STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

PRELIMINARY PERFORMANCE REVIEW OF THE

State Soil Conservation Committee

Committee's Impact to Soil Erosion

Satisfactory Meeting Attendance

Representation Should Be Added

Compliance with Open Meetings Laws

Committee Should Be Continued

Background

    West Virginia's Soil Conservation Committee (Committee) was created in 1939, its functions and programs are to conserve soil and retard erosion. The Committee was mandated to develop and provide assistance to soil conservation districts within the State. Seven members make up the Committee. Three are appointed by the Governor, the other four serve ex officio. They are the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, who serves as chair; the Director of the Division of Environmental Protection; the Director of the State Cooperative Extension Service; and the Director of the State Agricultural Experiment Station. In addition, an advisory member from the United States Department of Agriculture serves on the Committee. Terms of appointed members are four years and the Committee meets quarterly. Currently there are 14 districts in West Virginia ranging in size from one to six counties.

The Committee's duties as stated in ß19-21A-4(d) of the West Virginia Code are as follows:

• To offer such assistance as may be appropriate to the supervisors of soil conservation districts, organized as provided hereinafter, in the carrying out of any of their powers and programs;
• To keep the supervisors of each of the several districts, organized under the provisions of this article, informed of the activities and experience of all other districts organized hereunder, and to facilitate an interchange of advice and experience between such districts and cooperation between them;
• To coordinate the programs of the several soil conservation districts organized hereunder so far as this may be done by advice and consultation;
• To secure cooperation and assistance of the United States and any of its agencies, and of agencies of this state, in the work of such districts;
• To disseminate information throughout the state concerning the activities and programs of the soil conservation districts organized hereunder, and to encourage the formation of such districts in areas where their organization is desirable;
• To accept and receive donations, gifts, contributions, grants, and appropriations in money, services, materials or otherwise, from the United States or any of its agencies, from the state of West Virginia, or from other sources, and to use or expend such money, services, or materials in part to the various soil conservation districts created by this article in order to assist them in carrying on their operations; and
• To obtain options upon and to acquire by purchase, exchange, lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise or otherwise, any property, real or personal, or rights or interests therein; to maintain, administer, operate and improve any properties acquired, to receive and retain income from such property and to expend such income as required for operation, maintenance, administration or improvement of such properties or in otherwise carrying out the purposes and provisions of this article; and to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any of its property or interests therein in furtherance of the purposes and the provisions of this article. Money received from the sale of land acquired in the small watershed program shall be deposited in the special account of the state soil conservation committee and expended as herein provided.

Issue Area 1: The State Soil Conservation Committee's Impact to Soil Erosion in West Virginia.

    The main goal of the State Soil Conservation Committee is implied in its name. Originating out of the ecological disaster known as the Dust Bowl as a grass roots effort to improve and stabilize farmland in the United States. There are 14 local soil conservation committees in West Virginia and approximately 3,000 across the United States. Various programs focusing on cultivated cropland, non-cultivated cropland and pastureland are used to prevent erosion and enhance farming.

   Therefore, one of the measures of effectiveness for this agency would be the level of erosion in the state. Soil erosion is measured in tons lost per acre per year, with longitudinal. The various programs operating under the Committee have logical relationships to the conservation of soil. Although the causal rigor of the programs to the measures of soil erosion are limited in this preliminary review, the Legislative Auditor believes there is enough prima facie evidence to support the success of the program. The state has experienced little change overall in the average of tons per acre of erosion since 1987 (see Table 1). Data for soil erosion is collected at certain points throughout the state in areas of different land use. These monitoring collection points use instruments that measure the deposition of sediment. The data is then applied to a series of equations to determine overall erosion.

Table 1

Land Use Erosion Trend in Tons Per Acre Per Year, 1982-1997

*The weighted average reflects the fact that there is more acreage in some land use categories than others.

   However, if one looks at cultivated cropland and pastureland, one notices a substantial increase in the tons per acre of soil lost due to erosion from 1982 to 1987 and a further increase in 1992 for pastureland. In the case of cultivated cropland, the reason for this increase the the tons per acre is the increased farming of highly erodible land. The 1985 Farm Bill required farmers who cultivate such land to have an approved conservation plan if they wish to be eligible for farm program benefits from the government. These conservation provisions from the 1985 Farm Bill became effective January 1, 1990, however, farmers began implementing their approved conservation plans in 1987 and 1988 so when the next series of erosion data was gathered in 1992 a reduction in the tons per acre was seen. This reduction of erosion was continued, albeit at a smaller amount, in the erosion data that was collected in 1997.

   In the case of pastureland, increased amounts of erosion continued until the 1992 series of data. According to the West Virginia Soil Conservation Agency, demand for pastureland increased in the late 1980s when there was a change from cattle farming that focused on brood and dairy cattle to cattle farming that focuses on beef cattle. This increased the number of cattle on the state's pastureland as well as the physical demand made on the land which led to increased levels of erosion. The increased erosion on the states pastureland has led to various programs that have helped in enabling best management practices to be implemented and thus reduce the rate of erosion on pastureland.

Conclusion

   The State Soil Conservation Committee acts as a cooperator and facilitator of federal farm programs. In regard to federal farm programs, they act as a go between for the federal government in getting the word out to the farmers in the state by providing technical assistance on how to improve farming techniques in order to qualify for benefits from such programs. Also, the Committee, through its State Soil Conservation Agency sets up model farms throughout the state in order to teach other farmers best farming techniques. Apparently, these programs are working since they have stemmed the rising rate of erosion that have taken place in cultivated cropland and pastureland throughout the state. From the data mentioned above, the erosion rate for these areas are starting to decline.

Recommendation 1:

The State Soil Conservation Committee should continue to work on reducing the rate of overall erosion to 1982 levels or better and emphasize on reducing the erosion rate for pastureland to 1982 levels or better.

Issue Area 2: The State Soil Conservation Committee Has Satisfactory Meeting Attendance.

   Minutes from the Committee's quarterly meetings from January 1998 to July 1999 were reviewed to determine if an acceptable level of attendance to such meetings exists. The meeting minutes showed that the Committee had an overall attendance rate of 88% for the period reviewed. The three citizen members of the committee had an attendance rate of 81%. The ex officio members attendance rate was 61%, 93% when proxies are included. Every meeting had a quorum with no meeting missing more than two members (see Table 2).

Table 2

Committee Membership Attendance