The Mahoning County Soil & Water Conservation District advances best management practices for conserving land and water resources by providing education, technical assistance and stewardship. Established in 1950, the District is staffed by a small but effective team of environmental professionals who lead efforts in community and school outreach, stormwater control, watershed protection, pond management and more.
SWCDs are legal entities of the State of Ohio and are administered by boards of five supervisors who serve staggered three-year terms.
Our Mission Statement:
“To improve and sustain soil and water quality.”
Our Vision Statement:
“To provide leadership, guidance and education promoting the stewardship of soil and water.”
What We Do
Our professional staff conducts surveys, investigations and research relating to soil erosion, sedimentation, flooding and management practices needed to conserve and develop soil, water and related natural resources.
We also do the following:
- Develop plans for the conservation and development of soil, water and related natural resources.
- Construct, maintain, and own works of improvement for natural resource conservation and development.
- Assist landowners and residents with natural resource conservation and development projects, including providing technical assistance and information and conducting demonstrations.
- Implement agricultural and urban pollution abatement programs.
- Provide educational programs for residents and schools.
Revenue Sources
We receive funds from the Mahoning County general fund, provided by the Mahoning County commissioners, and a match of 75 to 90 percent of those funds from the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
SWCDs in Ohio are supported by funds from their counties and the state, along with local donations. These funds support staff, offices and equipment necessary to fulfill their responsibilities.
Support for technical, educational and program development is provided by these sources:
- U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Ohio State University Cooperative Extension Service
- Ohio Department of Natural Resources
- Other local, state and federal agencies
For more information on how we receive our funding, visit this Soil & Water Conservation page on the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s website.
Or for more information about how we allocate our funds in Mahoning County, please call our district office.
Meetings
Mahoning SWCD will hold their Regular Monthly Board meetings the fourth Friday of the month at 4pm at the district office at 850 Industrial Road in Youngstown. Please call our office for more information at (330) 740-7995.
The schedule for the Monthly Board meetings in 2024-2025 is outlined as follows:
Friday, August 23, 2024 @ 4pm
Friday, September 27, 2024 @ 4pm
Friday, October 25, 2024 @ 4pm
Friday, November 22, 2024 @ 4pm
Friday, December 27, 2024 @ 4pm
All board meetings are open to the public. If you would like to be made aware of special meetings or any changes to the regular meetings, please contact our office.
History
The Mahoning SWCD was organized in June 1950 as the 82nd SWCD in Ohio. Strong agriculture, combined with a large, urban population, created a need for the Mahoning district to deal with a wide variety of land use situations.
Although soil conservation activity was strong across the United States as early as the 1920s, it wasn’t until the 1930s that soil issues became serious. On May 12, 1934, the worst dust storm in the nation’s history swept eastward from the Great Plains to the Atlantic Ocean, obscuring the sun and depositing obvious films of dust as it moved. This catastrophic storm served as the catalyst for public outcry and congressional action for soil and water conservation throughout the nation.
On April 27, 1935, Congress passed, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Soil Conservation Act of 1935, Public Law No.46, which established the Soil Conservation Service within U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The new soil and water conservation thrust originated with the federal government working directly with landowners, primarily farmers. Farmers previously had little direct contact with USDA, and they were still very skeptical of federal involvement.
Hugh H. Bennett, Chief of SCS; M.L. Wilson, Director of the federal Cooperative Extension Service; and Phil Glick, legal counsel in USDA, recognized the fragility inherent in this direct relationship between the federal government and local landowners. They realized that the future trust and long-term cooperation of landowners would depend upon a linkage of and involvement with federal, state and local government. Because of their efforts, Congress passed a resolution, which the President signed, calling for states to become the conduit for soil and water conservation assistance from USDA to land users through enactment of a law establishing a state soil conservation agency and procedures for organizing local soil and water conservation districts.
By the end of 1937, 22 states had enacted such laws, but Ohio’s attempt to secure enactment in 1939 failed because of reluctant support of agricultural leadership in the state. As the 1940s began, world conflicts were bringing our nation closer to war and intense pressures were developing on farmers to increase food production.
The 94th General Assembly retained soil conservation on its agenda and, on May 16, 1941, passed the Ohio Soil Conservation District Enabling Act, which was signed by Governor John W. Bricker on June 5, 1941. This Act created the Ohio Soil Conservation Committee as an agency of the State of Ohio with offices at The Ohio State University. The Act also established procedures to form local soil conservation districts and elect local district boards of supervisors. It also defined the authorities and responsibilities of these local district boards and the conservation committee.
Between 1942 and 1963, soil conservation districts were formed in every Ohio county.