Remarks by Deputy Secretary Rich Rominger Private Land Conservation Forum Series Sacramento, California October 22, 1999 Release No. 0420.99 Remarks by Deputy Secretary Rich Rominger Private Land Conservation Forum Series Sacramento, California October 22, 1999 "Thank you, Jeff [Vonk, NRCS state conservationist]. My thanks to our distinguished panelists for joining us. This is the third in a series of five regional conservation forums USDA is holding across the country. "It's important that all of you are here. What you have to say your thoughts on the long-term health of the nation's private land will become part of the wrap-up discussion at the National Conservation Summit that Secretary Glickman will lead December 14, in Ames, Iowa. That Summit may give us the kind of specific information and direction from the states that will guide a national conservation strategy for the 21st century. "Before we get underway, let's take a minute to thank everyone who has worked long and hard to make this forum happen ... the leadership of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Forest Service, here in California and in D.C., with strong support from the Farm Service Agency, and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. "What's happening here, and across the country, is only the third time in U.S. conservation history that leaders have called for a national discussion of this scale. Nearly 100 years ago, President Teddy Roosevelt brought together top conservation minds to establish the importance of sustainable land management. Six decades later, President Kennedy convened a national summit on conservation, with a focus on managing public lands. "Now we have our chance to rewrite the history books ... or, more to the point, and in the tradition of conservationist Aldo Leopold, to read the land, figure out what it's trying to tell us, and leave our own mark for the next century. "We're here to involve all Americans in the stewardship of the nation's private land. As we said through the historic conservation programs of the 1996 Farm Bill, this is everyone's business. That Farm Bill brought together all the "parts" of a healthy landscape -- environmental benefits that include not just soil conservation but protection of wildlife habitat and the health of rivers and streams. It was an effort to get things right, to remind folks that you're connected to the land every time you buy a loaf of bread or watch a flock of geese heading south. "We are an urban nation, but an agricultural land. Nearly 70 percent of the United States is in private ownership. The care of 50 percent of the U.S. is in the hands of less than 2 percent of our citizens. What a tremendous responsibility the nation needs to understand that. It needs to understand that agriculture produces other commodities air, water, soils, wildlife habitat, landscapes on which we depend and which make agricultural production possible. "The health of our land reflects both soil erosion and soil quality. So far, we've focused most of our efforts on soil erosion. Is it time to look more closely at soil quality, this complex living system. Does the nation need a wake-up call that the land and the soil are the base of all we do and will achieve? How we approach them and protect them will define us as a people. "We've made tremendous strides since the "Dust Bowl" galvanized America to heed the warnings of Hugh Hammond Bennett, first chief of the Soil Erosion Service. But we're not there yet. Soil is still the largest export from the farms, ranches, and forests of this nation. More tons of soil are lost each year than the total of our agricultural exports. "As a nation, we must also deal with urban sprawl and the loss of our farmland. More than 80 percent of our fruits, vegetables, and dairy products are produced near urban areas ... production that represents two-thirds of the value of the nation's total ag production. Since 1960, more than one million acres a year have been converted to other uses, disappearing under the concrete to urban, suburban, and rural development. "Beyond total acreage lost, we need to consider the quality of the land being converted. In most states, prime farmland is converted at two to four times the rate of less productive land. "The Central Valley of California is the last great Mediterranean- climate, agricultural production area left on earth. All the others have become degraded by previous civilizations. The total value of agricultural production in the Central Valley could drop by as much as $2 billion annually as a result of low-density urban sprawl. We can't let that happen. What we must ask in these discussions is: we have the knowledge, but do we have the will? "If we have the resolve, we must accelerate this debate. Communities can either react to the insidious loss of farmland, or they can sit down and chart the future ... taking the lead from organizations like the Sonoma Land Trust, for example. "Farmland loss jeopardizes the next century in ways the urban population and some rural folks haven't yet come to grips with -- air quality, water quality, energy costs, congestion. The President and Vice President call it "livability." Through two new budget initiatives, they're aiming to give communities the tools to preserve green spaces, and build on plans for "Smart Growth" in America that include protecting prime farmland from development. "Under the Farmland Protection Program, which began with the '96 Farm Bill, farmers can continue to farm without development pressures to sell their land. California is receiving about 10 percent of the program's $35 million total, making it a small but important effort for the state. "Also important to California is the progress made since 1992 under the Wetlands Reserve Program. In the past seven years, California landowners, acting voluntarily, have enrolled about 50,000 acres of wetlands in conservation easements. This is the kind of locally-led effort that is the core of the nation's conservation partnerships. "It's my belief and Secretary Glickman's belief that we can't regulate our way to sound conservation. But we can make the choices and effect the changes that will help this nation's private landowners do their job. "That's what this forum is all about. I urge you to make your voice heard on issues that concern you and your communities. If you prefer not to speak out today, we invite you to write your comments and submit them to us. We have folks here who will be happy to take them. Let's have a frank and open discussion. "Thank you very much." #