Number: 1978-03
WHEREAS, soil valuable for agriculture and wildlife habitat is being lost in inordinate amounts to wind and water erosion in many parts of the Nation; and
WHEREAS, soil losses in recent years were exacerbated by a national policy encouraging full agricultural production leading to the utilization of marginal lands and to the removal of shelterbelts installed many years ago; and
WHEREAS, shelterbelts frequently provide valuable food and cover habitat for many species of wildlife, especially upland birds and small mammals; and
WHEREAS, the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 contains a provision intended to redirect the Agricultural Conservation Program (ACP) into encouraging conservation practices having long term benefits to soil, water, and wildlife resources; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Agriculture has established a minimum of a one-year and a maximum of four-year set-aside program in 1978 to 1981 for certain grains with a potential to conserve soil, water, and wildlife resources;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 16-19, 1978, in Phoenix, Ariz., hereby asserts its support of the following principles relating to agriculture, shelterbelts, and wildlife:
- That the U.S. Congress should amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide tax credits for those landowners who establish and maintain woodlots, farm shelterbelts, and natural woody vegetations of value in combating soil erosion and providing habitat for wildlife;
- That the Secretary of Agriculture should de-emphasize federal payments for practices which encourage marginal production and emphasize those of an enduring conservation type of maximum benefit to soil fertility and wildlife;
- That, pursuant to his new responsibilities and authority under the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-192), the Secretary of Agriculture move vigorously to appraise the Nation’s soil and water resources, to identify areas possessing significant fish and wildlife habitat potentials, and to formulate soil and water conservation programs which include substantial fish and wildlife benefits.