The History of Hydric Soils, Soil Conservation, and Soil Survey.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s the Bureau of Soils mapped soils in relation to their potential for agriculture. Wet soils were generally mapped as unfit for agriculture, unless drained. These wet soils were thought of as highly fertile valuable agricultural ground, if “reclaimed.” Reclamation of wet soils in most cases consisted of simply draining the soil so that they were suitable for crop production. Draining these wet soils was thought to be beneficial to the farmer and a great effort was made to design drainage systems to bring wet soils into production. In the 1930s the costs of draining these wet soils was becoming evident. Much of the early information on costs was based on monetary costs. It was expensive to drain these soils, yet in some case the drainage was not enough to make farming the land possible.  As soil classification started evolving into a system based on field observation in the 1970s it was evident that a classification system that included information on seasonal wetness was needed. Also, in the mid-1970s the US Fish and Wildlife Service asked the Soil Conservation Service to assist in a National Wetland Inventory by creating a hydric soil classification that correlated wet soils with hydrophytic vegetation. A definition of a hydric soil was created at this time and the National Technical Committee for Hydric Soils was created to oversee efforts on defining and identifying hydric soils. By the mid-1970s the value of wetlands was acknowledged and an effort was begun to protect wetlands habitat for wildlife. In the 1980s the benefits of protecting wetlands for water quality was also acknowledged in the Clean Water Act. Also, in the 1985 Farm Bill the Swampbuster Provision was included to protect further drainage of wetlands for agricultural purposes. In the next 35 years and continuing today a great deal of research has been given to the identification of hydric soils and the benefits of preserving their functions. The National Technical Committee continues to oversee all aspects of the identification of hydric soils for both Food Security Act and Clean Water Act purposes.  And, many of the conservation programs that the Natural Resources Conservation Service administers today are helping farmers to remove the drainage systems that were installed in the early to mid-1900s to restore those habitat and water quality functions that were lost.