Excerpts: The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (Public Law 566), which was approved in August 1954, authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to assist "local organizations" (including States) in preparing and carrying out plans for works of improvement for flood prevention (including structural and land-treatment measures) and for agricultural phases of the utilization and disposal of water. The act provided that the State or local agency must have "authority under State law to carry out, maintain and operate the works of improvement." A primary need in the administration of the program, therefore, was to determine whether a "local organization" applying for assistance possessed the required authority under State law. In order to provide a necessary part of the basis for such determinations, the Office of the General Counsel of the United States Department of Agriculture, at the request of the Soil Conservation Service, surveyed the statutes of all the States and summarized the provisions of selected laws concerning the various types of districts authorized to perform functions contemplated under Public Law 566. The present document is a brief summary of the 48 State summaries. Its purpose is to provide an informational overview of the types, functions, and powers of "land and water resource" districts possible under general enabling acts of the States. The overview and analysis also provide some of the basic information necessary for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of these districts as potential collaborators in a local-State-Federal watershed program.