PROPER LAND USE 



by A. B. Linford 

 SCS, Montana 



One of the most pressing conser- 

 vation issues of today is the deter- 

 mination of and effecting proper land 

 use. Too many decisions on land use 

 are made on the basis of short term 

 benefits or economic conditions which 

 are not always in the best long time 

 interest of the environment or of 

 peop I e . 



Much has been said about a land 

 use policy for the United States. 



In 1948, the Soil Conservation 

 Society of America, a professional 

 organization, adopted a land use policy. 

 At that time, and since, many attempts 

 have been made to develop a land use 

 policy for the country. Whether or 

 not we have such a policy anywhere in 

 the United States is a moot question. 



We are indebted to James D. Strange, 

 Associate Director of the Forest Serv- 

 ice, Atlanta, for his comments on a 

 Land Use Policy. Some of the points 

 he brought out are worth repeating 

 here — he says, "Every American 

 should frequently look at the land 

 that sustains him at the highest 

 standard In the world, consider its 

 bountious beauty, and ask what is 

 my duty or that of my country to act 

 to conserve and wisely use this land 

 which provides me with such riches. 

 This obligation cannot be passed on 

 to others." 



"This country was formed by 

 people seeking a land where they 

 could settle and make their living 

 without interference from others. 

 "Most of the Nation's land was 

 acquired as public domain vaster 

 and richer than ever possessed by 

 any other nation. In its enti'-ety 

 this public domain embraced one 

 billion three hundred million acres, 

 acquired by conquest, cession, 

 purchase and outright occupation. 

 Within less than a century and a half 

 it had all been disposed of — set- 

 tled and farmed, devoted to grazing 

 use, logged over and mined or set 

 aside into national reserves. . .early 

 statesmen held that the public domain 

 should constitute a source of national 

 revenue through the gradual sale of 

 land... later it was held that settle- 

 ment and cultivation of the public 

 domain under the Homestead Act were 

 the true means of increasing wealth 

 and the national income. Thus by 

 sale, homesteading, and grants most of 

 the productive public domain found its 

 way Into private ownership." 



"By 1900, the majority of the 

 nation's land was in farms. We were 

 an agriculturally orientated nation. 

 Our success In settling, clearing, 

 and cultivating the land, coupled with 

 its rich yields, has developed a 

 society and a type of citizen unique 

 In our short history. Look back to 

 about 1925 and consider an average 

 American living In a small community 

 in rural America — the man grew and 

 harvested his own needs for food; he 

 gathered and stored his fuel for the 

 winter; he had recognition and knew 

 his community's people; he sold his 

 surplus to meet his simple needs." 



That was less than fifty years 

 ago before the dust bowl became a 

 reality, before crop adjustments and 

 allotments, and before the advent of 

 technology which permitted agriculture 

 in this country to produce far in 

 excess of our national needs. When we 

 reflect on these programs we can see 

 that the major thrust was economic 

 and limited attention was devoted to 

 a national policy for land use. 



We are confronted with the fact 

 that land Is limited here on earth 

 "moon landings not withstanding". 

 We can shift or adjust land use by 

 devoting more acres to crops, to 

 grass or trees or highways or urban 

 areas, but we cannot materially in- 

 crease the amount. As demands on 

 land increase, we can and do Increase 

 the intensity of management with 

 drainage. Irrigation, fertilizer, or 

 cultural practices. 



We must recognize the effects of 

 law, use taxes, zoning incentives, 

 occupation, and transfers of tenure 

 rights, and limitations on land use. 



President Nixon, in speaking of 

 population growth and pressures on 

 land use said: 



"Throughout the nation there is 

 a critical need for more effective 

 land use planning, for better controls 

 over the use of land and the living 

 systems that depend on It. Through- 

 out our history, our greatest resource 

 has been the land - forests and 

 plains, mountains and marshlands, 

 rivers and lakes. Our land has 

 sustained us. It has given us a 

 love of freedom, a sense of security, 

 and courage to test the unknown." 



"We have treated our land as If 

 it were a limitless resource. Tradi- 

 tionally, Americans have felt that 

 what they do with their own land Is 

 their own business. This attitude 

 has been a natural outgrowth of the 

 pioneer spirit. Today we are coining 



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