RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONSERVATI 



CONGRESS 



The Second National Conservation Congress, made up of delegate 

 all sections and nearly every state and territory of the United States, 

 the call of a great moral issue, now in session assembled in the City of i 

 and State of Minnesota, does hereby adopt and solemnly declare the fc 

 platform of opinion and conclusion concerning the inherent rights of the 

 of the United States : 



Heartily accepting the spirit and intent of the Constitution and a 

 to the principles laid down by Washington and Lincoln, we declare o 

 viction that we live under a government of the people, by the people, 

 people ; and we repudiate any and all special or local interests or platf< 

 policies in conflict with the inherent rights and sovereign will of our peop 



Recognizing the natural resources of the country as the prime I 

 property and opportunity, we hold the rights of the people in these n 

 to be natural and inherent, and justly inalienable and indefeasible; and v 

 that the resources should and shall be developed, used and conserved 

 consistent both with current welfare and with the perpetuity of our peop 



Waters of Country Should Be Administered in Interest of All the People 



Recognizing the waters, of the country as a great national resou 

 approve and endorse the opinion that all the waters belong to all the peo 

 hold that they should be administered in the interest of all the people. 



Realizing that all parts of each drainage basin are related and inter 

 ent, we hold that each stream should be regarded and treated as a unit 

 source to its mouth ; and since the waters are essentially mobile and tr 

 and are generally interstate, we hold that in all cases of divided or < 

 jurisdiction the waters should be administered by co-operation betwe< 

 and federal agencies. 



Each Use of .Waters Should Be with Reference to All Other Uses 



Recognizing the interdependence of the various uses of the waters 

 country, we hold that the primary uses are for domestic supply and f< 

 culture through irrigation or otherwise, and that the uses for navigat 

 for power, in which water is not consumed, are secondary ; and we cc 

 the modern view that each use of the waters should be made with refei 

 all other uses for the public welfare in accordance with the principle 

 greatest good to the greatest number for the longest time. 



Viewing purity of water supply as essential to the public health a 

 eral welfare, we urge upon all municipal, state, and federal authorities 

 individuals and corporations, requisite action toward purifying and pr< 

 contamination of the waters. 



