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Proper Land Use, Treatment, and Management Permit Sustained Production land resources such as soil, vegetation, and wildlife and improve the living environment, but they also may be directed to improve water quality and quantity at a given location. Most conservation practices enhance the quality of water while they protect and improve the land resources, reduce flood damages, provide wildlife benefits, and improve natural beauty. An estimate of the current status of land conservation shows that 45 percent of the 324.7 million acres of basin lands have been adequately managed or treated by needed vegetative and/or mechanical practices. The percentage of area adequately treated for each land use is shown in table 20 for both private and Federal owner- ship in the basin. ,ALTERNATIVE USE CAPABILITIES Missouri Basin lands have a wide range of climatic, topographic, and soil conditions. The varied uses made of these lands is indicative of their flexibility for satisfying the needs and desires of people. Present use reflects present and past economic conditions and policy determinations. Future use will relate to the same factors, but as affected by changing demands on the land and water resources and their capacity to satisfy these demands. Agriculture There are 152.6 million acres of land under private ownership presently in native grass and'used for pasture, range, and hayland. Over 20 million acres of native grassland, primarily in classes II and III, are in tracts 52 Table 20 - CURRENT STATUS OF LAND CONSERVATION, MISSOURI BASIN Land Adequately Manager or Land Use Total Treated (Thousand Acres) (percen t) Cropland Nonirrigated Private 96,893 36 Irrigated Private 6,896 38 Pasture and Range Private 152,664 41 Federal 24,170 57 Forest and Woodland Private 13,654 50 Federal 14,432 80 Other Private I 1,600 83 Federal 4,380 90 Total Private 281,707 41 Federal 42,982 68 All 324,689 45 large enough for conversion to cropland if the demand for increased food supplies justifies the change (table 21). Conversion of this land to crop production woulilri6Ccl'eafelln-erosionnazard-if reasona5le care in conservation treatment and management was exercised. There are an additional 29.8 million acres of the arable land classes in the grassland areas of the basin that are not considered available for conversion to more intensive uses. This acreage is in small tracts and most of it is in the more hazardous land class IV. Of the 103.8 million acres of land presently used for crop production, there is estimated to be 4.6 million