THE ROLE OF STATE AGENCIES IN DEALING WITH 

 ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS ASSOCIATED WITH RANGELAND 



By Gary J. Wicks 



By the year 2000, according to the Federal Energy Administration, coal 

 production in the United States could more than quadruple, from about 600 

 million tons in 1975 to about 2,800 million tons. This would mean opening 

 one new surface mine and one new underground mine each and every month until 

 then. 



Montana, of course, has immense coal resources — more than any other 

 state. 



By the year 2000, worldwide reserves of aluminum, lead, zinc, tungsten, 

 and sulfiir could be exhausted; copper, manganese, nickel, and titanium could 

 shortly follow, and supplies of many other raw materials could reach critical 

 levels. 



Montana, of coiirse, has sizable mineral deposits. 



By the year 2000, Americans will demand 57^ more lumber, 110^ more wood 

 pulp, and 107^ more veneer and plywood; supplies of softwood lumber may fall 

 short of demand by 30 million board feet. 



Montana, of course, has extensive forests. 



By the year 2000, there could be close to 2 billion more people to be 

 fed; by that same year, according to the National Academy of Sciences, it is 

 iincertain that the American farmer will be able to feed even the people of 

 this nation. 



Montana, of course, has vast and productive agricultural lands. 



It appears that Montsma, long regarded by the rest of the nation as lit- 

 tle more than a vast backwater state filled with nothing but a few sheep- 

 herders, ranchers, and miners, has now become the focal point of a nation 

 and world coming to grips with a shortage of critical resources. 



We would expect that the heightened awareness of the real values of our 

 resources would automatically lead to a commitment by everyone to maximize 

 the long-term benefits and to insist on careful stewardship of these limited 

 resources; instead, we see decisions being made on a short term basis, with 

 each interest group claiming the right to utilize a resource to the exclu- 



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