In 1935, after the dust storms of the Great Plains gripped the
attention of the nation, the Soil Conservation Act acknowledged
"the wastage of soil and moisture resources -- is a menace to the
national welfare." From this evolved the Natural Resources
Conservation Service, which included the Plant Materials Program.
It had a clear mandate of finding superior plants for soil and
water conservation. The black clouds carrying the richest soil in
the world over Washington, headed for the Atlantic, had to be
stopped. Conservation Plants, A USDA Success Story explains why
such a program was needed, and who the people and the products were
that made it so successful. Its first leader, Dr. Franklin Crider,
fostered the idea that that "Nature had evolved a plant for every
purpose." So the search was on to find them. The priorities were to
stabilize millions of acres of water and wind ravaged land totally
despoiled by poor farming practices, degraded rangeland by wanton
overgrazing, and bleeding, unrestored mining and similar sites. How
well did they do? James Smith spent the summer of 1935 around
Delhart, TX, the epicenter of the Dust Bowl, collecting grass seed.
He knew wind erosion. One can feel his pride years later when he
wrote of a new grass quelling that wind on 500,000 acres in South
Texas, thinking "There's a half million acres that won't blow
again." John Schwendiman and Dr. A. L. Hafenrichter can look down
upon the Great Basin of the West, knowing their fingerprints are on
the plants now producing forage and protecting millions of acres of
rangeland. Paul Tabor and Johnny Powell certainly realized the
value of their bringing a new grass to the commercial market which
converted abandoned cotton fields into high quality pastures for
Southeast livestock. The conservation plants selected, evaluated
and then released to the public-now well over 700 in the past 70+
years-came from within the United States and around the globe.
Immediate solutions were needed to stop the soil erosion crisis.
The arrival of Columbus led to virtually every ecosystem on the
continent being dramatically altered. The pioneers in the Plant
Materials Program used the tools available to them. The virgin
forests of the south had become abandoned farmland. In the absence
of available native plants, over five million acres were planted to
Pensacola bahiagrass by 1980. Crested wheatgrass and others have
performed equally well in the arid west, protecting the soil,
producing forage and controlling noxious weeds that followed the
overgrazing. Introduced annuals that came with the Spaniard's in
California are now conservation plants. Like all things though, the
Plant Materials Program has evolved. With the tools available to
slow down the worst of the soil erosion, the program began focusing
on other areas of natural resource concern. Wetland and riparian
plants improve water quality, cover crops enhance the quality of
agricultural soils, native grasses increase the productivity and
resilience of pasture and range lands, and the additional diversity
of conservation plantings using legumes, wildflowers and shrubs
support many wildlife species. So, how well did they do? This story
documents the history, activities, and products of the Natural
Resources Conservation Service, Plant Materials Program over 75
years. Decide for yourself, but we think this is a success story
worth telling.
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