Louisiana Soil & Water Conservation Districts
Learn about Louisiana's 44 soil and water conservation districts
The Office of Soil & Water Conservation provides financial assistance, administrative support, centralized direction, and coordination to Louisiana’s 44 Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs), which provide conservation planning services to landowners within their individual districts. SWCDs are local units of state government with capabilities very unique to any other form of state or local government due mainly to their capability of entering private property at the request of landowners to plan and/or construct various conservation systems.
SWCDs are established at the request of resident landowners from within the proposed SWCD. Each SWCD is governed by a board of 5 supervisors, 3 locally elected and 2 appointed by the state Soil and Water Conservation Commission (SWCC). These supervisors are landowners or farm operators from within the SWCD and represent local conservation needs and concerns. Each SWCD typically hires 2 or more employees to assist in carrying out conservation planning, office administration, conservation program administration, conservation education, and similar duties. SWCDs are funded by the State Legislature and through self-generated income. Each of Louisiana’s 44 SWCDs is assisted by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).