Political Quotes

“I rise to congratulate the Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, on its 75th anniversary. Even though we are an urban nation, we are still an agricultural land. Nearly 70 percent of the United States, exclusive of Alaska, is held in private ownership by millions of individuals. Fifty percent of the United States--907 million acres--is cropland, pasture-land, and rangeland owned and managed by farmers and ranchers and their families. In the early 1900s, President Roosevelt and other conservationists like John Muir and Gifford Pinchot had the foresight to set aside America's special places as national parks and forests, seashores, and wilderness areas. America's public land became a showcase for some of the most dramatic and beautiful landscapes on the North American continent. But others also recognized the importance of America's private land to the health of the Nation. It took the seriousness of the Dust Bowl for this message to be accepted. Rooted in our national experience with devastating soil erosion of that time, the conservation movement began with the purpose of keeping productive topsoil--and a productive agriculture--in place. To lead conservation efforts at the Federal level, Congress created the Soil Conservation Service, SCS, within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, in 1935. SCS was renamed the Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, in 1994.”