Soil conservation policy in the United States

Soil conservation has been a matter of federal natural resource policy for over a half century in the United States. A variety of federal programs have been undertaken to encourage soil conservation. There are goals which are essential to these programs, and there are related ancillary programs with different goals which often have had an impact on the extent to which the central soil conservation objectives have been effectively implemented. This article analyzes four aspects of federal soil conservation goals and programs: the evolution of the constellation of soil conservation goals, the problems with goal implementation, implementation effectiveness, and the appropriateness of the implementation and administration of federal goals.