Born out of the Dust Bowl disaster of the 1930s, soil and water conservation districts were created to help farmers get the most out of their land without destroying topsoil or water supplies.

For the past seven decades, these regional governmental bodies, led by locally elected or appointed residents, have been quietly going about their work.

Today, if the Roanoke Valley is an example, they are finding an expanding constituency with urban localities desiring to tap into their expertise -- and funding stream -- for protecting open spaces and water supplies.

Tuesday, Roanoke voters will be choosing representatives to the Blue Ridge Soil and Water Conservation District for the first time.

The city is entitled to two representatives on the board, although only one will be on the ballot.

John Bradshaw has been serving as an appointed member to the board for the past couple of years since the city officially affiliated with the district, which also includes Roanoke, Franklin and Henry counties.

This marks the first election cycle since his and Broaddus Fitzpatrick's appointments. Fitzpatrick has a new job that won't allow him to serve on the board, so a write-in candidate will be needed to fill the other seat, a common occurrence across the state.

Mike Loveman, a Roanoke contractor and former Roanoke parks and recreation employee, has agreed to seek that spot, Bradshaw said.

Rupert Cutler, an assistant secretary of agriculture in the Carter administration and once the executive director at Explore Park, said he began lobbying for membership in the conservation district "as soon as I became a member of Roanoke City Council" in 2002.

Cutler, who retired from the council after one term, said he was motivated by "no particular reason other than I thought the city could benefit from the relationship with a soil conservation organization that might help it with its storm water runoff and water quality responsibilities, and possibly be the source of federal technical assistance and grant money to do such work."

He had overseen what was then the federal Soil Conservation Service during his time at the Agriculture Department. That agency is now called the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Bradshaw, a professional engineer and retired director of operations for Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern, acknowledges that being a soil and water conservation director is "a low-key job," but one with important implications.

Kathy Smith, program manager and education coordinator at the Blue Ridge District's offices in Rocky Mount, said the board's conservation specialists and technicians meet with farmers and other landowners to determine if their properties "match up with the requirements of programs" the district helps coordinate.

Federal and state monies are available to help individual landowners fund erosion control and prevent water pollution, but specific projects must be endorsed by the regional soil and water conservation district board before funding can be approved.

High-profile projects in the district include helping large dairies keep cattle out of streams by providing fencing and creating alternative water supplies from wells and other sources.

That not only keeps toxins out of local water supplies but also helps preserve distant resources such as the Chesapeake Bay, Bradshaw said.

The district's specialists also may offer advice on subjects such as sediment control in more urban places such as new residential developments around Smith Mountain Lake.

And the district is already involved specifically in at least one project inside the Roanoke city limits.

The board is working on getting funds to help put fencing along a section of Tinker Creek that is part of a conservation easement tract on a farm owned by Louise and George Kegley.

The barrier will keep beef cattle from contaminating the waters.

Bradshaw noted that his board's other work includes such things as oversight of 10 flood-control dams in Franklin and Henry counties, holding some conservation easements with land trusts, encouraging "green" construction methods, and educating school-age children on the benefits of conservation practices.