RECLAMATION OF THE LANDSCAPE 335 



of the functions of an authority such as I am proposing are already 

 performed to one degree or another by a wide variety of Federal 

 agencies, authorities, commissions, etc. I would point out that 

 this very multiplicity of responsibility in itself is one of the best rea- 

 sons for establishing a single uniform authority. You need only 

 to look at the results of Federal participation in State planning 

 where scenic assets have been a secondary consideration to rec- 

 ognize the weakness of the present system. Then, too, I would point 

 out that many important scenic concerns fall into the cracks be- 

 tween existing Federal programs. 



A second objection might be that the Interior Department has 

 been traditionally vested with conservation responsibilities. I would 

 point out that the department's interests in conservation are mani- 

 fold and not always consistent with advancing scenic beauty. For 

 example, the programs of the Bureau of Mines often involve balanc- 

 ing scenic assets in a context weighted to other economic considera- 

 tions. Wherever you are treating a subject like landscape as a sec- 

 ondary consideration, you run the considerable risk that the scenic 

 asset will lose. Those familiar with recent history might prefer 

 to substitute "certainty" for "risk". Then, too, many of the scenic 

 problems faced fall entirely outside the Interior Department's area 

 of competence and under the jurisdiction of other agencies such 

 as the Federal Power Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of 

 Engineers. 



Traditionally in our government, where the problem became so 

 pressing and the interests so confused as those we face today, we 

 have often solved our dilemma through the creation of an independ- 

 ent commission. 



When the problems of trade came to require special attention, we 

 established the Federal Trade Commission outside the Commerce 

 Department. When there was a critical need to create power re- 

 sources, we set up the Federal Power Commission outside the In- 

 terior Department. We have dealt with housing, communications, 

 and a variety of other problems through modifications of this concept. 

 Except where these commissions have attempted to expand their 

 mandate unsuitably or tried to overreach themselves, they have 

 functioned superbly and have successfully dealt with problems not 

 dissimilar to the problem we are facing here today. 



There is another aspect of scenic blight that is even more trouble- 

 some than these historic conditions of static blight. This is the 



