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Dwight Lydell Chapter, Izaak Walton League, Grand Rapids, MI, January 13, 1972
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The original documents are located in Box D32, folder "Dwight Lydell Chapter, Izaak
Walton League, Grand Rapids, MI, January 13, 1972" of the Ford Congressional Papers:
Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box D32 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
DWIGHT LYDELL CHAPTER OF THE IZAAK WALTON
LEAGUE, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, 12 NOON
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1972.
I AM OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE
OF CONSERVATION IN AMERICA.
ALL THE INDICATORS POINT TO A
NEW ERA OF CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL
PRESERVATION.
IN THE LAST THREE YEARS WE HAVE
MADE MORE PROGRESS TOWARD CONTROLLING THE
DEGRADATION OF OUR RESOURCES THAN IN ALL
OUR PAST POLITICAL HISTORY.
REFORM WILL NOT COME EASILY.
WE WILL EXPERIENCE MANY OUTCRIES. BUT NEW
SELF-DISCIPLINE MUST BECOME PART OF OUR
LIFE-STYLE.
TO BEGIN WITH, WE MUST HAVE
ORDERLINESS. IF WE ARE GOING TO STABILIZE
GERALD
LIBRARY
-2-
AND IMPROVE OUR ENVIRONMENT, WE MUST HAVE
A SENSE OF ORDER IN HOW WE LAY OUT OUR
OCCUPANCY OF THE LAND. WHERE THE CRITICAL
FACTOR IN THE PAST HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE
FAST BUCK, IT MUST NOW BE ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY AND THE CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES.
AS YOU MAY KNOW, THE ADMINISTRATION
HAS INITIATED A CONCEPT OF LAND USE POLICY
WHICH INCLUDES POWER PLANT SITING, STRIP
MINE RECLAMATION, PROTECTION AND
MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC LANDS ON THE BASIS
OF MULTIPLE USE AND SUSTAINED YIELD, AND
REPEAL OF THE 1872 MINING ACT,
SUBSTITUTING PROCEDURES WHICH WILL
ELIMINATE INDISCRIMINATE MINING PRACTICES
AND ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL.
OUR SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT NOW IS
FACING THE GREAT TEST. THE 92ND CONGRESS
MUST PROVE WHETHER IT IS PARTISAN OR
RESPONSIVE.
HERRIDA FORD LIBRARY
-3-
THE ADMINISTRATION HAS CALLED
FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A LONG OVERDUE
NATIONAL LAND USE POLICY TO DEAL WITH THE
FRIGHTENING AND HAPHAZARD SPRAWL OF
METROPOLITAN DEVELOPMENT. THE DESIRE ALSO
IS TO ACHIEVE COMPATIBLE MULTIPLE-USE FOR
THE BENEFIT OF PEOPLE ON THE VAST PUBLIC
DOMAIN AS WELL.
THE PRESIDENT HAS PROPOSED THAT
1.8 MILLION ACRES OF LAND BE SET ASIDE AND
ADDED TO THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS SYSTEM.
HE HAS DIRECTED THAT FEDERAL SURPLUS
PROPERTIES BE CONVERTED TO USE AS PUBLIC
PARKS.
IT WAS THROUGH THE PRESIDENT'S
LEADERSHIP THAT AN ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING
AND ADVISORY AGENCY, THE COUNCIL ON
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, WAS SET UP. IT WAS
ALSO AT THE PRESIDENT'S DIRECTION THAT AN
-4-
AGENCY WITH THE POWER TO SET ENVIRONMENTAL
STANDARDS AND ENFORCE THEM -- THE
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY -- WAS
ESTABLISHED.
AND OF TREMENDOUS SIGNIFICANCE,
THE PRESIDENT HAS CALLED FOR A SWEEPING
REORGANIZATION OF THOSE SCATTERED AGENCIES
AND FRAGMENTED FUNCTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE
BRANCH WHICH RELATE TO THE CUSTODY OF
AMERICA'S NATURAL RESOURCES. HE HAS LAID
BEFORE THE CONGRESS A PROPOSAL TO
DUTY
ESTABLISH A DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
AND TO REORGANIZE THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
ALONG BASIC FUNCTIONAL LINES.
