The county organization came into existence in 1944. The first technician was Norton Stangeland. One of the projects of the district was to plant trees.
When the pioneers first came to Foster County there was not a tree in sight in any direction that he might look. Some of the early farmers planted trees to take advantage of the tree claim act which provided a method to acquire more acreage if 10 acres were planted into trees.
In 1915 the State School of Forestry at Bottineau was making an effort to provide trees to the prairies. They sent out cuttings, seedlings, and shrubs, for the price of transportation. 75,000 were sent out the first year. They also carried on an extensive educational campaign urging residents to plant trees.
In 1916 Frank Moore was advertising the value of planting groves on the farmsteads. One of the most popular groves was the one that was planted by Ben Holcomb about 3 miles east of Carrington. Mr. Moore figures that the value of Mr. Holcomb's land was raised to $8000 more just because of the trees.
Holcomb's Grove was a popular spot for picnics such as the "Old Settlers' Picnic" and the annual 4th of July celebrations. Many young people considered it a favorite place to go on a Sunday afternoon.
Some of the advantages of planting trees besides providing beauty and shelter to the farms was the products that the trees produce. Some of them were used for posts, braces, poles for straw sheds, and wood that was necessary for the stoves.
Popular varieties that were planted were cottonwood, ash, willow, and some fruit trees, such as apple, plum, gooseberries, currants, chokecherries, and June berries. These fruit trees, besides being a source of fresh fruit, provided the juices necessary for making jams, jellies and syrup to add to the menu.
Besides these three some of the farmers also planted evergreen trees, such as Scotch pine, in their groves.
In 1937 WPA crews planted trees in Birtsell and Estabrook townships. 4-H clubs used tree planting as one of their projects. They planted such varieties as Blue spruce, Scotch pine, and Ponderosa pine.
When the Soil Conservation Service came to be, they took over the project. A tree-planting machine was acquired to assist in planting the trees. Personnel advised the farmers of the best type of grove to plant and helped them to get the trees. They have supervised the planting of over three million trees since it was first organized.
So as you drive along the country roads and see the beautiful trees- just try to imagine what it was like back in 1883 before these trees were planted!
1. Encouraged the use of field cultivators which are designed to work the soil, at the same time keeping the stubble above the ground to hold the soil in place.
2. Planting flax buffer strips and cover crops on the cultivated land.
3. Moldboard plows, a prominent farm implement, leave the field totally black. Conservationists advised the means for holding such ground by leaving the field as rough as possible. They suggested spreading fields with crop residues.
4. Water conservation: Gully erosion was remedied by establishing grassed waterways. Diversion of water from potholes.
5. Watering ponds- to provide water for stock in the pastures. Cost sharing for making the ponds. The ponds were also useful for wildlife and could be stocked with fish for recreation.
All practices in the program are planned in the local soil conservation district office, and approved and administered by the Board of District Supervisors. The Soil Conservation District is a local entity, while the Soil Conservation Service is a government agency. The latter is federally funded and from it comes the cost share payments to cooperating farmers.
Cost sharing includes the practices mentioned.
In 1949 an Achievement program was inaugurated to honor the farmers who were willing to follow good conservation practices. A group of judges travel throughout the county selecting the winner. The county winners are then invited as guests to the State SCS meeting.
At this time they are presented an aerial painting of their farm. Another copy of the painting is displayed in the meeting room of the Foster County State Bank.
Winners of this award are:
1949- H.H. Lyman, Arnold McDaniel, Claus Otto
1950- Ervin Topp, Wallace Topp, William Spitzer
1951- Walter Larson, Lloyd Butts, Paul Black
1952- Eugene Zink, Arnold Leppke, Gustav Miller
1953- F.F. Reimers
1954- Soren Clausen
1955- W.A. Rosenau
1956- L.E Ellingson
1957- Henry Zink
1958- Edwin Gussiaas
1959- Darold Anderson
1960- Ralph Harmon
1961- Leo Gauderman
1962- William Zink
1963- Robert Montgomery
1964- Clamats Gader
1965- Leonard Norheim
1966- Lawrence Utke
1967- Woodrow Topp and Merlin
1968- A.J. Mullenberg
1969- Paul Brandt
1970- Joe Reiniger
1971- Ernest Walen
1972- John Murphy
1973- Bernard Kramer
1974- Olaf Gussiaas
1975- William Black
1976- Einer and Arvid Ellingson
1977- Glenn Lindstrom
1978- Kermit Skadberg
1979- Stanley Smith
1980- Douglas Schmid
1981-
1982-
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 123
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 122