Hamilton County's Soil and Water Conservation District celebrated a milestone in 2025: 80 years of operation.
Every county in Ohio has one of these organizations. They were created out of the 1941 Ohio Soil Conservation District Enabling Act to preserve natural resources, manage erosion and prevent another Dust Bowl from happening.
Hamilton County’s was founded in 1945.
“It means a lot that we've been able to be around this long and adapt to the changes,” said Marketing and Outreach Coordinator Keith Robinson.
In the organization’s early years, it focused on working with farmers and helping them implement sustainable practices. About 60% of land in the county was being used for agriculture then, Robinson says.
Today, that number is much smaller, and there are fewer traditional farms in the area. Robinson says the organization evolved as the county urbanized over the past eight decades.
“What started out as primarily working with farmers has kind of changed into, still some farmers, but also homeowners, and then also specifically the development community,” Robinson said. “As we've seen more urban sprawl, more development throughout the county, [we’re] working with contractors and developers to practice a lot of those best management practices.”
Along with working with developers to prevent soil erosion at construction sites, the organization provides technical assistance to homeowners. That includes assessing hillside stability concerns and teaching people how to make rain gardens for their yards.
The organization also facilitates educational programs for schools, libraries and community groups to bring awareness to conservation issues.
“[We’re] still maintaining that conservation-minded focus,” Robinson said. “It's just kind of shifted in some of our messaging and things that we do. It's not solely based on agriculture anymore.”
Looking forward, Robinson says part of the conservation district’s future involves returning to its roots. It recently hired a full-time agricultural specialist. Robinson says this is the first time in 30 years the organization has someone on staff dedicated to agriculture.
“A big focus going forward is focusing on a lot of those smaller, urban ag farms and specifically sustainable food production and trying to work with those smaller farmers to provide food for the community,” Robinson said.
He says if you want to get involved, you can learn more on their website, www.hcswcd.org.
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