CONSERVATION AND YOU 



Audrey Tronrud, winner of the 

 Sweet Grass Conservation District 

 essay conte5+ on Conservation, 

 attended the State 4-H Conservation 

 Camp at Havre. Following is Audrey's 

 winning essay: 



Conservation means using and man- 

 aging our natural resources to an ad- 

 vantage for everything. People, ani- 

 mals, and plants depend on our natural 

 resources. 



All the natural resources tie in 

 together. Man and animals depend on 

 the grasslands, water is essential for 

 the grass to grow, and the grasses live 

 and grow in rich soil. 



Animals and wildlife eat grass or 

 other animals which eat grass. Grass 

 is the world's largest crop. So grass 

 and grasslands are very important to 

 conservation and you. 



Water is very important but it 

 causes a lot of problems. There are 

 cloudbursts and droughts but through 

 all these problems nothing can survive 

 without water. The fish live in it, 

 the wildlife drink it, plants and 

 forests need it to grow, and man needs 

 it for many purposes. Water covers 

 three-fourths of the world's area. 



Forests provide shelter for wild- 

 life, and lumber for homes and build- 

 ings for man. Forests also help 

 regulate water flow. Forest lands 

 cover one-third of our Nation's 

 land area. 



Wildlife is demanded upon as food, 

 recreation, and industrial products. 

 It is not likely that these demands will 

 decrease. Wildlife plays an important 

 part in the national economy. 



Most fish and wildlife management 

 is left up to the State however private 

 land owners properties provide more than 

 eighty percent of the small game and 

 birds. 



Much is being done in manage- 

 ment and research of wildlife. The 

 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service con- 

 trols over twenty-eight million acres 

 of ranges and refuges. It also oper- 

 ates sixty research stations. The 

 government is doing a lot to protect, 

 manage and use wildlife to an advan- 

 tage, but the citizens and land owners 

 of America must do more; our natural 

 resources depend on it. 



There are about four hundred 

 fifty million acres used for crop- 

 lands now. Soil is very important. 

 Without good, rich soil food can't 

 be grown, and wildlife can't live. 



Most of the minerals needed for 

 rich soil are readily available and 

 the elements which are lacking can 

 be replaced to build up the soil. 

 The farmers and ranchers need to know 

 how to use the land and what con- 

 servation practices will protect it 

 while in that use. Without this 

 information the soil will soon lose 

 its ferti I ity . 



Water can help farm soil but 

 it can also erode the soil. Conser- 

 vation has to control the water so 

 that it helps instead of hinders 

 growth. Without soil, civilization 

 as we know it would cease to exist. 



Conservation is everyone's 

 responsibility. You owe it to your- 

 self to help conserve our natural 

 resources Our success and welfare 

 depend on the ways we use and manage 

 our natural resources. The existence 

 of everything depends on conservation. 



As thp story goes, after the 

 draion finished eating Sir 

 Ijncolot, lie remarked: "Tender 

 is the knight." 



Somr- tasks liave to be put 

 off dozens of times before they 

 slip your mind. 



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