OCR Text |
Show were before Congress, land treatment programs in effect in November 1950 were wholly inadequate to meet the pressing problems. Some solutions are proposed below,16 based on the assumption that they are to be applied wherever feasible, and insofar as they are consistent with multiple-purpose development. Consideration should be given particularly to the consumptive uses of water in the land treatment program and their effects on the availability of water down- stream; action is to be undertaken with cooperation of the States; and application of individual meas- ures will vary greatly, depending on local condi- tions. Planning in many instances must be on the basis of tributary watersheds. General (1) Land use adjustments must fit lands to those purposes for which they are best suited. These adjustments should be undertaken immedi- ately and pushed rapidly to completion. (2) Soil and water conservation programs must be accelerated to stop deterioration and to rebuild basic soil resources. Appropriations far larger than those available in 1950 will be required to achieve this. (3) Coordination is needed not only among the several Federal agencies but among all groups engaged in various phases of the land program so that programs will become a logical whole, and pro- ceed without duplication. Conflicting legislation should be harmonized. (4) Abuse of land frequently reflects under- sized family farm units. In these cases farmers should be encouraged and assisted in enlarging their operations. (5) Croplands subject to soil deterioration should be treated with those measures which, in proper combination, will improve the quality of the soil and its productive capacity. (6) Additional technical assistance is needed to develop plans for the necessary land use adjust- ments and land treatment measures, and to guide the programs. This technical assistance should be made available to organized districts or other duly constituted bodies or groups. (7) There is need for an expanded educational program to stimulate conservation activities by all M Proposals for a land treatment program presented to Congress in 1950 include a number of the recom- mendations here made. land holders and to guide tlieir efforts into pro- ductive lines. (8) If subsidy payments for conservation prac- tices are to be continued, th_ey should be directed toward .the completion of a definite conservation program on a farm or ranch, with a view toward final determination of payments on that property at the end of a planned schedule. (9) Conservation policies ^within a given locality should be harmonized so that land holders who cooperate in one agricultural program are not pen- alized by being prevented dfrom participating in another. Crop acreage allotments should take into account the adjustment of land use to land capability. (10) Crop insurance programs should be revised so that they do not apply to areas where lands should be in cover crops, an_d now are planted to wheat or other grain. Grassland (11) The rehabilitation of range and pasture land is needed. Such needs include better methods of management, reduction in. stocking to the carry- ing capacity of the range, and many physical improvements. (12) Depleted range lands should be reseeded to higher types of forage plants. (13) Flood irrigation of range lands should be developed wherever feasible to increase forage pro- duction. Assessment of feasibility should include recognition of downstream water needs. (14) Stock water ponds, seeps and springs, and wells should be developed to permit effective and full use of the range resource but without over- stocking the range. Assessment of this use also should include recognition of the effect on down- stream water availability. Structures (15) Minor structures should be installed to pre- vent further gullying, stabilize soil, reduce flood runoff, and conserve water -where it falls on the land. (16) Where there are effective means of control, desilting and debris basins should be installed in areas of high sediment output, especially where damages to existing agricultural economy threaten. (17) Minor flood ways should be installed to direct damaging flows across flood plains and other 214 |