THE NORTH AMERICAN CONSERVATION CONGRESS. 



Following upon the National Conservation Conference held 

 in Washington, D.C., in December last, President Roosevelt 

 determined to invite representatives of Canada and Mexico to 

 meet representatives of the United States in a North American 

 Conservation Congress. 



The invitation of President Roosevelt was conveyed to 

 Ottawa by Mr. Gifford Pinchot, Chairman of the National Con- 

 servation Commission at the end of December last and accepted 

 by the Canadian Government who appointed, as its delegates 

 to the conference, Hon. Sydney Fisher, Minister of Agriculture; 

 Hon. Clifford Sifton, and Dr. H. S. Beland, M.P. 



The conference convened in the diplomatic room of the 

 State Department, Washington, D.C., on Thursday, February 

 18th, and continued in session for two days. Mr. Gifford Pinchot, 

 Forester of the United States, was elected Chairman. Each 

 country represented made a statement as to its own resources, 

 Mr. Pinchot speaking tor the United States, Romulo Escobar 

 for Mexico, and Hon. Sydney Fisher for Canada. 



Senator Reed Smoot, who was the head of the Section on 

 Forests at the National Conservation Commission, and Dr. W. 

 T. Hornaday. Director of the New York Zoological Garden, 

 were among the other speakers. 



On February 26th the report of the Canadian delegates 

 was presented to the House of Commons. 



The following are extracts from the report of the Con- 

 ference : — 



The General Principles. 



"We recognize the mutual interests of the nations which 

 occupy the Continent of North America and the dependence of 

 the welfare of each upon its natural resources. We agree that 

 the conservation of these resources is indispensable for the 

 continued prosperity of each nation. 



"We recognize that the protection of mutual interests 

 related to natural resources by concerted action, without in any 

 way interfering with the authority of each nation within its 

 own sphere, will result in mutual benefits, and tend to draw still 

 closer the bonds of existing good-will, confidence and respect. 

 Natural resources are not confined by the boundary lines that 

 separate nations. We agree that no nation acting alone can 

 adequately conserve them, and we recommend the adoption of 

 concurrent measures for conserving the material foundations 

 of the welfare of all the nations concerned, and for ascertaining 

 their location and extent. 



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