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<br />U Ut:~t CUHOnal
<br />
<br />Private Lands Conservation: A
<br />I ..
<br />Challenge forthe New Century
<br />
<br />Ily DAN GLICKMAN
<br />At the beginning of this century, u'nder the
<br />lelldershlp of Pi'clCiid"nt Theodore Roosevclt, thc
<br />nlltian sct nsi~e certain nllturnl tren!ll(r~k ihnt
<br />deser,ved the unique protection of public owner.
<br />ship, Thnt wn, the heginning of our l'l.ystem of
<br />nMionol pnrks ~nd forests, nnd eventually wildlife
<br />refuges, grnsslandfl, senshores nnd wilderness
<br />nrcns, I
<br />Today,fts weprepnre forn new cen'tury, we must
<br />step up our commitment to the conservntion of
<br />America's priv~te lands,'
<br />Our fnrmers: and ranchers hnye on enormous
<br />respo'nsibility, They represent just 2 percent of the
<br />populntion, n~t in Addition to providing a safe,
<br />obundant and tlITordflblc food supply. thcynrealso
<br />relSponllihle forthc stewardship of rib out hnlfoCthe
<br />Amuricnn Innd$cnpe.
<br />For 65 yenrs, fince theothcr President Roosevelt.
<br />FOR. led us oUf of the dustbowl, Lhe federal gov.
<br />ernment has hplped fnrmers meet that responsi.
<br />bility. FarmeJ:1wnnt to do tho right thing by the
<br />land; ,And USyA has given them the tools And
<br />resources they need to keep their operations both
<br />economically aYld environmentally sustainablo,
<br />That partnor;Ship with farmers has allowed us to
<br />mnke major consorvntion gnins over the years.
<br />But a recent ana.lysis by the Departmont of Agri-
<br />culture indicates that, today, many conservation
<br />challenges arc 'mounting faster than wo arc solv'.
<br />ing thorn. I' .
<br />For examp!et from 1992 to 1997 development
<br />swallowed up lmost 16 million ncrcs of ngricul-
<br />turalsnd Cores land. That is twice the amount lost
<br />during the pr vious ten.yenr period. 'Nearly 2
<br />billion tons oCs,oil is eroding into waterways each
<br />year. Despite significant gRins in erosion control
<br />during the pas't 15 years, there has been no im.
<br />provement since 1995. And gross wetland losses
<br />on agricultural land hove increoscd to 64,000
<br />acres a yenr.
<br />Part oC the r~ason wc arc losing grollnd is inad.
<br />equate Cederal dollars, and we at USDA continue
<br />to fight for adeQuate Cunding levels. Dut our com-
<br />mitment, 88 aisociety, to conservation has also
<br />slipped a bit 8i~ce we have become more urbanized
<br />an incrcftsinglr disconnected from the land. To
<br />renew thatcommitmont, we have to build p.artner.
<br />ships and tap t.he power of gras&roots activism.
<br />That was, the ~doa behind the day. long Private
<br />Lands Conserv:ation Summit that I convened in'
<br />Ames, Iowa on!December 7th.
<br />This public g~theringbrought together all stake-
<br />holders to examine c9nservotion problems and
<br />discuss' potential solutions. The strength of the.
<br />Summit was the brand cross-section of partici-
<br />pants-farmers,IFortune 500 executives, acndemic
<br />scholaTs, clectqd orlicinls and environmental Rd.
<br />VOCAtOS, all bringing their' \Iniqu~'perspoct.jve'an~'
<br />particulftr cxp,rtise to the table: lt was a very
<br />productive meeting, which I hope will be the begin.
<br />ning of a nation~l dialogue on priva tc conservatiolJ
<br />issues. . I
<br />1 am committed to workinR with Iown Governor
<br />Tom Vilsack to:report to President Clinton on the
<br />outcome of the ,Summit. We will rocommend con.
<br />crete steps to bring these conservation iasues to
<br />the attention o( all the nntion's governors and to:
<br />begin a collnbo'rative errort that will yicld mean.
<br />ingful and lasting solutions.
<br />It has to beg~n with all Americans recognizing'
<br />their responsibility to the environment. Our trent.
<br />. ment or our n~turnl resources is, after all, our
<br />leg-lIcy. Our ~andchildren and their grandchil.
<br />dren will either live with the consoquences of. our
<br />neglect or rca~ the benefits of our stewardship.
<br />We know hdw to meet the conservation chal-
<br />lenges of the now millennium. We have the tools to
<br />do it. We hove~ the most stnte.of.the-art environ.
<br />mental technologies at our disposal. We're .famil.
<br />iar with nil tho best prnctices. I .
<br />Dan Glickman is u.s. Seuetary 01 Agriculture
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