The mission of the Office of Soil & Water Conservation is to sustain and conserve water quality and soil stability on croplands, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands and waterways of Louisiana. This is accomplished by providing financial assistance, administrative support and centralized coordination to the State’s 44 Soil & Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) who work with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to provide conservation planning services for landowners and managers.
The OSWC also employs technical specialists who work directly with landowners in Louisiana’s coastal zone and in priority watersheds to remedy identified water quality, soil loss and wetland loss concerns in those areas.
The OSWC works closely with other state and federal resource management agencies that serve to broaden and extend resource management practices on the landscape. To help sustain Louisiana’s renewable natural resources, the OSWC conducts various initiatives such as the Agricultural Solid Waste Management, Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Abatement, Coastal Wetlands Re-vegetation, Conservation Information & Education, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, and Farm Bill Program Assistance. The OSWC also assists the Soil & Water Conservation Districts in watershed management implementation and other special projects.