President Sez cont'd. 



Legislators, keep them informed of your 

 problems and, more important, help them 

 provide acceptable solutions. 



Soil and Water Conservation District 

 Supervisors have a thing or two going for 

 them. Some of you may not know It but 

 five members of your ranks ran for the 

 legislature last November and f i ve we re 

 elected. They are Pete Jackson, past 

 president, Brad Parrish, Lewistown direct- 

 or, Everett Snort] and, Conrad Director, 

 Cecil Weeding supervisor from District 

 6, and myself. As the saying goes, "Not 

 too shabby." 



Your state association will attempt 

 to keep you informed in the coming ses- 

 •sion via letters, news releases etc. If 

 you are not getting the information you 

 want, don't hesitate to call me in Helena 

 or journey over to see us. You wi I I be 

 welcome and you will be heard . 



# # # 



MASWCD LEGISLATION PROPOSALS 



i. Support budget to State Soil Conser- 

 vation Committee for Range I and Resourc- 

 es program. 



2. Support Extension Service budget to 

 hire an Extension Forester in addition to 

 current number of Extension Specialists. 



3. SWCDs be recognized as grassroots plan- 

 ners and should become part of and be 

 included in planning at state and local 

 levels. 



That at least one member of a city- 

 county planning board where agricultural 

 land is involved be from the rural area, 

 and that he be a land owner making a 

 major portion of his income from agricul- 

 tural production. 



4. Because oil developers have varying 

 concepts of cleaning up after drilling 

 activities and most location sites are 

 subject to severe wind and water erosion 

 after development or abandonment and 

 newly developed sites are often pock- 

 ets of weed infestations, be it resolved 



that the land should be left in a condi- 

 tion where reasonable rehabilitation is 

 possible and that adequate drainage be 

 provided. ^^ 



5. In many areas of Montana, farmers and 

 ranchers are solely dependent upon known 

 aquifers for household and stockwaters 

 and water analyses of known aquifers have 

 been showing increasing amounts of soluble 

 salts making them unfit for either human 

 or animal consumption and these conditions 

 are most often encountered in areas of 

 oil exploration. Resolved that the State 

 Association of Soil i Water Conservation 

 Districts request legislative action to 

 require that all areas underlain by known 

 aquifers, and where drilling activities 

 are known to pierce these aquifers, that 

 In the future it be required to protect 

 these aquifers from further contamination. 



6. The Montana Water Development Associa- 

 tion recognizes the vast potential that 

 water-based recreation has an economic 

 factor In the development of Montana's 

 economy and the Importance of protecting 

 and preserving water that can be utilized 

 in recreation. Resolved that Montana law 

 recognize recreation as a beneficial use^^ 



7. That zoning for recreation be Included 

 In city-county planning and state plan- 

 ning. 



8. Present surface mining laws are In- 

 adequate and we believe that surface 

 mining operations must be prevented from 

 destroying the productivity of the land 

 for crops, livestock, wildlife and re- 

 creation utilization. Every effort toward 

 reclamation should be made to insure 



its continued productivity. The use of 

 top soil and/or weathered soil material, 

 and the establishment of minimum slopes 

 are needed and proven criteria for recla- 

 mation, we therefore urge that these two 

 items be minimum basic requirements of 

 reclamation plans. 



"How come your son is doing 

 so well in college?" 



"Well, he's bald-headed. He 

 doesn't want to grow a beard. 

 Drinking makes him sick. He's 

 too weak to march and carry a 

 protest sign. So the only thing 

 left for him is to stay home 

 and study. " 



-z- 



