The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) is a professional and scientific membership society. The mission of the organization is to foster the

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

natural resource management Natural resource management (NRM) is the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations ( stewardship) ...

for

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

. The society was formed in 1945 and changed its name from the Soil Conservation Society of America (SCSA) to the Soil and Water Conservation Society in 1987. The SWCS publishes the bimonthly peer-reviewed

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation The ''Journal of Soil and Water Conservation'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal of conservation science, practice, and policy. The journal is published by the Soil and Water Conservation Society The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS ...

History

The ''Soil Conservation Society of America'' (SCSA) was formed in 1943, "...founded by a small group of

soil conservation Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the topmost layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other unsust ...

leaders ... they set about the task of creating an association through which conservationists could increase their efficiency and effectiveness as leaders, improve their vocational competencies, and utilize their combined talents and influence in solving the problems facing conservation programs." The professional and scientific membership society changed its name to the ''Soil and Water Conservation Society'' (SWCS) in 1987. The mission of the organization is to foster the science and art of

for sustainability. The history of SWCS was first recorded in the minutes on February 16, 1943, during a meeting held in Washington D.C. Individuals present included: H.H. Bennett, R.H. Musser, A.E. McClymonds, J.H. Christ, J.C. Dykes, A.L. Patrick, Glenn Rule, M.L. Nichols, L.P. Merrill, C.E. Luker, T.S. Buie, and A.E. Jones. [Previously, a meeting had been held in Chicago on November 11, 1941, where Bennett, Musser, McClymonds, and Christ, the "original four," proposed the organization.Pritchard, H.W. 1956 Where have we been? Where are we going. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 11(1):21-38 On January 1, 1952, SWCS opened its first national office with a full-time staff.

References

External links

Soil and Water Conservation Society
Environmental organizations based in the United States {{US-org-stub