ENVIRONMENTALLY SPEAKING, THE
NEW DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES WOULD
END THE SCATTER-GUN APPROACH TO GOVERNMENT
EXISTING TODAY. AT PRESENT, SUCH AREAS
AS WATER RESOURCES, LAND MANAGEMENT,
FORD LIBRARY Y GERALD
MINERALS, ENERGY AND EARTH SCIENCES ARE
-5-
HANDLED BY AN UNWIELDY AND COMPLEX VARIETY
OF AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS.
WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IS
NOW HANDLED THROUGH THE BUREAU OF
RECLAMATION IN THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.
THE SOIL CONSERVATION WATERSHED PROGRAM
IS IN THE AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT. THE
CIVIL FUNCTIONS OF THE ARMY CORPS OF
ENGINEERS IS IN THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT.
IN THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL
RESOURCES, ALL THREE OF THESE FUNCTIONS
WOULD BE BROUGHT UNDER A SINGLE ADMINISTRATOR.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE: ACTIVITIES OF
THE FOREST SERVICE IN AGRICULTURE AND THE
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT IN INTERIOR
OVERLAP. THEY ARE NOT COORDINATED
SUFFICIENTLY. IN THE NEW DEPARTMENT,
THEIR ACTIVITIES WOULD BE ALIGNED SO AS
TO BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SAME
GERALD LIBRARY
ORGANIZATION.
-6-
AN EXAMPLE IN THE ENERGY FIELD:
THE NATION'S ENERGY PROGRAMS ARE NOW
FRAGMENTED AND SPREAD AMONG SEVERAL
AGENCIES. IN THE NEW DEPARTMENT,
DIRECTION OF ALL MAJOR ENERGY PROGRAMS
INVOLVING NUCLEAR POWER, COAL, PETROLEUM,
NATURAL GAS AND HYDRO POWER WOULD BE
BROUGHT TOGETHER WITHIN AN AGENCY OF
CO-RELATED FUNCTIONS.
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE ENERGY AND
MINERAL RESOURCES ADMINISTRATION IN THE NEW
DEPARTMENT WOULD INCLUDE
THE
THE FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF
A NATIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES POLICY;
DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY PRODUCTION
TECHNOLOGY,
TECHNOLOGY FOR RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT
AND UTILIZATION, MANAGEMENT OF
URANIUM STOCKPILES AND PRODUCTION
OF ENRICHED URANIUM;
MINING RECOVERY, PROCESSING AND
UTILIZATION STUDIES;
-7-
WASTE DISPOSAL, RE-USE, RECYCLING
AND SUBSTITUTION STUDIES;
PROTECTION AND RESTORATION OF MINED
AREAS;
FOSTERING OIL AND GAS PIPELINE
SAFETY, AND MINE AND HEALTH SAFETY;
CONSERVATION OF MINERALS AND FUEL
RESOURCES;
AND RESEARCH AND INFORMATION SERVICES
PERTAINING TO THE ENVIRONMENT.
ONE OF THE MOST URGENT AND
IMMEDIATE TASKS OF THE NEW DEPARTMENT WOULD
BE TO INTEGRATE AND IMPLEMENT THE
PRESIDENT'S NEW "CLEAN ENERGY" POLICY, WHICH
IS AIMED AT MEETING THE EVER-GROWING DEMAND
FOR ENERGY WITHOUT INCREASING THE WORLD'S
POLLUTION BURDEN,
I ASSURE YOU THAT THE ACTIONS
AND PRIORITIES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
ARE BEING REDIRECTED.
FORD & LIBRARY QERALD
-8-
NOW LET ME POINT OUT THAT THIS
YEAR WE WILL OBSERVE THE NATIONAL PARK
CENTENNIAL.
