Originally called the Soil Conservation Service, the NRCS was created partially as a result of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. In 1935, soil erosion caused by wind through the Great Plains manifested itself as an air quality problem. As a result, the government established a federal division dedicated to soil conservation.
Today, air quality is still one of the agency's central themes, but it has been greatly expanded beyond concern for wind erosion. As a resource, air must be protected because it can quickly deteriorate in quality. The good news is air quality can also be quickly restored.
