USES OF NATURAL AREAS 



53 



institutions, organizations, and in- 

 dividuals. There is a lack of unified 

 purpose and direction in the movement. 

 Workers in separate fields fail to give 

 adequate consideration to the bearing 

 of the problems of other resources upon 

 their own. Oftentimes there is an 

 actual conflict of interests in the use 

 and development of two or more re- 

 sources that is not being adjusted and 

 is leading to public injury. In the 

 field of public policy many proposals 

 are being made, each perhaps with a 

 good purpose, which are not in harmony 

 as to principle and often are in conflict, 

 with resulting confusion to the public 

 and frequent failure to secure the legis- 

 lation requested. 



Today there is no central agency, 

 governmental or otherwise, that is 

 considering our natural resources as a 

 whole in their relation to our economic, 

 industrial, and social development. 

 There is no leadership in conservation in 

 its larger aspects, that defines objectives, 

 assembles and interprets ^^ the basic 

 data regarding our resources, works out 

 the principles of harmonizing conflict- 

 ing interests in resource development; 

 that furnishes, in short, the economic 

 background for conservation and the 

 principles that must underlie the public 

 action necessary to make our natural 

 resources render their best service, and 

 there is no agency equipped to organize 

 the educational work that should be 

 introduced into our colleges and schools 

 aside from popular education in conser- 

 vation. 



It must be clear to every student of 

 the natural resource problem that there 

 is an undertaking in conservation of 

 great magnitude awaiting leadership 

 and organized effort. There is an op- 

 portunity and, in my opinion, a duty 

 for the great national organizations of 

 scientific men to join hands in assuming 



this leadership. They arc in a position 

 to bring into harmony the objectives, 

 the policies, and the efforts of those 

 working in the several branches of 

 natural resources. Under their guid- 

 ance and inspiration there could be 

 assembled the available information 

 regarding our natural resources, and 

 the interpretation of the problems of 

 conservation from the broad view- 

 point of the relation of all resources 

 to our national development. The 

 scientific organization would thus be 

 able to contribute to the formulation 

 of public policies, and to aid in bringing 

 about their adoption, and finally it 

 would be possible for them through 

 existing agencies to carry out an edu- 

 cational plan for the introduction of 

 appropriate studies in conservation in 

 our schools and colleges, and to for- 

 ward a far-reaching campaign of popu- 

 lar education. 



The appointment of conservation 

 committees by the National Academy 

 of Sciences, the National Research 

 Council, and the American Association 

 for the Advancement of Science, and 

 the meeting of these committees for 

 the consideration of joint action, should 

 prove to be the first step in a new leader- 

 ship that will give power to the con- 

 servation movement, with the promise 

 of very large achievement. 



In my opinion a very great responsi- 

 bility rests upon scientific men. We 

 have an opportunity to organize the 

 intellectual forces of the country in a 

 movement that will have a profound 

 influence upon the future well-being 

 of the country. Our action may de- 

 termine the direction of that movement, 

 and whether it will be effective or lag 

 behind for lack of leadership. A great 

 public interest depends upon our fore- 

 sight and vision, upon our al)ility to 

 plan with wisdom. 



