TY - JOUR T1 - RCA and the art of the possible JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 330 LP - 333 VL - 36 IS - 6 AU - Kenneth A. Cook Y1 - 1981/11/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/36/6/330.abstract N2 - SOLID opposition had formed against key elements of Secretary of Agriculture John Block's new soil conservation program just a week after he announced it in late October. But Mr. Block, his Assistant Secretary John Crowell, and SCS Chief Norm Berg were widely praised for giving Congress and the conservation community the administration's thinking on the four-year-old RCA (Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act) process. Neil Sampson, executive vice-president of the National Association of Conservation Districts, seemed to capture the sentiment. “That they have emerged today with a program, whatever its strengths and weaknesses,” he told the House conservation subcommittee, “is a major accomplishment, and we commend them.” The 1981 Program Report and Environmental Impact Statement, which lays out the U.S. Department of Agriculture's preferred program, is a vast improvement over previous RCA publications. It is worth reading. For the first time, evaluations and criticisms of current programs receive extended and fairly candid treatment, and mounds of data have been converted into information to build the secretary's case. But the most important reason for examining the report is because the program it outlines, if adopted … ER -