OCR Text |
Show ects. Control measures are in the nature of in- surance against too rapid obsolescence of great dam and reservoir projects, and as such should be substantially expanded. The condition of the public lands under the Department of the Interior, and the agency re- sponsible for their management, are shown in the following figures. TABLE 4.-Condition of the public lands Management agency Critical Severe Moderate Slight or none Bureau of Land Management___ 44,108,000 13,864,000 1,395,000 501,000 647, 500 Acres 51,802,000 17,000,000 2,800,000 1,400,000 360,000 Acres 61,123,500 17,916,000 4,340,000 2,000,000 820,000 33,793,000 7,149,000 6,023,000 10,865,000 3,915,000 Bureau of Indian Affairs.. Bureau of Reclamation___ National Park Service___ Fish and Wildlife Service- Total............. 60,516,000 73,362,000 86,199,500 61,745,000 Source: Department of the Interior. Clearly, a high proportion of the damaged lands is included in the area for which Land Management and Indian Affairs are responsible. The damage is of long standing, and large ex- penditures will be needed to correct it. Prog- ress is now being made, after many decades of neglect, but the programs should be accelerated. The program of the Department has two phases: improvement of management practices, largely directed at improving forest and forage growth; and the construction of check dams and other devices to control erosion and rehabilitate damaged land. The total appropriation for the soil and moisture program for the fiscal year 1951 was 3.7 million dollars-a sum far too small to accomplish the objectives of the program, and absurdly small in relation to the billions which will be expended in coming years on water resources projects and which would be jeopardized by excessive sedimentation. Some funds are added to this total from other Department funds, but the additions are small in total. The management of this public land is com- plicated by two factors. In the first place, pub- lic lands are intermingled with those held by States, private owners, or other Federal agencies. This makes planning and operation difficult and expensive, and points to the need for coordina- tion of Federal activities, and improved coop- eration with States and private owners. Secondly, since much of the land is publicly owned, and population density is low throughout the area, the Federal Government must itself perform much of the work which in other areas is contributed by farmers. Ranchers and cattle- men supply a certain amount of labor and ma- terials in connection with the conservation work of the Department of the Interior, but their con- tribution is necessarily much more limited. The Commission is of the opinion that man- agement of the public lands should be an im- portant part of basin planning and water re- sources development, and that the erosion control programs of the Interior Department should be stepped up as a protective measure in connection with dam and reservoir construction. Need for Coordination The various agencies in the Agriculture and Interior Departments, the Army Engineers, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and other Federal agencies have a responsibility for soil and forest conservation and other aspects of watershed man- agement. Their objectives are diverse, their leg- islative authorities differ widely, and their pro- grams are inconsistent. It is the opinion of the Commission that this division of responsibility and authority inevitably results in inefficiency and in an inadequate pro- gram. A reconciliation of the aims and tech- niques of the agencies within the Department of Agriculture alone would be a big step forward, and it is long overdue. It is possible that this reconciliation might best be accomplished through the device of the river basin commissions and the Board of Review rec- ommended earlier. The Commission is inclined to believe, however, that action will have to be taken in the responsible departments in Wash- ington, and that once the necessary decisions are taken, the river basin commissions will be able to plan their programs more effectively. 137 |