Every County in New York State has a Soil and Water Conservation District. The State passed enabling legislation for the creation of our agency after Congress, in 1937 established a federal conservation agency to address the nation's problems caused by the "dust bowl". The legislation empowered local soil and water conservation districts to carry out and promote soil and water conservation programs.

The Ulster County Soil and Water Conservation District was formed by County Resolution in April of 1965. We are governed by a local Board of Directors appointed by the Ulster County Legislature to oversee programs and staff. Ulster's Board consists of representatives from the County Legislature, Farm Bureau, Grange, and At-Large.

For over forty years the District has maintained it's long standing tradition as an agency of action: responsible for the direct design and implementation of engineering and agronomic practices intended for the improvement of water quality and the preservation of the County's natural resources, in both rural and urban capacity.