Number: 2002-07
WHEREAS, progress has been made to reduce point source pollution since passage of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 and subsequent Clean Water Act Amendments; and
WHEREAS, many of our nation’s natural waterways within intensively farmed watersheds remain polluted because of non-point source pollution problems associated with our crop fields which are mostly represented by bare dirt for seven to eight months of the year, and livestock by-products; and
WHEREAS, non-point source pollution originating from these cultivated croplands and other farm fields remains an important national environmental problem because it degrades aquatic wildlife habitat and water quality important to aquatic and other life dependent on our streams, and the Environmental Protection Agency has documented that 70 percent of our pollution impaired rivers, 49 percent of impaired lakes, and 27 percent of impaired estuaries result from agricultural associated runoff; and
WHEREAS, the Clean Water Act requires that our rivers, lakes, and estuaries be brought up to the minimal standards of swimmable and fishable; and this status cannot be achieved until the current levels of sediment, fertilizers, and pesticides coming off our farm fields are drastically reduced in such major watersheds as the Potomac, Mississippi (includes the Minnesota), Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado and Columbia; and
WHEREAS, while voluntary reduction in soil, fertilizer, and pesticide runoff during the last 70 years of increased education about the need for soil protection has helped in some areas of the country, many non-point source pollution problems have grown worse with more intensive cultivation and use of fertilizers, especially as farmers maximize production within a glutted world market in order to capitalize on government subsidized payments based on bushels or pounds produced for a small number of commodities; and
WHEREAS, a complementary working landscapes program, in addition to current conservation programs, that advocates for adjusting tilling practices, installing buffer strips, planting cover crops, improving nutrient and pest management and soil conservation will greatly improve water quality; and
WHEREAS, financially rewarding farmers for providing society with environmental benefits would help change the current perception that subsidy payments lack justification; and
WHEREAS, farmers have shown an overwhelming demand for existing conservation programs, which have been chronically underfunded, and have indicated support for a conservation-based incentive program and implementation of incentive driven improved land management practices will make farmers more profitable in the future because of reduced input costs and improved long-term sustainability of their current farm operations; and
WHEREAS, improving crop residue management, nutrient management plans, stormwater management and integrated pest management, will not only vastly reduce soil and fertilizer losses from row cropped fields, but will increase carbon fixation in the soil and reduce future greenhouse impacts accordingly; and
WHEREAS, our society has the cheapest food in the World, but we are not paying the full cost of food production, which must include protecting our soil, water, air, and fish and wildlife habitat if we are to remain a healthy and viable society; and
WHEREAS, we currently do not reward farmers practicing conservation at the market place or the supermarket on a broad scale; and
WHEREAS, a funding emphasis on existing conservation programs and the creation of a national agriculture conservation-based incentive program for achieving farm economic stability and meeting Clean Water Act requirements can best be done within the next Farm Bill.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its Annual Meeting assembled March 7-9, 2002 in Stone Mountain, Georgia, hereby support passage of a comprehensive conservation incentive-based Farm Bill, which includes increased funding for existing programs and stewardship incentives like the proposed Conservation Security Program, which includes working land payments, will significantly help our farmers maintain short and long term economic viability, improve water quality for fish and humans, improve habitat for wildlife, and reduce greenhouse impacts; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a viable solution to these water pollution problems is to implement a comprehensive conservation-based incentive Farm Bill program that will entice farmers to implement land management and cultivation practices, which will reduce pesticide use and will keep more soil and fertilizers on their working lands and out of our waterways; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation supports a nationwide conservation-based agricultural incentive program for working lands, such as currently proposed in the Conservation Security Program provisions to be implemented by existing federal and state farm agencies; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if a conservation incentive-based program for working lands is not implemented nationwide, then regional pilot programs should be developed within representative watersheds in order to evaluate cost benefit results and to streamline program implementation processes for the future.