DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES 



BY THE CONFERENCE ON THE CONSERVATION OF 

 NATURAL RESOURCES, WHITE HOUSE, MAY 13, 1 908 



WE, THE governors of the states and territories 

 of the United States of America in conference assem- 

 bled, do hereby declare the conviction that the great 

 prosperity of our country rests upon the abundant 

 resources of the land chosen by our forefathers for 

 their homes, and where they laid the foundation of 

 this great nation. 



We look upon these resources as a heritage to be 

 made use of in establishing and promoting the com- 

 fort, prosperity, and happiness of the American 

 people, but not to be wasted, deteriorated, or 

 needlessly destroyed. 



We agree that our country's future is involved in 

 this; that the great natural resources supply the 

 material basis upon which our civilization must con- 

 tinue to depend, and upon which the perpetuity of 

 the nation itself rests. 



We agree, in the light of the facts brought to our 

 knowledge and from information received from 

 sources which we cannot doubt, that this material 

 basis is threatened with exhaustion. Even as each 

 succeeding generation from the birth of the nation 



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