Excerpt
In June 1979 the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Council on Environmental Quality agreed to sponsor an interagency study on the availability of agricultural land. Cooperating with USDA and CEQ in the National Agricultural Lands Study were 10 other federal agencies, the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, State, Transportation, and Treasury as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and Water Resources Council. NALS culminated in January 1981 with the publication of a final report. In February the JSWC invited Robert J. Gray, the executive director of NALS, to discuss the results of the 18-month study in an interview. Mr. Gray kindly consented to do so.
JSWC: Why did NALS come about and what did it attempt to accomplish?
Gray: I think NALS came about because of three things. There was pressure on the past administration from public-interest groups, state legislators, and some farm organizations to do a study on this issue. Then there was the Jeffords and Magnuson bill pending in Congress that called for a study. The easiest way to deflate or put that bill on hold was to get a study underway. Also, Secretary Bergland seemed very personally interested in …
Footnotes
- Copyright 1981 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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