THIS IS APPROPRIATE BECAUSE ONE
OF THE PRESIDENT'S PET PROJECTS IS HIS
LEGACY OF PARKS PROGRAM, AIMED AT A MAJOR
EXPANSION OF OPEN SPACES SET ASIDE FOR
LEISURE AND LEARNING.
THE PRESIDENT HAS SPELLED OUT
HIS PARK EXPANSION PROGRAM IN MESSAGES TO
THE CONGRESS AND TO THE PEOPLE.
SOME OF THE OBJECTIVES HAVE BEEN
ACCOMPLISHED BUT MOST OF THEM LIE AHEAD
AND WILL REQUIRE INNOVATIVE ACTIONS THAT
INVOLVE DIRECT FEDERAL PARTICIPATION IN
SEVERAL AREAS.
SINCE 1969, 13 NEW AREAS HAVE BEEN
ADDED TO THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM.
THE PRESIDENT RECOMMENDED 14
RALD FORD LIBRARY
WILDERNESS PROPOSALS TO THE 91ST CONGRESS.
-9-
THIRTEEN OF THESE PROPOSALS WERE NOT ACTED
UPON AND WERE RESUBMITTED TO THE 92ND
CONGRESS.
IN ADDITION, THE PRESIDENT LAST
YEAR SENT CONGRESS 14 NEW WILDRENESS AREA
PROPOSALS, COMPRISING 1.8 MILLION ACRES.
STUDIES AND PUBLIC HEARINGS ON
20 ADDITIONAL POSSIBLE WILDERNESS AREAS
WILL BE COMPLETED BY NEXT JUNE. THESE
STUDIES WILL PUT THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
WILDERNESS REVIEW PROGRAM ON SCHEDULE
PRESIDENT NIXON HAS AUTHORIZED
FULL FUNDING OF THE LAND AND WATER
CONSERVATION FUND, INCLUDING AN
APPROPRIATION OF $380 MILLION IN THE CURRENT
FISCAL YEAR. OF THAT AMOUNT, $280 MILLION
WILL GO TO STATES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
AND $100 MILLION WILL GO TO ACQUIRE
NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT PARK AND RECREATION
RESOURCES.
-10-
BY NEXT JUNE, THE FUND WILL HAVE
PROVIDED $750 MILLION IN MATCHING GRANTS
TO STATES AND LOCALITIES. THIS MONEY HAS
FACILITATED THE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT
OF THOUSANDS OF NEW PARKS AND RECREATION
AREAS.
PRESIDENT NIXON ALSO HAS
REQUESTED THAT THE HOUSING AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT'S PROGRAM OF GRANTS
TO STATES AND LOCALITIES FOR OPEN SPACE
BE REORIENTED TO PROVIDE MORE URBAN PARKS
AND THAT THE PROGRAM'S BUDGET AUTHORITY
BE INCREASED FROM $75 MILLION TO
$200 MILLION.
THE PRESIDENT HAS ESTABLISHED
A PROPERTY REVIEW BOARD TO DECLARE CERTAIN
FEDERAL PROPERTIES SURPLUS AND AVAILABLE
FOR TRANSFER TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.
NINE THOUSAND ACRES -- WORTH
FORD & LIBRARY GERALD
MORE THAN $40 MILLION -- HAVE ALREADY
-11-
BEEN TRANSFERRED TO STATES OR THEIR
LOCALITIES FOR PARK AND RECREATION PURPOSES
THROUGH THE BUREAU OF OUTDOOR RECREATION
IN THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR.
! MIGHT MENTION AT THIS POINT
THAT IT IS PLANNED TO TURN OVER A 12-ACRE
PIECE OF THE GRAND RAPIDS NATIONAL GUARD
RIFLE RANGE TO KENT COUNTY FOR PARK
PURPOSES UNDER THE PRESIDENT'S LEGACY OF
PARKS PROGRAM. AND IT WOULD ALSO BE
APPROPRIATE TO POINT OUT THAT THE INTERIOR
DEPARTMENT LAST OCTOBER GAVE GRANDVILLE
A GRANT OF $28,578 TO ACQUIRE 10 ACRES OF
LAND ACROSS BUCK CREEK FROM GRANDVILLE
HIGH SCHOOL FOR A COMMUNITY PARK. THAT
SAME MONTH, THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT GAVE
THE CITY OF GRAND RAPIDS $181,350 FOR
DEVELOPMENT OF A 60-ACRE PARK ALONG THE
FORD
GRAND RIVER AT THE INTERSECTION OF MONROE
AVENUE AND THREE-MILE ROAD.
