502 



CONSERVATION 



clubs having as their object the study 

 of the vital economic problem of con- 

 servation of natural resources. 



Several hundred such clubs, in differ- 

 ent parts of the country, would, it is 



Homestead Entry in the Black Hills National Forest 



believed, inevitably result in the for- 

 mation, or the crystallization, of a 

 strong public sentiment in favor of the 

 objects for which our Asso- 

 ciation stands. A healthy 

 local sentiment for forest pro- 

 tection, soil conservation, wa- 

 terways extension, water- 

 power utilization, etc.. would 

 of necessity have an ever- 

 widening influence, and a 

 club organized for the study 

 of problems such as these 

 could not. it seems, fail to ex- 

 ercise a healthy, stimulating, 

 and strongly educational in- 

 fluence upon the sentiment of 

 any community. The helpful- 

 ness of a strong favorable 

 sentiment created by an ex- 

 tensive organization of such 

 clubs, welded together by 

 their harmony of interests, 

 could not fail to be a power- 

 ful factor in the success of the conser- 

 vation movement. 



An aroused and intense public inter- 

 est in conservation as a national neces- 

 sity, must infallibly prove strongly 



beneficial in securing needed legisla- 

 tion : and it would appear as if there 

 couM be no more effective manner in 

 which to create such a sentiment than 

 through the organization of clubs along 

 the lines here indicated. The 

 pressure that could be brought 

 to bear where most needed, 

 by an effective and solidly 

 welded club membership of 

 several thousand active and 

 interested men and women 

 cannot well be estimated. In 

 certain states, such as those 

 that would be affected by the 

 creation of the Southern Ap- 

 palachian National Forest, lo- 

 cal clubs bound together by 

 a central, state organization, 

 could absolutely control the 

 situation. 



We have had in mind for 

 some time to begin the dis- 

 cussion of the club idea, but 

 have heretofore forborne for 

 various reasons. The discus- 

 sion is now opened, however, and 

 we should be glad indeed to re- 

 ceive any number of suggestions 



.-L; I: 



Homestead in Black Hills National Forest 



as to the best methods to pursue 

 in regard to the organization of 

 clubs ; such clubs, perhaps, to be 

 welded into state- wide organizations, 

 for the study of the many-phased ques- 



