Political support for soil conservation

Excerpt

CONSERVATIONISTS who wonder why government has not done more to conserve soil might find it useful to ask also, “How did government come to do so much for natural resource conservation?”.

Congress has created numerous conservation programs in this century, some of which resulted in major, enduring federal agencies (such as the Soil Conservation Service, Forest Service, National Park Service, and Environmental Protection Agency). More recent conservation legislation, such as the clean air and water acts, has been so notably ambitious that political scientists cite these laws as classic departures from the incremental change typical of our democratic system. Also impressive, though inauspicious, is the durable support for soil and water research in both federal and state budgets.

Some natural resource policy seems to be the creation of dedicated public leadership, as in the case of the Forest Service and SCS. Crisis has prompted some successful con- servation policies, such as the wind erosion control efforts in the Great Plains during the 1930s and 1950s. Soil conservation measures have frequently been add-ons to farm income programs. Some such measures provided more income …