Question

soil erosion
soil erosion is what happens when soil is washed or blown away. in most places, trees, grass and other plants hold soil in place. in utah annual rainfall is low, the state average is 14 inches a year. erosion in our state is primarily caused by wind. during the 1930s ranchers in tooele county were allowed to overgraze the range and farmers plowed up some of the remaining land and planted grains (wheat, barley, etc.). between 1933 and 1939, the area had even less rainfall than usual. with large areas of land having no grass root system to anchor it, much of the soil blew away. the dust storms and sand storms buried roads and houses. during this same period of time the great plains were also experiencing a dust bowl. clouds of dust from this area reached as far east as washington, d.c.
in response to the disaster, the federal government created the soil erosion service and the civilian conservation corps to find ways to recover the land. workers replanted grass, planted trees and showed farmers better agricultural methods to help them protect the soil. as time has progressed, the soil erosion service became the soil conservation service, and in 1994 changed its name to the natural resource conservation service. citizens of a local area, in each state, that concern themselves with the conservation of soils belong to a governing board called the soil conservation district. today in utah, with the help of conservation districts and utah state university extension, farmers and ranchers learn how to better manage the land.
one method of grazing livestock is to place large numbers of animals out to graze on one piece of land for a short period of time and then move them to a new pasture. this allows the animals to get the nutrition they needed while cutting down on overgrazing and erosion. this practice is known as rotation grazing. another method being used by farmers is no - till farming. a farmer using this method plants seeds directly into a field that still has last years plant stems, stalks and leaves on or in the ground. for this method to work, the farmer must use herbicides to kill un - wanted grass and weeds. this method helps stop soil erosion, but some people worry that the herbicides used might pollute the underground water supply.
problem

cause

solution

effect(s)

does the solution create another problem? if so, what is it?

Explanation:

• Problem: Soil erosion (specifically in Utah and the Great Plains during the 1930s).
• Cause: Overgrazing, plowing up land, lack of grass root systems (due to drought and human activities like over - farming and over - grazing), and wind (as the primary cause of erosion in Utah).
• Solution: Creation of Soil Erosion Service (later Soil Conservation Service and then Natural Resource Conservation Service), Civilian Conservation Corps replanting grass and trees, teaching better agricultural methods (such as rotation grazing and no - till farming).
• Effect(s): Dust storms and sand storms buried roads and houses; clouds of dust reached as far east as Washington, D.C.
• Another problem from solution: In no - till farming, the use of herbicides might pollute the underground water supply.

Answer:

• Problem: Soil erosion (in Utah and Great Plains in the 1930s).
• Cause: Overgrazing, plowing, lack of grass roots (due to drought and human activities), wind (in Utah).
• Solution: Soil conservation - related services creation, replanting, teaching methods (rotation grazing, no - till farming).
• Effect(s): Dust/sand storms burying infrastructure, dust reaching far - off places.
• Another problem: Herbicide pollution (from no - till farming).