For immediate release For more information:
Monday, August 6, 2001 Joe Shannahan, 515-281-0173

Vilsack releases private lands conservation report at National Governors
Association meeting

PROVIDENCE, RI - Governor Tom Vilsack released a new National Governors
Association (NGA) report at the NGA summer meeting that emphasizes the
importance of conserving the nation's natural resources on our working
lands - our farms, forests, and ranches - through streamlined,
coordinated, and better funded policies.  Vilsack is attending the
National Governors Association summer meeting in Providence, Rhode Island.

"We need to think of private lands conservation in terms of rural economic
development," Vilsack said. "Landowners cannot be expected to shoulder the
full cost of implementing conservation practices or taking land out of
production without compensation. By working in public/private
partnerships, we can provide financial support to private landowners - in
a simple, flexible way - to protect our natural resources and achieve
tremendous public benefit."

Vilsack explained to fellow governors the need for greater incentives for
landowners to employ the best conservation practices to be successful.  A
coordinated, flexible and adequately funded program would offer landowners
a number of opportunities to plant buffer strips, restore wetlands,
preserve wildlife habitat, reduce air and water pollution and combat urban
sprawl.  Vilsack has been a leader in this area with passage of the Clean
Water Initiative during the 2000 legislative session, and Iowa also leads
the nation with the most acres enrolled in the federal Conservation Buffer
Initiative.

"Private lands conservation provides the stewards of our nation's working
lands the tools to produce public 'environmental goods' in conjunction
with food and fiber commodities," Vilsack said.  "All Americans benefit
from improved air and water quality, enhanced fish and wildlife habitat,
more fertile and productive soil, expanded recreational opportunities and
the overall increased quality of life."

Approximately 1.4 billion acres of our nation are in agricultural
production, 98 million acres are developed, and 402 million acres are
federally owned.  Working lands conservation provides a third approach to
environmental protection alternative to the traditional approaches of
regulation or public acquisition of land.

"States have a unique opportunity to provide leadership in forming a
state/federal partnership that can produce a simple, flexible program to
help our farmers, forest landowners and ranchers in producing these
'conservation commodities'," Vilsack said.

Vilsack is a working with Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate
Agriculture Committee, to expand the role of private lands conservation
programs in the next federal farm bill.  Vilsack chairs the NGA's Natural
Resources Committee and is a national leader on private lands
conservation.  The NGA report "Private Lands, Public Benefits: Principles
for Advancing Working Lands Conservation" is the result of the NGA's
national conference that Vilsack chaired in March of this year.  It is
available at www.nga.org <http://www.nga.org>
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