that was located beneath. The District Commissioners at that time were F.D. Stooker, R.D. Hilger, and Bill Morgan. The Board purchased a building on the northeast corner of Sidney’s square, but it would be many months before files could be restored and some records would never be replaced.

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August 2006

fremontswcd.org

FREMONT SOIL AND WATER

CONSERVATION DISTRICT

2006 ANNUAL REPORT

Page 2

Inside this issue:
2006 Financial Report	2
Meet the Staff	3
Two Rivers Project Update	4-5
Scholarship Recipients	6
Poster Winners	6
Establishing Grass Seedings	7
FSA News