Conservation Day in the Lewis & Clark SWCD 



Businessmen -Sponsors receiving "Certificates 

 of Appreciation" during the 9th annual Conserva- 

 tion Day Program - Feb. 2, 1963. 



Back in the first years of Conservation Day Pro- 

 grams in the Lewis & Clark District, seven or 

 eight business firms sponsored these events. 



This year, forty -two sponsors and the Lewis & 

 Clark SWCD Board of Supervisors, together, 

 planned and financed the 9th Annual Conservation 

 Day. 



A tasty supper of roast beef, turkey, ham, salads, 

 assorted relishes, vegetables and desserts started 

 the evening off. The main program included a 

 Cartoon for the kiddies, main speaker and movie 

 provided by the New Holland Implement Co. , 

 Supervisors report of "1962 District Activities," 

 a safety film entitled "A Family Affair" and an 

 acknowledgement of Sponsor participation. The 

 evening program was very ably emceed by Assoc- 

 iate Justice John C. Harrison. When all of the 

 talking and movies were out of the way the entire 

 crowd of 275 people stacked tables and chairs to 

 make ready for an evening of dancing. 



The expense of this years program came to $627. 14 

 Although this may seem like a lot of money, the 

 cost to each sponsor was less than half of the ind- 

 ividual cost five years ago. 



As one of the local banker -sponsors put it later. 

 "The more business men we can get to participate 

 in these ruralcity programs, the closer we become 

 as a county wide Community. This years program 

 was the best yet and next years program will be 

 even better. 



Explorcrr ( jiL>i t back from Africa) : 

 "I brought back six tigers, two leop- 

 ards and a potfer." 



Friend; '".-That' s a potfer?" 

 Ex-ilorer: "To cook the meat in." 



THE DETERGENT POLLUTION PROBLEM 



by Dr. S. L. Groff 

 Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology 



Detergent pollution of water supplies has ach- 

 ieved national recognition, and the problem of 

 "syndet biodegradability" (meaning--ability of 

 synthetic detergents to decompose through bio- 

 chemical action) is picking up steam in the 

 political arena. 



Rep. Henry S. Ruess (D-Wis.) has introduced 

 a bill, H. R. 2105, which specifies that the Sur- 

 geon General shall set standards of decomposa- 

 bility for detergents which will assure that all 

 detergents imported into the U. S. or shipped in 

 interstate commerce after June 30, 1965, "will 

 decompose quickly and completely 'after use. "■ 

 The Surgeon General shall set up specific methods 

 by which detergents shall be tested to determine 

 if they conform to standards. A second bill by 

 Congressman Ruess, H. R. 4571, plugs a loop- 

 hole in H.R. 2105, by completely banning non- 

 decomposable detergents which could possibly 

 end up in interstate waters. Several States are 

 considering similar action through their state 

 legislation. 



Detergents are not the only pollutants, but 

 their presence is made readily evident by the 

 non-decomposable alkylbenzene sulfonate (ABS) 

 or, more descriptively, tetrapropylene -benzene 

 sulfonate (TPBS) which causes foaming in water. 



It is understood that U. S. detergent producers 

 are following West Germany's lead and are work- 

 ing on detergent bases that are 80 to 100% biode- 

 gradable. The stimulation of legislation towards 

 producing a decomposable detergent is believed 

 both wise and necessary. 



Water technicians are concerned over the 

 long-time effects of non-decomposable detergent 

 bases on underground water supplies, and many 

 hope that biodegradable detergent base chemicals 

 can be made from agricultural products. 



DISTRICT DOINGS 



Mrs. Hubert Becken gave a talk, at the annual 

 meeting of the Sweet Grass SWCD, on her conser- 

 vation classes at Bozeman this past summer. She 

 had made use of the $50 scholarship that the dis- 

 trict offered. 



The Jefferson Valley SWCD again had as its main 

 attraction its annual meeting speech contests. High 

 school finalists from the Boulder and Whitehall High 

 Schools gave outstanding talks on Conservation sub- 

 jects. Donna Ross of Boulder took first place. Her 

 topic was "Let's Go to the Country". 



