RURAL DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 19 72 



Of interest to Conservation 

 Districts is the Rural Development 

 Act of 1972 if properly funded. 

 This act in brief expands the 

 authorities of Farmers Home Admini- 

 stration to insure loans to meet 

 objectives of a P.L. 566 Watershed 

 Project or a Resources Conservation 

 and Development Project to include 

 Rural Enterprise loans — business 

 and service facilities, loans to 

 rural youth, and essential com- 

 munity facilities. 



The Rural Development Act 

 amends the Small Watershed Act to 

 provide assistance to store water 

 for later release for water 

 quality; for construction of 

 lagoons for recycling to irriga- 

 tion. More importantly to con- 

 servation districts the act pro- 

 vides for long term contracts 

 for land treatment in "watershed" 

 projects similar to Great Plains 

 contracts. The act also would 

 extend the REAP program into 

 long term contracting for the 

 purpose of cost-sharing conser- 

 vation practices based on a 

 "conservation plan". 



REVENUE SHARING 



County Commissioners are receiv- 

 ing funds under the general Revenue 

 Sharing Bill, (state and local 

 fiscal act) . Conservation Dis- 

 tricts should consider the cate- 

 gories of "environmental pro- 

 tection," "health and recreation" 

 for which these funds may be used 

 and inform county commissioners. 

 Examples for requests of funds may 

 include staff assistance, publi- 

 cations, or inventory work on 

 such problems as flooding, multi- 

 purpose water developments, soil 

 surveys and range management 

 acceleration, (land use planning) . 



FARM FORESTRY CHAIRMAN CAUTIONS 

 WOODLAND OWNERS 



Don Naegeli 



Montana Forest Practices Act is 

 tabled. Now what are you timber 

 owners going to do? Are you going 

 to sit back and wait until someone 

 else puts forth another act from 

 a federal level? No, you should 

 get out and see what the rest of 

 Montana's people are doing that 

 you could do too. 



After all, that's why you bought 

 your own farm, ranch or woodland 

 so you could be free to do as you 

 want. However, some people have 

 other ideas as to management, 

 therefore, I am requesting each 

 and everyone of you farmers and 

 ranchers that have private wood- 

 lands to get out and use your own 

 Forester in your conservation dis- 

 trict or Service Forester from the 

 State Forestry Division. Set up 

 your own management plan on your 

 farm or ranch to the best interest 

 for you to use your land in the 

 multiple purpose way. When you 

 set a plan up for timber management, 

 check the streams for erosion con- 

 trol and do not forget your ranch 

 and timber pasture. These all add 

 more to your project and further- 

 more, you will be able to manage it 

 as you want. Your neighbor, who 

 may not be a cooperator, will fol- 

 low suite when he sees your good 

 example. 



BOARD OF NATURAL 

 RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION 



Governor Tom Judge has appointed 

 two new members to the Board of 

 Natural Resources and Conservation. 

 They are Dr. Wilson Clark of Billings 

 and Mr. Owen Sowerwine of Kalispell. 

 Reappointed was Dean Hanson of 

 Gildford. Holdover members are Riley 

 Ostby of Wolf Point and Joseph Sabol 

 of Bozeman. 



