DECIAKATION. 



We, the governors of the States and Territories of the United States of 

 America, in conference assembled, 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 estab- 

 lishing and promoting the comfort, 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 continue 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 can not doubt, that this 

 material basis is threatened with exhaustion, Even as each succeeding 

 generation from the birth of the nation has performed its part in promot- 

 ing the progress and development of the Republic, so do we in this genera- 

 tion recognize it as a high duty to perform our part ; and this duty in 

 large degree lies in the adoption of measures for the conservation of the 

 natural wealth of the country. 



We declare our firm conviction that this conservation of our natural 

 resources is a subject of transcendent importance, which should engage 

 unremittingly the attention of the nation, the States, and the people in 

 earnest cooperation. These natural resources include the land on which we 

 live and which yields our food ;. the living waters which fertilize the soil, 

 supply power, and form great avenues of commerce ; the forests which yield 

 the materials for our homes, prevent erosion of the soil, and conserve the 

 navigation and other uses of the streams ; and the minerals which form 

 the basis of our industrial life, and supply us with heat, light, and power. 



We agree that the land should be so used that erosion and soil wash 

 shall cease; and that there should be reclamation of arid and semiarid 

 regions by means of irrigation, and of swamp and overflowed regions by 

 means of drainage ; that the waters should be so conserved and used as to 

 promote navigation, to enable the arid regions to be reclaimed by irri- 

 gation, and to develop power in the interests of the people ; that the forests 

 which regulate our rivers, support our industries, and promote the fertility 

 and productiveness of the soil should be preserved and perpetuated ; that 

 the minerals found so abundantly beneath the surface should be so used 

 as to prolong their utility; that the beauty, healthfulness, and habita- 

 bility of our country should be preserved and increased; that sources of 

 national wealth exist for the benefitof the people, and that monopoly thereof 

 should not be tolerated. 



