Number: 1984-01
Concerned that scientific management of natural resources is being relegated to an importance secondary to production and development during a critical time of economic stress, unemployment, increasing energy development, and international crises, the National Wildlife Federation calls for conservationists throughout the country to remain vigilant, vigorous, and dedicated in united efforts to protect the environment.
An association of independent state organizations and their affiliated local groups and individuals, the National Wildlife Federation believes that an alert and fully-informed public will demand sound management of natural resources. Therefore, this organization is convinced that conservation practices must be taught as an integral part of public education, emphasizing the science of ecology, wise use management of natural resources, and the interrelationship of resource usage. The Federation also believes that all citizens should participate in the governmental processes which help determine resource policies.
The National Wildlife Federation believes it is essential that suitable regulations be vigorously enforced to protect the environment, and that adequate federal funds be appropriated to implement our environmental laws. This organization is firm in its conviction that pollution abatement creates job opportunities, rather than reducing them, and is a legitimate expense of “doing business.” Further natural resource conservation programs merit adequate Federal funding.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation invites the attention of all Americans to what it considers the major issues of 1984:
Wetlands: Wetlands are one of the nation’s most important natural resources. Wetlands provide habitat for many species of fish and wildlife and they provide numerous ecosystem functions, such as cleansing of water and flood control, that directly benefit man. Wetlands are being destroyed, primarily through agricultural activities, at a rapid pace. The National Wildlife Federation believes it is critical that the Congress maintain and strengthen regulatory protection for wetlands, develop new funding sources for state and federal acquisition of wetlands, remove governmental incentives to destroy wetlands, and provide strong incentives to private landowners to maintain and enhance wetlands.
Conservation Budgets: Over the last several years conservation budgets within Federal agencies have been reduced, development-oriented budgets have increased and some appropriated funds have not been spent in a timely fashion. Cuts and proposed cuts have been especially severe in 1984 land acquisition, fish and wildlife research, endangered species, state-oriented programs, environmental monitoring, fisheries management, fish hatcheries, range resource management, state and private forestry, fish and wildlife management on federal lands, energy conservation, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Maintaining adequate funding to properly manage the nation’s natural resources is a high priority of the National Wildlife Federation. Federal purchase of land for National Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, and wetland conservation tracts must be continued. We believe that proper funding for natural resources programs and continuing research is an investment in the future that should not be foregone.
Fish and Wildlife Habitat: Fish and wildlife habitats of all types continue to be lost or degraded by a wide variety of factors. No single category of impact on natural resources is more damaging or more widespread than the worldwide loss of habitat. The loss of habitat is a direct result of human population increase, government programs, and poor planning of economic development. Habitat degradation is a result of faulty environmental regulations, chemical contamination, man-induced changes in species composition, and a wide variety of other factors. The majority of our endangered species problems are due to the loss of habitat quantity and quality. The National Wildlife Federation believes that much abitat loss and degradation could be prevented or mitigated through proper economic development planning, greater consideration for natural resource values in all government programs, and development and enforcement of appropriate regulations. All levels of government, both in the U.S. and the rest of the world, have a responsibility to protect and enhance the extensive economic and social benefits provided now and in the future by a healthy environment that includes a wide diversity of habitats.
Topsoil Loss: The loss of topsoil to wind and water erosion is considered by many to be the most serious resource problem in the U.S. The nation’s croplands suffer an average annual erosion rate of at least seven tons per acre and in some cases as much as 40 tons. About one-half of the nation’s topsoil has already been lost. The loss of soil and productivity affects all citizens, so it must be considered a problem for all segments of society. Encroachment of urban growth into prime farmland, government programs that encourage the drainage of wetlands through financial incentives, ill-advised irrigation projects, and agricultural subsidies that encourage the use of marginal lands for crop production all contribute to topsoil loss. The National Wildlife Federation believes that the Federal government must take affirmative steps to correct these problems by: 1) eliminating government subsidies that result in increased erosion, 2) linking agricultural commodity programs with conservation objectives, 3) increasing technical assistance to farmers and other landowners to install erosion control practices, 4) educating all people to the need of soil conservation, 5) directing Federal cost sharing for conservation measures, primarily toward the more highly erosive soils, and 6) eventually developing programs of mandatory controls over topsoil loss for areas where other measures are inadequate. Where public funds are used to help control soil erosion every effort should be made to improve wildlife habitat quality or at least hold wildlife habitat losses to a bare minimum.
Water Resources Development Policy: Much of what is wrought by the government’s dam and waterway building agencies — the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation, for example — degrades water, disturbs habitat, and wastes resources. The National Wildlife Federation supports water resources development plans that have been fully evaluated and are shown to be economically and environmentally sound. During the planning process, opportunities should be sought for net enhancement of environmental values as a co-equal, not a subordinate, objective of Federal water resources management and development. The large subsidies inherent in Federal water resources projects in the past have served to distort choices among competing demands for water. We support more efficient use of water as a cost effective and environmentally sound alternative to new development. The Federation favors the sharing of costs of Federal water projects by states and beneficiaries. The allocation of both fiscal and natural resources is enhanced when beneficiaries pay in accordance with the costs they impose and the benefits they receive.
