WOODS 



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WATERS 



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Vol. XIV 



OCTOBER, 1908 



No. 



10 



THE NATIONAL CONSERVATION 



COMMISSION 



What It Is Doing 



LIBRARY 



NEW YORK 



BOTATNICal 



QaRUBN. 



By HENRY GANNETT, Geographer, U, S. Geological Survey 



(Editor's Note. — Mr. Gannett's official designation is Geographer of the U. S. Geologi- 

 cal Survey. For several years past he has been assigned to the Census Bureau, and is now 

 practically in charge of the Cuban census. At President Roosevelt's request, he was 

 assigned to the statistical work connected with the work of the National Conservation Com- 

 mission, because of his superior qualifications and ability. At the completion of the Cuban 

 census Mr. Gannett will devote his entire time to the work for the National Conservation 

 Commission ) 





CD 

 O 



THE National Conservation Com- 

 mission was formed for the pur- 

 pose of conserving our natural 

 resources ; to reduce waste ; to encour- 

 age proper and economical use ; to in- 

 crease the supply of such things as can 

 be increased ; to induce substitutions of 

 one substance for another when desir- 

 able — in short, to encourage all possible 

 measures for making our natural re- 

 sources go as far as possible. 



Naturally, the first step in such a 

 work is to learn just where we stand — 

 to take an inventory of our natural re- 

 sources — to find out how much timber, 

 iron, coal, land, water, water-power, 



etc., we have to draw on, and the rate 

 at which our supplies are being used, 

 and will probably be required in the 

 future. To all this is naturally added 

 the study of the amount and sources of 

 waste and destruction. 



With these matters are naturally as- 

 sociated the study of means of econ- 

 omizing, which is, of course, the ulti- 

 mate end and aim. 



The information sought by the Com- 

 mission is being supplied by various 

 government bureaus, nearly all those 

 engaged in scientific or semiscientific 

 work being more or less fully enlisted in 

 its service. 



517 



