Oliver SCD History

The Oliver Soil Conservation District was established in 1946.   The goal of our Soil District is to use available technical, financial, and educational resources, and focus or coordinate them so that they meet your needs as the local land user for the conservation of soil, water and other related resources.
Soil Conservation awareness began during the dust bowls of the 1930’s. Hugh Bennett started “Operation Dust Bowl” in order to get the public informed on what was happening and what the country could do about it.  Five days after Black Sunday he was in Washington testifying at a senate hearing on soil conservation.  He tried to drive a point across about soil loss. “An inch of topsoil can be blown away in an hour, but it takes a thousand years to restore it”.  A senator gazing out the window interrupted him saying, “It’s getting dark outside.” It was early afternoon and it was getting dark. Soil from the southern plains fell on the capitol causing the sun to vanish. “This, gentlemen, is what I’m talking about,” said Bennett. “There goes Oklahoma.”
Within a day, Bennett had his funding for a new agency to restore and sustain the health of the soil. The Soil Conservation Act was passed and the Soil Conservation Service was formed, currently called Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS).
We have come a long way since that terrible time in the 1930’s, and to keep it that way we need to continuously be aware of conserving our natural resources. To that end, we strive to work together with various organizations and the local land users to come together for the common goal of soil conservation. 


Oliver County Board of Supervisors 

Kendal Price - Chairman

  2021 - Present (elected)

Daryn Karges - Vice Chairman 

  2022 - Present.  (appointed)

Mikael Schmidt 

  2023 - Present.  (elected)

Lonnie Henke 

2006 - Present (elected)

Mike Bauer

1993 - Present  (appointed) 

Rick Schmidt - NDSU Extension 

Soil District and NRCS Staff 

JD Hanson 

District Manager  (2006 - Present) 

Chet Zapzalka

District Conservationist  - NRCS    (2021 - Present )

 
Corey Mathies

Soil Conservationist  (2022 - Present) 

Hailey Keen 

Rangeland Management Specialist - NRCS  2023 - Present