Owen County Soil & Water Conservation District

Owen County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) was created in 1946 by a referendum of county landowners largely in response to the effects of the dust bowl upon agriculture in the preceding decade. Owen County was the 33 rd of 92 counties to create a local SWCD. It is a unit of government that is chartered by the state, housed in the county and funded by a variety of federal, state, local and private funding.

The purpose is to provide cohesion among individuals, groups, governance and all others concerned with soil and water conservation in Owen County. As a small government body, Owen County SWCD is continually searching for funding through grants, partnerships and private funding in order to help residents reduce soil loss and increase soil and water quality.

We work in the following ways:

1. promoting the responsible use, conservation and improvement of Owen County’s soil, water and living resources
2. cultivating a deeper understanding within Owen County of our dependence on healthy soil and water resources
3. coordinating services (such as the technical expertise of foresters and conservationists) and funding (through allocations, grants and donations) originating at local, state and federal levels
4. developing a long-term conservation perspective and encouraging best management practices