NATIONAL CONSERVATION ANNIVERSARY

COMMISSION

THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1956

UNITED STATES SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS,

Washington, D. O. The committee met at 10 a. m., pursuant to call, in room 224, Senate Office Building, Senator James E. Murray (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators James E. Murray, Montana; Joseph C. O'Mahoney, Wyoming; Alan Bible, Nevada; Richard L. Neuberger, Oregon; William R. Laird III, West Virginia; George W. Malone, Nevada; Arthur V. Watkins, Utah; Thomas H. Kuchel, California; and Barry Goldwater, Arizona.

The CHAIRMAN. The hearing will come to order, please.

I have a statement which I wish to make.

This hearing is on Senate Joint Resolution 139, to create a National Conservation Memorial Commission, which I introduced in the Senate last February 7 for myself and 60 other Senators.

It is unnecessary for me to say that a resolution with 61 Senate sponsors has real bipartisan support. I want to emphasize bipartisanship because I am sure that it is the desire of all of us that both in the support of this legislation and in the actual observance of conservation's 50th anniversary, a genuine spirit of bipartisanship will prevail. Conservation is a problem that concerns all of us.

As recently pointed out by President Eisenhower, and frequently in the past by leaders in various walks of life, the problems involving the preservation, protection, and wise use of our natural resources are as great today, if not greater, than ever before. We have a solemn obligation to posterity.

It is the hope of the sponsors of Senate Joint Resolution 139 that by arranging to appropriately observe the 50th anniversary of the First National Conference of Governors on Conservation, which was called by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908, we can also arouse, renew, stimulate, and maintain the highest possible degree of public interest in the need to keep the true spirit of conservation moving forward.

Obviously, it will not be the function of the Commission to represent any viewpoint in relation to conservation policy. Its work will be promotional and educational. Since it will not make policy decisions or have an administrative function, provision has been made for a commission large enough to include every important viewpoint prevailing among the many organizations and individuals in the conservation field.

This broad representation should not only assure its nonpartisanship, but will permit the direct involvement of a maximum number of groups in the promotional and educational effort.

I shall not comment further on the measure for we have today a distinguished group of witnesses. All are nationally outstanding conservationists and representatives of leading national conservation groups. Also, I see in the room the authors of many letters supporting the resolution who are not scheduled to testify, but are nationally recognized conservation leaders.

Before proceeding, I desire to place in the record of these hearings reports on Senate Joint Resolution 101 which was substantially the same as Senate Joint Resolution 139 from the Bureau of the Budget and the Department of the Interior. They support the purposes of the resolution suggesting certain amendments. These will be considered by the committee.

(S. J. Res. 139 and the reports are as follows:)

[S. J. Res. 139, 84th Cong., 2d sess.]

JOINT RESOLUTION To provide for the observance and commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the first conference of State governors for the protection in the public interest, of the national resources of the United States

Whereas the year 1958 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first conference of State governors ever held in the history of the United States; and

Whereas President Theodore Roosevelt, who called the conference, in his opening address on May 13, 1908, said in part:

"So vital is this question of conservation, that for the first time in our history the chief executive officers of the States separately, and of the States together forming the Nation, have met to consider it. It is the chief material question that confronts us, second only-and second always-to the great fundamental question of morality.

"The occasion for the meeting lies in the fact that the natural resources of our country are in danger of exhaustion if we permit the old wasteful methods of exploiting them longer to continue. In the development, the use, and therefore the exhaustion of certain of the natural resources, the progress has been more rapid in the past century and a quarter than during all preceding time of history since the days of primitive man.

"All these various uses of our natural resources are so closely connected that they should be coordinated, and should be treated as part of one coherent plan and not in haphazard and piecemeal fashion"; and

Whereas this first conference of governors, in complete agreement with the thinking of President Theodore Roosevelt, adopted unanimously a series of resolutions calling for a national policy and programs that would preserve and protect the forests, the water and streams, the soil and the range, wildlife, the minerals, fuels and all other natural resources; and

Whereas this action by the State governors, assembled together for the first time in history, gave formal approval to the conservation movement in the United States; and

Whereas the problems involving the protection, development and wise use of our natural resources are as great today, if not greater than ever before, as pointed out by President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the Mid-Century Conference on Resources for the Future held in Washington, District of Columbia, in December 1953; and

Whereas it has been emphasized repeatedly by both Democratic and Republican Presidents of the United States since Theodore Roosevelt that conservation of our natural resources is a bipartisan, continuing, and never-ending struggle that should have the interest and support of all citizens; and

Whereas the conservation of natural resources is the key to the future because the very existence of our Nation depends on conserving and making wise and efficient use of the resources which are the foundations of its life; and

Whereas it is vital for the continued welfare and prosperity of our citizens that conservation policies be followed in the future for the protection of our natural resources which will make certain that the purpose of "conservation is the greatest good of the greatest number for the longest time"; and

Whereas the most effective way of maintaining such conservation policies is for the greatest possible number of citizens to maintain a continuing interest in the problem of conserving our natural resources; and

Whereas this interest of all citizens will be aroused, renewed, and stimulated through the proper observance of the golden anniversary of the first conference of State governors, which was on conservation problems: Therefore be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) there is hereby established a commission to be known as the National Conservation Memorial Commission (hereinafter referred to in this joint resolution as the "Commission").

