The Golden Age of Conservation

As prepared for delivery.
Remarks by Bruce I. Knight, Chief, Natural Resources Conservation Service, t 70 Years of Conservation Partnership “Back to the Future” Day

St. Paul, MN
April 27, 2005


I’m especially pleased to be here today to celebrate 70 years of partnership between the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Minnesota. Today is a time to look back at the past and back to the future.

Seventy years seem like a long time to most of us. But it’s the blink of an eye compared to the thousand years it takes to create that the inch of soil that we study and work so hard to conserve and protect. That same inch of soil, however, can wash or blow away in only a few hours.

NRCS has been “A partner in conservation since 1935.” And Minnesota has been with us from the beginning.

Before NRCS was created, Soil Erosion Service work began in Minnesota in September 1934.
I especially appreciate Vic Ruhland’s work in cataloguing the history of conservation in Minnesota in his new book.

As we look to the future, we will be building on the partnerships of the past to forge new and even stronger bonds to support new tasks and withstand new challenges. We celebrate our work together—getting conservation on the land—from the vantage point of putting into practice
the 2002 farm bill with its record levels of funding for conservation.

I have described this farm bill as ushering in a Golden Age of Conservation. This is not the first Golden Age of Conservation and certainly not the last.

The First Golden Age

I think most would agree that the first golden age of conservation occurred after those tragic Dust Bowl years. In April 1935, a fierce windstorm from the Great Plains swept a huge dust cloud across the U.S. to areas as far away as Washington, D.C.

Hugh Hammond Bennett – who later became the first Chief of the Soil Conservation Service – spoke to Congress about the problem—timing his address to coincide with a huge dust cloud darkening the sky over the Capitol. The tactic obviously worked, as Congress acted immediately, and the same month established the Soil Conservation Service in the Department of Agriculture. The new agency was charged with helping landowners carry out soil conservation practices.

The 30’s and the 40’s were a period of great reduction in soil loss and also an era of forging conservation partnerships. In February 1937, President Roosevelt urged governors to enact conservation district laws that would allow landowners to organize conservation districts.
In August of that year, North Carolina formed the Brown Creek Soil Conservation District – the first conservation district in the Nation. Minnesota’s first district, formed in 1938, was the Burns-Homer-Pleasant district, which was later consolidated into the Winona district.

New districts formed all around the country throughout the next two decades. And in 1946, district officials from 17 states formed the National Association of Conservation Districts in Chicago, Illinois.

But after the first big push for conservation, the rate of improvement leveled off during the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. In the 70’s, earlier gains were offset in many cases by increased pressures on the land created when rising agricultural prices encouraged farmers to put more marginal land into production.

The Second Golden Age of Conservation

The Second Golden Age of Conservation began when Congress passed the 1985 Farm Bill.
This legislation required landowners to carry out conservation plans to receive USDA conservation program benefits.

A challenge that landowners – who had been practicing good conservation all along – rose to meet. Before farmers and ranchers could receive commodity payments, the 1985 Farm Bill required them to treat their highly erodible land.

The new requirement changed the district conservationist’s job. Now, he or she needed to plan conservation as well as provide conservation technical assistance.

Then came the 1996 Farm Bill, which introduced new conservation programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. That gave NRCS new administrative responsibilities, which also impacted the district conservationist’s time for providing conservation technical assistance.

The Current Golden Age of Conservation

After a decade, the programs of the 1985 farm bill became less effective. Improvements in soil loss diminished, and another plateau developed. There appeared to be a renewed need to promote voluntary participation. The 2002 Farm Bill answered that challenge and ushered in the current golden age of conservation.

This farm bill includes a strong new approach to:

• getting conservation on working lands;
• placing greater emphasis on working lands;
• rewarding good stewardship and stimulating more conservation; and
• demanding greater accountability.

The Next Farm Bill

As I said at the beginning, the current Golden Age of Conservation is a good vantage point for looking toward the next farm bill. The 2007 farm bill will be the key to sustaining this Golden Age of Conservation.

The new farm bill is still two years away, but debate on how to shape it is already beginning.
And I believe conservation is likely to occupy center stage in the next farm bill to an even greater extent than in 2002.

There is growing support for a shift from commodity- or production-based agricultural policy to a stewardship-based policy. But there will also be a need for a real safety net to protect producers from market downturns and uncontrollable events.

What Landowners Want in Conservation Programs

We in NRCS are hearing what landowners want in conservation programs. It’s not surprising that we’re hearing that farmers, ranchers, and other landowners want to see expanded common sense program criteria – not arbitrary rules.

We’ve also learned landowners want –

• programs that contribute to sustainability – not just environmentally, but also economically and culturally;

• programs that help meet regulatory requirements – and avoid new regulations; and

• programs that are easy to use.