-12-
THOSE WERE 1971 GRANTS. IN 1970,
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GAVE US A
$2,792,760 GRANT FOR ACQUISITION AND
DEVELOPMENT OF 15 NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL
PARKS IN OR NEAR THE MODEL CITIES AREA OF
GRAND RAPIDS, PLUS $12,450 FOR A 43-ACRE
PLAINFIELD PARK ALONG THE ROGUE RIVER,
AND $25,000 TO WYOMING FOR A 26-ACRE
EXPANSION OF ITS PARK SYSTEM.
ADD THEM ALL UP AND WE FIND
THERE WERE $3,040,138 IN FEDERAL GRANTS
TO KENT COUNTY FOR PARK PURPOSES JUST IN
THE LAST TWO YEARS ALONE.
THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE RIFLE
RANGE PROPERTY, AND I POINT THIS OUT
BECAUSE FEDERAL SURPLUS PROPERTY NATIONWIDE
HAS RICH POTENTIAL FOR EXPANSION OF THE
NATION'S PARKS. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
OWNS ROUGHLY 761 MILLION ACRES OF LAND,
-13-
ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF THE AREA OF THE
50 STATES.
WE ARE ALSO MOVING AHEAD WITH
OUR NATIONAL WILD RIVERS AND NATIONAL
TRAILS PROGRAM. ACQUISITION OF LAND WAS
STARTED IN 1969 FOR THE FIRST EIGHT
SCENIC RIVERS AUTHORIZED AS INITIAL
COMPONENTS OF THE NATIONAL WILD AND
SCENIC RIVERS SYSTEM.
TWENTY-SEVEN NEW NATIONAL
RECREATION TRAILS -- TO BE ADMINISTERED
BY APPROPRIATE FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND
PRIVATE OWNERS -- WERE DESIGNATED IN JUNE
OF 1971.
THE ADMINISTRATION ALSO PLANS
TO ESTABLISH NATIONAL RECREATION AREAS
AROUND SOME OF OUR LARGE URBAN COMPLEXES,
BUT WE EXPECT STATES AND CITIES TO DO THEIR
SHARE WHERE APPROPRIATE AND POSSIBLE.
LIBRARY & GERALD
-14-
SO WE ARE DEVELOPING POLICIES
TO INCREASE RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
FOR CITY DWELLERS AND TO MAKE PARKS AND
NATIONAL SHRINES ACCESSIBLE TO ALL
AMERICANS INCLUDING LOW INCOME FAMILIES.
THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IS
DEVELOPING A LONG-RANGE PLAN TO INSURE
THAT OUR PARK RESOURCES ARE KEPT UNIMPAIRED
FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
YOU CAN FEEL SURE THAT THE
CONSERVATION OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES IS
IN GOOD HANDS.
BUT I ASK YOUR SUPPORT OF THE
PRESIDENT'S PROGRAM TO REORGANIZE THE
FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS -- TO CREATE A NEW
DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND THREE
OTHERS. THIS REORGANIZATION IS VITAL IF THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS TO BE TRULY
RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE.
GERALD FORD LIBRARI
-15-
THE PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES IN
THE MANAGEMENT OF OUR LAND, OUR WATER
AND ALL OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES WILL
REQUIRE THE VERY BEST EFFORT ON THE PART
OF ALL OF US. WE MUST ACHIEVE MAXIMUM
EXTENSION OF THE LIFE OF OUR RESOURCES AND
A NEW QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE.
