Following the devastation of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt recommended the Standard State Soil Conservation Districts Act be signed into law by all state governors. This act gave states a step-by-step guide to create conservation districts and listing their powers and responsibilities. The Colorado Soil Conservation Act (HB 258) was passed on May 6th, 1937.

• On January 20th of 1938, the first conservation district was formed in the State of Colorado, known as the Great Divide Conservation District in Moffat County.
• Later in 1972, two separate districts were consolidated to form what is now known as Colorado First Conservation District (CFCD).
• CFCD has a local, elected board that consists of local landowners, farmers and ranchers. Board members also volunteer in various other wildlife, water and agriculture organizations, representing at the local, state, regional and national levels.