Policy Perspectives

From a policy perspective, we’re hearing that landowners think that the next farm bill should –

• support overall farm policy;

• help American agriculture meet world trade obligations;

• consider all conservation programs in a portfolio approach;

• keep easement programs in perspective relative to financial assistance programs;

• be based on measurable results; and

• get the most bang for the buck.

Management Perspectives

And from a management perspective, the next farm bill should provide for –

• clear, mission-oriented responsibilities;

• efficient delivery (watershed approach and producer self-assessment in CSP have potential for transfer to other programs); and

• synergy, rather than friction, between departments and agencies.

Policy must keep us flexible and able to adapt to changing market forces. We need to keep as much land as possible in production – continue the emphasis on working lands.

We need to be competitive internationally. However, conservation may be integral to policy negotiations involved in keeping us competitive internationally.

Many issues will come into play as the 2007 bill develops—

• World Trade Organization agreements,
• public support for environmental programs, and
• increasing demands on the Federal budget dollar.

We know Americans value conservation. This is a thread that runs through the fabric of America and is visible across the magnificent tapestry of the land.

As the President has said,

“Americans have reached a consensus about the protection of the environment. We've come to understand the success of a generation is not defined by wealth alone. We want to be remembered for our material progress, no question about it, but we also want to be remembered for the respect we give to our natural world.”

Emerging Environmental Issues

When the 2007 Farm Bill is written, we will want to look at emerging environmental issues. Like doctors who prescribe a variety of medications for a patient – not realizing how the medicines may interact – today’s programs do not approach environmental issues in a holistic, unified way.

We must strive for a more comprehensive, dynamic approach. Environmental issues are not static. We face traditional issues, plus some emerging ones as well.

Some of these emerging environmental issues include carbon sequestration – particularly on grasslands. There are water issues where we have opportunities to do more and take new approaches.

We will be looking at more ways to improve habitat for critical and declining species and thereby avoid further regulation. A good example of progress we’re making in this area is the recent decision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the greater sage grouse didn’t need protection under the Endangered Species Act, because these birds have increased in number with the help of conservation and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program.

We’re addressing open space issues with the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and the Grasslands Reserve Program and, perhaps, some of the Conservation Reserve Program as well.
Later this afternoon, we’ll be celebrating the signing of the first FRPP easements in Minnesota—at the Ray Taylor farm in Dakota County.

We’re also addressing wetlands—where the President has issued a strong conservation challenge. And you had Agriculture Secretary Johanns in Minnesota last week to celebrate Earth Day along with Governor Pawlenty—by signing a 15-year Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program agreement to improve water quality and wildlife habitat on 120,000 acres in three watersheds.

The President has promised that we would improve, protect, and restore 3 million acres of wetlands over the next five years. We are well on the way with 830,000 acres to our credit in just the past 12 months and more to come here in Minnesota and across the country.

Changing Expectations

Overall, we are going to need a balanced approach to meet changing expectations. As we observed with the Conservation Security Program, Federal policy makers increasingly seem to favor incentives over entitlements.

CSP is –

• a working lands program;
• the only program that recognizes and reward ongoing stewardship; and
• a strong incentive for others to follow their example.

As with other programs, Minnesota has been a leader in CSP. The first CSP contract in the country was signed last August 26 with Jim and Peggy Pahl of Vernon Center, Minnesota.

Conclusion

I am hopeful that investment in conservation will continue to grow and sustain the Golden Age of Conservation.

We have shown that –

• programs can be administered efficiently;
• incentives stimulate more conservation;
• many partners are interested in leveraging the Federal dollar;
• both urban and rural constituents support private lands conservation; and
• programs work well in a portfolio approach.

I believe the next farm bill will produce shifts in several areas with even more emphasis on –

• working lands – economic sustainability;
• incentives;
• voluntary efforts to avoid additional regulation;
• efficient program administration;
• measurable results; and
• meeting wetlands and forest health objectives.

August 29-31, in St. Louis, the White House will hold a Conference on Cooperative Conservation to facilitate the exchange of information and advice relating to cooperative conservation. The Departments of Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency and their customers will participate.

We expect the opinions expressed at the White House Conference will be useful in designing the conservation programs of the next farm bill.

Hugh Hammond Bennett, the founding father of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, said,

“From every conceivable angle – economic, social, cultural, public health, national defense – conservation of natural resources is an objective on which all should agree.”

During this 70th anniversary year, Bennett’s words remind us of the timeless importance of conservation and our history of working together.

In Minnesota, you know the value of conservation. You’ve been a partner from the beginning, and a leader in the new golden age of conservation.

I know that we can count on your partnership and your commitment to the land as we look ahead to the 2007 farm bill and the next 70 years of helping people help the land.