THIS IS A TIME FOR VISION, A
TIME TO GIVE NEW LIFE TO OUR DREAMS OF A
PLACE IN THE SUN FREE FROM THE NO!SE AND
CONFUSION THAT CONFOUND MODERN MAN.
--END--
Distribution Fifth District only
Sent air mail 2 p.m. 1/11/71
M affice Copy
REMARKS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BEFORE THE DWIGHT LYDELL CHAPTER OF THE IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
12 NOON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1972
FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON WEDNESDAY, JAN. 13, 1972
I am optimistic about the future of conservation in America.
All the indicators point to a new era of conservation and environmental
preservation.
In the last three years we have made more progress toward controlling the
degradation of our resources than in all our past political history.
Reform will not come easily. We will experience many outcries. But new
self-discipline must become part of our life-style.
To begin with, we must have orderliness. If we are going to stabilize and
improve our environment, we must have a sense of order in how we lay out our
occupancy of the land. Where the critical factor in the past has always been the
fast buck, it must now be environmental quality and the conservation of resources.
As you may know, the Administration has initiated a concept of land use
policy which includes power plant siting, strip mine reclamation, protection and
management of public lands on the basis of multiple use and sustained yield, and
repeal of the 1872 Mining Act, substituting procedures which will eliminate
indiscriminate mining practices and ensure environmental control.
Our system of government now is facing the great test. The 92nd Congress
must prove whether it is partisan or responsive.
The Administration has called for the establishment of a long overdue National
Land Use Policy to deal with the frightening and haphazard sprawl of metropolitan
development. The desire also is to achieve compatible multiple-use for the benefit
of people on the vast public domain as well.
The President has proposed that 1.8 million acres of land be set aside and
added to the National Wilderness System. He has directed that Federal surplus
properties be converted to use as public parks.
(more)
--2--
It was through the President's leadership that an environmental planning and
advisory agency, the Council on Environmental Quality, was set up. It was also at
the President's direction that an agency with the power to set environmental
standards and enforce them-the Environmental Protection Agency--was established.
And of tremendous significance, the President has called for a sweeping
reorganization of those scattered agencies and fragmented functions of the Executive
Branch which relate to the custody of America's natural resources. He has laid
before the Congress a proposal to establish a Department of Natural Resources and
to reorganize the Executive Branch along basic functional lines.
Environmentally speaking, the new Department of Natural Resources would end
the scatter-gun approach to Government existing today. At present, such areas as
water resources, land management, minerals, energy and earth sciences are handled
by an unwieldy and complex variety of agencies and organizations.
Water resources development is now handled through the Bureau of Reclamation
in the Interior Department. The Soil Conservation Watershed Program is in the
Agriculture Department. The civil functions of the Army Corps of Engineers is in
the Defense Department.
In the Department of Natural Resources, all three of these functions would
be brought under a single administrator.
Another example: Activities of the Forest Service in Agriculture and the
Bureau of Land Management in Interior overlap. They are not coordinated sufficiently
In the new department, their activities would be aligned so as to be the responsi-
bility of the same organization.
An example in the energy field: The nation's energy programs are now
fragmented and spread among several agencies. In the new department, direction of
all major energy programs involving nuclear power, coal, petroleum, natural gas
and hydro power would be brought together within an agency of co-related functions.
The functions of the energy and mineral resources administration in the new
department would include the formulation and implementation of a National Energy
Resources Policy; development of energy production technology; technology for
resources development and utilization, management of uranium stockpiles and
production of enriched uranium; mining recovery, processing and utilization studies;
waste disposal, re-use, recycling and substitution studies; protection and
restoration of mined areas; fostering oil and gas pipeline safety, and mine and
(more)
-3--
health safety; conservation of minerals and fuel resources; and research and
information services pertaining to the environment.
One of the most urgent and immediate tasks of the new department would be to
integrate and implement the President's new "Clean Energy" policy, which is aimed
at meeting the ever-growing demand for energy without increasing the world's
pollution burden.
