Page 110 - Biosystems Engineering

CHAPTER 3

Soil and Water

Conservation

Latif Kalin
School of Forestry and Wildlife Science
Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

Puneet Srivastava
Biosystems Engineering, Auburn, Alabama

3.1 Introduction
Soil and water are among the most precious resources human beings
have. Not only can we not exist without those two invaluable resources,
humans and all other living organisms will suffer if they are not con-
served properly. Some past civilizations, not recognizing the impor-
tance of soil and water conservation or know-how to mitigate the adverse
impacts of their agricultural or other practices on these resources, had
to put up with its consequences, and some perished. In some instances,
decision makers had to observe dramatic events taking place in front
of them, which normally takes place over a long time, to move for-
ward. A great example is the famous “Dust Bowl” in 1935 in the United
States. In the spring of 1935, Hugh H. Bennett was testifying before a
congressional committee on the bill that would create the Soil Conser-
vation Service (SCS) when dust clouds from the Dust Bowl moved
over Washington, DC. He knew that a dust storm was coming and
used it to dramatically demonstrate the need for soil conservation.
During his testimony, Bennett asked the legislators to look out the
window, and then said, “This, gentlemen, is what I have been talking
about.” Congress passed the Soil Conservation Act, and SCS became a
permanent federal agency in 1935 (Gilley and Flanagan 2007). It is
hard to say that Congress would not have passed the bill if they had
not observed the Dust Bowl, but it is fair to claim that the Dust Bowl
had a huge effect in convincing Congress, as they were able to witness

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