International: Just as in the domestic arena, scientific management of natural resources is the underpinning of sound economic development around the world. This fundamental premise should not be superceded or ignored due to other world crises. Some of the very international crises that might overshadow natural resource issues are in fact generated by the failure to promote conservation and wise use of natural resources as an important international concern. For example, El Salvador is one of the most crowded and deforested countries in the world. Haiti has lost a significant portion of its agricultural base due to devastating deforestation and erosion. And we are likely to see more and more desperate economic refugees trying to reach our shores as these problems get worse, especially if human population continues to rise at present rates. Thus, the Federation believes that the problems of resources, environment and population must be addressed in the developing countries to alleviate the problems there. Development assistance in the Third World must be shaped to take account of natural resources conservation, and to emphasize appropriate technology, family planning, and ecological sustainability.
Public Lands: The Federal government owns and manages over 700 million acres of public lands, containing vital wildlife habitat and recreation facilities, as well as extensive reserves of timber, minerals, and energy resources. Despite legislative mandates to the contrary, the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior are currently operating under policies biased toward commodity production and the transfer of public resources to private ownership. Grazing fees are unrealistically low, regulatory responsibility over public lands is being delegated to land permittees, large areas of Federal land have been proposed for sale, public water rights are recklessly being relinquished to the private sector, and Federal energy and mineral resources are being leased or exchanged at less than their fair market value. These policies have too often resulted in overgrazing of public rangeland, over-harvesting of timber, and commercial development that fails to consider wildlife and other environmental and recreational values. The impact of this trend toward increased private commercial use of public lands has been reduced opportunities for the public to enjoy hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities on their lands. In addition, the public is increasingly being “locked out” of public lands by public and private action. The National Wildlife Federation urges government land management agencies to adopt more balanced multiple use policies for managing public lands — policies which give increased emphasis to the conservation of non-commercial public values such as wildlife, soil, water, and recreation.
Energy: The Federation retains its strong commitment to a national energy policy that protects the environment, encourages the efficient use of resources, and promotes the development of clean, renewable energy sources. We are particularly concerned with the current reckless pace of Federal energy leasing programs. In a rush to privatize public energy resources, wildlife habitat, water, and other important resources have been needlessly placed in jeopardy, and fair market value has not always been obtained. These efforts should be conducted with care and prudence. The Administration should scale back its leasing programs to more reasonable levels — levels keyed to national energy needs. The Administration should also increase its efforts to identify and avoid potential conflicts with wildlife and the environment. At the same time, the Federal government should increase its efforts toward controlling the adverse environmental impacts of energy production. In particular, the Interior Department should aggressively enforce the provisions of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. We also call upon the Administration to re-establish strong national energy programs to promote increased energy efficiency and renewable energy use.
Biological Consequences of Nuclear Conflict: Recent research has revealed that a full scale nuclear weapons exchange (5,000-10,000 megatons) would trigger not only devastating explosions, fires and radiation but equally or more damaging atmospheric and biological effects. The dust and soot injected into the atmosphere would plunge the northern hemisphere, and much of the southern, into darkness and extreme cold for several months to a few years. Severity would depend on the time of year, but photosynthesis would be interrupted, crops destroyed, drinking water frozen, and most farm animals and wildlife would die of starvation or thirst. Marine life would be less affected by cold; but reduction of plants to sustain the food chain, combined with severe toxic contamination from fuel and other chemical tank ruptures, would drastically deplete nearshore fisheries. The period of cold and dark could be widespread in tropical areas in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Major reservoirs of genetic diversity, perhaps the majority of species on earth, would be threatened. Evidence also suggests that many of these effects could occur after much smaller nuclear exchanges over cities. It appears that such drastic destruction of human life and the earth’s ecosystems would befall all nations.
The Federation urges the President of the United States to join with other world leaders to bring about verifiable treaties to totally eliminate nuclear weapons by the end of this decade.
Hazardous Wastes and Toxic Substances: Man-made toxic pollutants continue to enter and degrade the environment, both as the result of careless waste management practices of the past and present and as a by-product of the generation and use of pesticides and other chemicals. Accordingly, the National Wildlife Federation favors the reauthorization of a strong and effective Superfund law (at a greatly augmented funding level), as well as vigorous private and governmental efforts to clean up and remediate uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. We also support amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to fill loopholes in the existing coverage of chemicals proposed to be introduced into the marketplace for the first time, and to compel the Environmental Protection Agency to more aggressively implement its existing TSCA and FIFRA authori Surface Water Contamination: Toxic chemicals continue to contaminate surface waters throughout the U.S. and the world. Recent examinations of bottom fish from widely separated U.S. and Canadian surface waters have revealed alarming incidences of cancerous tumors attributable to environmental contamination. Therefore, the National Wildlife Federation urges responsible governmental authorities to establish and implement adequate sediment and fish contamination standards, appropriate early-warning monitoring protocols and procedures, and suitable official mechanisms for alerting fishermen and other consumers of potentially hazardous fish products to address the fish contamination problem.
Acid Rain: The problem of acid rain remains unabated. The National Wildlife Federation deplores both the Administration’s failure to support a responsible acid rain reduction program and the continued unwillingness of a few influential members of Congress to endorse such a program, despite the clear need for action recognized by both a large preponderance of acid rain scientists and by the vast majority of the American and Canadian public.