I assure you that the actions and priorities of the Federal Government are
being redirected.
Now let me point out that this year we will observe the National Park
Centennial.
This is appropriate because one of the President's pet projects is his
Legacy of Parks Program, aimed at a major expansion of open spaces set aside for
leisure and learning.
The President has spelled out his park expansion program in messages to the
Congress and to the people.
Some of the objectives have been accomplished but most of them lie ahead
and will require innovative actions that involve direct Federal participation in
several areas.
Since 1969, 13 new areas have been added to the National Park System.
The President recommended 14 wilderness proposals to the 91st Congress.
Thirteen of these proposals were not acted upon and were resubmitted to the 92nd
Congress.
In addition, the President last year sent Congress 14 new wilderness area
proposals, comprising 1.8 million acres.
Studies and public hearings on 20 additional possible wilderness areas will
be completed by next June. These studies will put the National Park Service
wilderness review program on schedule.
President Nixon has authorized full funding of the Land and Water Conservation
Fund, including an appropriation of $380 million in the current fiscal year. Of
that amount, $280 million will go to states and local governments and $100 million
will go to acquire nationally significant park and recreation resources.
By next June, the Fund will have provided $750 million in matching grants to
states and localities. This money has facilitated the acquisition and development
of thousands of new parks and recreation areas.
(more)
-4-
President Nixon also has requested that the Housing and Urban Development
Department's program of grants to states and localities for open space be reoriented
to provide more urban parks and that the program's budget authority be increased
from $75 million to $200 million.
The President has established a Property Review Board to declare certain
federal properties surplus and available for transfer to state and local governments.
Nine thousand acres--worth more than $40 million--have already been
transferred to states or their localities for park and recreation purposes through
the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation in the Department of Interior.
I might mention at this point that it is planned to turn over a 12-acre
piece of the Grand Rapids National Guard Rifle Range to Kent County for park
purposes under the President's Legacy of Parks Program. And it would also be
appropriate to point out that the Interior Department last October gave Grandville
a grant of $28,578 to acquire 10 acres of land across Buck Creek from Grandville
High School for a community park. That same month, the Interior Department gave
the City of Grand Rapids $181,350 for development of a 60-acre park along the Grand
River at the intersection of Monroe Avenue and Three-Mile Road.
Those were 1971 grants. In 1970, the Federal Government gave us a
$2,792,760 grant for acquisition and development of 15 neighborhood school parks
in or near the Model Cities Area of Grand Rapids, plus $12,450 for a 43-acre
Plainfield Park along the Rogue River, and $25,000 to Wyoming for a 26-acre
expansion of its park system.
Add them all up and we find there were $3,040,138 in Federal grants to Kent
County for park purposes just in the last two years alone.
This does not include the Rifle Range property, and I point this out because
Federal surplus property nationwide has rich potential for expansion of the
Nation's parks. The Federal Government owns roughly 761 million acres of land,
about one-third of the area of the 50 states.
We are also moving ahead with our National Wild Rivers and National Trails
Program. Acquisition of land was started in 1969 for the first eight scenic rivers
authorized as initial components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Twenty-seven new national recreation trails--to be administered by
appropriate Federal, State, local and private owners--were designated in June of
1971.
(more)
-5-
The Administration also plans to establish national recreation areas around
some of our large urban complexes, but we expect States and cities to do their
share where appropriate and possible.
So we are developing policies to increase recreational opportunities for
city dwellers and to make parks and national shrines accessible to all Americans,
including low income families.
The National Park Service is developing a long-range plan to insure that our
park resources are kept unimpaired for future generations.
You can feel sure that the conservation of our natural resources is in good
hands.
But I ask your support of the President's program to reorganize the Federal
Departments- to create a new Department of Natural Resources and three others. This
reorganization is vital if the Federal Government is to be truly responsive to the
needs of people.
The problems and challenges in the management of our land, our water and
all of our natural resources will require the very best effort on the part of all
of us. We must achieve maximum extension of the life of our resources and a new
quality of life for the American people.
