son and the son' s son ad infinitum will live on the particular land and the 

 heritage should be left intact, and concern for the future of the Nation and 

 its people. 



Despite this, the extent to which the individual land owner and user is in- 

 terested in conservation tends to lie within his own direct experience, with 

 his actual participation governed by economic considerations. But conserva- 

 tion has much broader implicationso Looked at from progressively broader 

 points of view — local, state, national, and even international — conservation 

 assumes importance far beyond the limits of the direct use of the land. 



Destruction of the land on one farm can ruin another that is downstream or 

 downwind and it can cause social problems by reducing the population and the 

 economic base of the community. A more complex relationship may be illus- 

 trated by a small watershed, occupied by several farms and perhaps a popu- 

 lation center. No one farmer can solve the problems of the watershed - - 

 stabilize runoff and control production of sediment in the upper reaches or 

 protect his farm or the town from flood and sediment damage if either lies 

 in the lower reaches. Community effort may be necessary in the application 

 of conservation practices to solve the problems when there are several owners 

 and users of the land and where others may be the beneficiaries. 



Moving further from the personal relationship with the land itself to larger 

 social groups, the interest in conservation becomes more general, just as in- 

 sistent, and in a sense more enduring or far sigh ted. Public concern is for 

 an adequate and continuing supply of food, fiber, industrial raw materials, 

 a reliable yield of useable water in the streams, protection from excessive 

 flooding and silt deposition; preservation and development of other values 

 associated with the land, and water resource such as recreation and wildlife. 

 These have a set of values to the state consistent with its functions as a 

 political entity in relation to the welfare of its own residents, and its 

 relation with other states and the Nation, 



It is the policy of the State of Montana to provide for conservation of all 

 soil and water resources. It provides the legal framework enabling contrac- 

 tual arrangements and group action. It is responsible for management, devel- 

 opment and use of the resources it owns. 



All the people have major responsibilities for conservation and development 

 of the nation's resources, beyond the immediate interest of the individual 

 owner and user. This represents accumulated common interest, both now and 

 for the future. To this end they share with owners and users of land the 

 costs of those practices with extended and enduring benefits. By this means 

 they insure continuity of the Nation's strength, which arises from the full 

 development and wise use of her varied, and abundant resources. 



In carrying out these responsibilities in providing for adequate conservation 

 of the Nation's soil and water resources, the Department of Agriculture has 

 constant use for current information on conservation needs. The purpose of 

 the Montana Soil and Water Conservation Needs Inventory is to contribute to 

 the assemblage of such information and to report specifically the needs 

 within the state. 



