Excerpt
We, the Soil and Water Conservation Society (“Society”), maintain that natural resources are a nation's heritage. Soil, water, wildlife, and other ecosystem resources must be protected for future generations. Over decades of research and deliberations of researchers, educators, and practitioners, the Society has identified and developed the following principles for conservation on private lands. This paper is a commentary on working lands for the 2018 Farm Bill and is not meant to be an exhaustive synthesis of all principles held by the Society. Here we describe eight Society principles for soil, water, wildlife, and ecosystem conservation to inform future farm bill discussions and guide development and review of agricultural policies and funding.
PRINCIPLE 1: AGRICULTURAL SOIL, WATER, AND ASSOCIATED WILDLIFE AND ECOSYSTEM RESOURCES MUST BE SUSTAINABLY MANAGED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS In 1946 Hugh Hammond Bennett, the Society's founder, stated, “Productive land, therefore, is our base; for everything we do, all we share, even whatever we amount to as a great people, begins with and rests on the sustained productivity of our agricultural lands” (Bennett 1946). Agricultural lands provide food, fiber, and fuel, and if managed with regard to their environmental and social impact, can provide services, such as wildlife and…
- © 2018 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
