District employees are hired by the District and/or local government to work in partnership WITH the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) to assist farmers with installing Agricultural Best Management Practices (BMP's) in your county. Best Management practices are things that farmers can do on their land to help reduce soil erosion and improve water quality. This WAS, AND IS, the INTENDED PRIMARY FUNCTION OF THE DISTRICT AND ITS EMPLOYEES.

Conservation Districts had their beginning in the 1930's when congress, in response to national concern over mounting erosion, floods and the sky-blackening dust storms that swept across the country, enacted the Soil Conservation Act of 1935.

The act provided the first time a national policy to provide a permanent program for the control and preventon of sol erosion, and directed the secretary of agriculture to establish the soil conservation service (now known as the Natural Resources Conservation Service) to implement this policy. The conservation district concept was developed to enlist the cooperation of landowners and occupiers in carrying out the programs authorized by the act in their local areas. To encourage participation in the program, President Roosevelt sent all state governors, a STANDARD STATE SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICTS LAW, with a recommendation for enactment of legislation along its lines. On March 3, 1937 Arkansas became the first state to adopt a law modeled on the Standard Act. By 1938, twenty-seven states had followed suit, and by the late 1940's all fifty states had adopted similar legislation. District law were adopted in the 1960's by Puerto Rico and the Virgin islands, and the 1980's by the District of Columbia, Guam and the Northern Marianma islands. State laws vary somewhat but generally include provisions for establishing state soil conservation committees, commissions or boards to represent the state level of government.  In 2021, Tennessee made changes to the State Statute. One of these changes amended Soil Conservation District to "Soil and Water Conservation Districts". Today there are 95 Districts covering 95 counties in Tennessee all working differently, yet simultaneously to accomplish the goal of soil and water conservation!