This is a time for vision, a time to give new life to our dreams of a place
in the sun free from the noise and confusion that confound modern man.
# # #
Fifth District news Media anly
a Office Copy
REMARKS BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH.
REPUBLICAN LEADER, U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BEFORE THE DWIGHT LYDELL CHAPTER OF THE IZAAK WALTON LEAGUE
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
12 NOON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1972
FOR RELEASE AT 12 NOON WEDNESDAY, JAN. 13, 1972
I am optimistic about the future of conservation in America.
All the indicators point to a new era of conservation and environmental
preservation.
In the last three years we have made more progress toward controlling the
degradation of our resources than in all our past political history.
Reform will not come easily. We will experience many outcries. But new
self-discipline must become part of our life-style.
To begin with, we must have orderliness. If we are going to stabilize and
improve our environment, we must have a sense of order in how we lay out our
occupancy of the land. Where the critical factor in the past has always been the
fast buck, it must now be environmental quality and the conservation of resources.
As you may know, the Administration has initiated a concept of land use
policy which includes power plant siting, strip mine reclamation, protection and
management of public lands on the basis of multiple use and sustained yield, and
repeal of the 1872 Mining Act, substituting procedures which will eliminate
indiscriminate mining practices and ensure environmental control.
Our system of government now is facing the great test. The 92nd Congress
must prove whether it is partisan or responsive.
The Administration has called for the establishment of a long overdue National
Land Use Policy to deal with the frightening and haphazard sprawl of metropolitan
development. The desire also is to achieve compatible multiple-use for the benefit
of people on the vast public domain as well.
The President has proposed that 1.8 million acres of land be set aside and
added to the National Wilderness System. He has directed that Federal surplus
properties be converted to use as public parks.
(more)
-2-
It was through the President's leadership that an environmental planning and
advisory agency, the Council on Environmental Quality, was set up. It was also at
the President's direction that an agency with the power to set environmental
standards and enforce them--the Environmental Protection Agency--was established.
And of tremendous significance, the President has called for a sweeping
reorganization of those scattered agencies and fragmented functions of the Executive
Branch which relate to the custody of America's natural resources. He has laid
before the Congress a proposal to establish a Department of Natural Resources and
to reorganize the Executive Branch along basic functional lines.
Environmentally speaking, the new Department of Natural Resources would end
the scatter-gun approach to Government existing today. At present, such areas as
water resources, land management, minerals, energy and earth sciences are handled
by an unwieldy and complex variety of agencies and organizations.
Water resources development is now handled through the Bureau of Reclamation
in the Interior Department. The Soil Conservation Watershed Program is in the
Agriculture Department. The civil functions of the Army Corps of Engineers is in
the Defense Department.
In the Department of Natural Resources, all three of these functions would
be brought under a single administrator.
Another example: Activities of the Forest Service in Agriculture and the
Bureau of Land Management in Interior overlap. They are not coordinated sufficiently
In the new department, their activities would be aligned so as to be the responsi-
bility of the same organization.
An example in the energy field: The nation's energy programs are now
fragmented and spread among several agencies. In the new department, direction of
all major energy programs involving nuclear power, coal, petroleum, natural gas
and hydro power would be brought together within an agency of co-related functions.
The functions of the energy and mineral resources administration in the new
department would include the formulation and implementation of a National Energy
Resources Policy; development of energy production technology; technology for
resources development and utilization, management of uranium stockpiles and
production of enriched uranium; mining recovery, processing and utilization studies;
waste disposal, re-use, recycling and substitution studies; protection and
restoration of mined areas; fostering oil and gas pipeline safety, and mine and
(more)
---3-
health safety; conservation of minerals and fuel resources; and research and
information services pertaining to the environment.
One of the most urgent and immediate tasks of the new department would be to
integrate and implement the President's new "Clean Energy" policy, which is aimed
at meeting the ever-growing demand for energy without increasing the world's
pollution burden.
I assure you that the actions and priorities of the Federal Government are
being redirected.
