MoDNR's Soil and Water Conservation Program

In the late 1960s, public awareness of environmental issues was growing. On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans, one in every 10 Americans at the time, stood up to demand a cleaner and healthier environment. This first Earth Day was one of the largest grassroots demonstrations in the nation’s history — and it worked. The U.S. Congress established the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 and passed several federal environmental laws, also referred to as acts, during the early 1970s. One of those acts, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)(link is external), required federal agencies to integrate environmental values into their decision making processes by considering the environmental impacts of their proposed actions and reasonable alternatives to those actions. 

Changes in Missouri state government came in July 1, 1974, with the reorganization of the executive branch into 14 departments, similar to a President’s Cabinet. Under the Omnibus State Reorganization Act of 1974 and Missouri Revised Statutes, section 640.010, RSM, the Missouri General Assembly established the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to consolidate state agencies concerned with some aspect of the land, air, water, energy and cultural resources of the state. This was done to provide better government service to citizens by coordinating the work of state agencies, making them operate more economically, and responsively. 

The newly formed department assumed the broad responsibilities for programs assuring the wise use of land, air and water resources, and administering state parks and historic sites. Throughout the decades, the department has adapted and taken on additional responsibilities as new environmental issues are discovered.

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