(b) The Commission shall be composed of the following members: The President of the United States, who shall be honorary chairman; the President of the Senate and four Members of the Senate appointed by him; the Speaker of the House of Representatives and four Members of the House of Representatives appointed by him. The Commission members shall serve without compensation and shall select a chairman from among their number. The Chairman may, with the advice of the Commission, expand its membership to include fifteen representatives of national nonprofit organizations dedicated to conservation of various natural resources and ten citizens at large from private life.

SEC. 2. It shall be the duty of the Commission to prepare and carry out a comprehensive plan for the observance and commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the first conference of State governors on conservation in the United States and generally promote among all citizens a realization of the importance of protecting the natural resources of the United States. In the preparation of such plan, the Commission shall have the cooperation and assistance of all departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It shall also cooperate with the governors of the individual States in order that there may be proper coordination and correlation of plans for such observance.

SEC. 3 (a) The Commission is authorized to appoint and prescribe the duties and fix the compensation of such employees as are necessary in the execution of its duties and functions.

(b) There is hereby authorized the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this joint resolution, including all necessary traveling and subsistence expenses incurred by the members and employees of the Commission. All expenditures of the Commission shall be allowed and paid upon presentation of itemized vouchers therefor, approved by the Chairman of the observance of the golden anniversary.

(c) The Commission shall cease to exist not later than one year after the date of the observance of the golden anniversary.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT,

Hon. JAMES E. MURRAY,

BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington, D. C., May 15, 1956.

Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs,

United States Senate, Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR MR CHAIRMAN: This will acknowledge your letter of September 1, 1955, inviting the Bureau of the Budget to comment on Senate Joint Resolution 101, a joint resolution to provide for the observance and commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the founding and launching of the conservation movement for the protection of the public interest, of the natural resources of the United States.

This resolution would establish a National Conservation Memorial Commission consisting initially of the President of the United States as Honorary Chairman, the President of the Senate and four members of the Senate appointed by him, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and four members of the House appointed by him. These members would select a Chairman from among themselves and the Chairman could, with the advice of the Commission, add 15 members representing national nonprofit conservation organizations and 10 citizens at large from private life. The Commission would have the function of preparing and carrying out a comprehensive plan for the observance and commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the birth of the conservation movement.

The Bureau of the Budget agrees that the contributions of the conservation movement of the United States to the national welfare have been so important that it is fitting to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its birth. The Bureau

also concurs in the desirability of establishing a Commission to take the leadership in planning and carrying out the anniversary observances. However, we believe that the resolution would be made to conform more closely to comparable past legislation and that the achievement of its objectives would be facilitated if amended as suggested below.

First, it is suggested that the function of appointing representatives of conservation organizations and citizens at large be lodged in the President rather than in the Chairman of the Commission. This is an executive function normally assigned the President. Presidential appointments also carry with them a distinction conducive to the success of a body of this sort. Congress has recognized the desirability of Presidential appointment of citizen members in such recent statutes as those establishing the Jamestown-Williamsburg-Yorktown Celebration Commission (Public Law 263, 83d Cong.), the United States Commission for the Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of John Marshall (Public Law 581, 83d Cong.), the Alexander Hamilton Bicentennial Commission (Public Law 601, 83d Cong.), the Woodrow Wilson Centennial Celebration Commission (Public Law 705, 83d Cong.), the National Monument Commission (Public Law 742, 83d Cong.), the Boston National Historic Sites Commission (Public Law 75, 84th Cong.), the Theodore Roosevelt Centennial Commission (Public Law 183, 84th Cong.), and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Commission (Public Law 372, 84th Cong.).

Second, it is suggested that the resolution provide that the President choose the Chairman of the Commission from among the members appointed by him. If the Commission is to function effectively, the Chairman must be prepared to devote a substantial amount of time to its work. For this reason it would seem desirable for the Chairman to be a person from private life who would not be burdened by the demands of another public office. The appropriate language from the acts establishing the Jamestown-Williamsburg-Yorktown Celebration Commission and the Woodrow Wilson Centennial Commission is recommended. Third, it is suggested that the resolution be amended to add to the Commission the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, or such officials of those departments as the respective Secretaries may designate. The vital role played by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture in the conservation of natural resources fully justifies their being represented on a Commission of the type contemplated by the resolution.

Fourth, the resolution as now worded would authorize a possibly unwieldy membership of 35 persons on the Commission. It is suggested that the President be empowered to limit the size of the Commission by the insertion of the phrase "not more than" before the word "fifteen" in line 10 of page 4 and before the word "ten" in line 12 of page 4.

Fifth, it is suggested that the language authorizing appropriations (section 3 (b)) be replaced by the more general wording appearing in section 6 of the act establishing the Commission for the Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of John Marshall. The effect would be to remove the $100,000 limitation on appropriations. In the case of several of the Commissions mentioned above it has been necessary for the Congress to amend the initial enactments to increase the appropriation limitations so that the organizations could effectively execute their prescribed functions. The Congress would be able to control the funds made available to the Commission through the normal appropriations process. If this measure is amended as suggested above, the Bureau of the Budget would favor its enactment

MY DEAR SENATOR MURRAY: You have requested an expression of the views of this Department on Senate Joint Resolution 101, a resolution to provide for the observance and commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the founding and launching of the conservation movement for the protection in the public interest, of the natural resources of the United States.