Now let me point out that this year we will observe the National Park
Centennial.
This is appropriate because one of the President's pet projects is his
Legacy of Parks Program, aimed at a major expansion of open spaces set aside for
leisure and learning.
The President has spelled out his park expansion program in messages to the
Congress and to the people.
Some of the objectives have been accomplished but most of them lie ahead
and will require innovative actions that involve direct Federal participation in
several areas.
Since 1969, 13 new areas have been added to the National Park System.
The President recommended 14 wilderness proposals to the 91st Congress.
Thirteen of these proposals were not acted upon and were resubmitted to the 92nd
Congress.
In addition, the President last year sent Congress 14 new wilderness area
proposals, comprising 1.8 million acres.
Studies and public hearings on 20 additional possible wilderness areas will
be completed by next June. These studies will put the National Park Service
wilderness review program on schedule.
President Nixon has authorized full funding of the Land and Water Conservation
Fund, including an appropriation of $380 million in the current fiscal year. Of
that amount, $280 million will go to states and local governments and $100 million
will go to acquire nationally significant park and recreation resources.
By next June, the Fund will have provided $750 million in matching grants to
states and localities. This money has facilitated the acquisition and development
of thousands of new parks and recreation areas.
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President Nixon also has requested that the Housing and Urban Development
Department's program of grants to states and localities for open space be reoriented
to provide more urban parks and that the program's budget authority be increased
from $75 million to $200 million.
The President has established a Property Review Board to declare certain
federal properties surplus and available for transfer to state and local governments.
Nine thousand acres--worth more than $40 million--have already been
transferred to states or their localities for park and recreation purposes through
the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation in the Department of Interior.
I might mention at this point that it is planned to turn over a 12-acre
piece of the Grand Rapids National Guard Rifle Range to Kent County for park
purposes under the President's Legacy of Parks Program. And it would also be
appropriate to point out that the Interior Department last October gave Grandville
a grant of $28,578 to acquire 10 acres of land across Buck Creek from Grandville
High School for a community park. That same month, the Interior Department gave
the City of Grand Rapids $181,350 for development of a 60-acre park along the Grand
River at the intersection of Monroe Avenue and Three-Mile Road.
Those were 1971 grants. In 1970, the Federal Government gave us a
$2,792,760 grant for acquisition and development of 15 neighborhood school parks
in or near the Model Cities Area of Grand Rapids, plus $12,450 for a 43-acre
Plainfield Park along the Rogue River, and $25,000 to Wyoming for a 26-acre
expansion of its park system.
Add them all'up and we find there were $3,040,138 in Federal grants to Kent
County for park purposes just in the last two years alone.
This does not include the Rifle Range property, and I point this out because
Federal surplus property nationwide has rich potential for expansion of the
Nation's parks. The Federal Government owns roughly 761 million acres of land,
about one-third of the area of the 50 states.
We are also moving ahead with our National Wild Rivers and National Trails
Program. Acquisition of land was started in 1969 for the first eight scenic rivers
authorized as initial components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Twenty-seven new national recreation trails--to be administered by
appropriate Federal, State, local and private owners--were designated in June of
1971.
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The Administration also plans to establish national recreation areas around
some of our large urban complexes, but we expect States and cities to do their
share where appropriate and possible.
So we are developing policies to increase recreational opportunities for
city dwellers and to make parks and national shrines accessible to all Americans,
including low income families.
The National Park Service is developing a long-range plan to insure that our
park resources are kept unimpaired for future generations.
You can feel sure that the conservation of our natural resources is in good
hands.
But I ask your support of the President's program to reorganize the Federal
Departments--to create a new Department of Natural Resources and three others. This
reorganization is vital if the Federal Government is to be truly responsive to the
needs of people.
The problems and challenges in the management of our land, our water and
all of our natural resources will require the very best effort on the part of all
of us. We must achieve maximum extension of the life of our resources and a new
quality of life for the American people.
This is a time for vision, a time to give new life to our dreams of a place
in the sun free from the noise and confusion that confound modern man.
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