ing studies in 33 subject areas. Its 342-page report entitled One Third of the Nation's Land was presented to the President in June 1970. The Golden Eagle Program established user fees for the use of public facilities, and the money went into a Land and Water Conservation Fund to provide more facilities. There was also a Wilderness Act for national parks, forests and wildlife refuges, and provisions to preserve wild and scenic rivers.

In preparing for the challenges of the new decade, these things seem certain: The demand for the disposal of public land will continue but, when all outstanding obligations are met, a large area of public domain will remain in public ownership. BLM will continue to make public land available to meet the needs of States, local government, institutions and individuals where it is in the public interest to do so. The Bureau will continue to sell or exchange land as it seeks to block up its holding into more efficient administrative units. State selections of land authorized under the various statehood acts may be completed by the end of the decade.

The need for public land resources such as forage, timber and minerals will continue. A growing population means a greater demand for public land resources. BLM will continue to manage the land to produce goods for the American people. Intensive programs like the Vale Project, which was established in western Oregon in 1962 to upgrade more than 6 million acres of semi-arid rangeland, will be initiated to improve public land grazing. Continuing research to develop more productive strains of trees, investigation into the possibilities of fertilization of forest land and more intensive management of standing timber, such as pre-commercial thinning, will increase the timber harvest on public lands. These lands will continue to make

a significant contribution toward meeting the Nation's mineral needs while better regulations and improved mining technology protect the land's surface from unnecessary damage.

The demand for recreation opportunities on the public lands will increase and possibly become the greatest future use of public land. At present levels of management, the increase in recreation-use through the next decade would overtax existing facilities and severely threaten the ecological stability of the land and its resources. BLM plans now call for new development to accommodate five times the capacity of existing recreational facilities. Much of this new development will meet the need for family-type recreation such as camping, picnicking and hiking.

Through the multiple-use policies initiated in the Sixties, public land will provide new recreational opportunity while continuing to meet the public's need for forage, timber and other traditional resources. BLM will continue to protect and enhance such intangible values as scenic beauty, open space and solitude. All programs and decisions affecting the public lands will be carefully weighed in light of their eventual effect on the total environment.

BLM's challenge for the Seventies, then, is threefold: It must continue to provide for the need of traditional users of public land resources; it must prepare to accommodate a wide variety of new uses; and above all, it must protect the integrity of the land. This will require more and better planning and more intensive management of all the land's resources. It will require imagination and innovation on the part of BLM personnel and support from the public.

Of the 16 million acres of arid land in southern California commonly known as the California Desert, 11 million acres are public land. Because of its location, the

desert offers recreational opportunity and aesthetic attractions to millions of Americans living in the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas. It is a region of snow-capped mountains, deep basins, archeological sites, historic areas, fossil beds and a lot of open space and breath-taking scenery.

The yearly increase in numbers of visitors to BLM desert scenic areas suggests a horde of 50 million visitors a year by the year 2000.

The desert's fragile ecology is already suffering from overuse. Unless something is done, the impact of so much unregulated and uncontrolled traffic will soon destroy the very things that visitors come to find.

In 1968, BLM began a detailed study of the problem and has now proposed a management plan designed to allow as much use of the desert as is consistent with protection of the desert ecology.

The plan calls for more intensive recreational management to preserve the desert's soil and its plants, animals, artifacts and scenery. The plan proposes the establishment of a uniformed ranger force to enforce use regulations. It also calls for additional facilities such as roads to make more remote areas accessible, interpretation centers to explain the desert ecology, and centers for cultural and scientific studies of the arid environment.

More than 2 million acres of BLM lands in western Oregon produce approximately 1.3 billion board feet of Douglas fir timber each year and play a major role in the stability of the local economy. In recent years, there has been significant growth in the recreational use of these lands and a growing recognition of the role the forest plays in maintaining the stream quality and in protecting the soil. In 1966, BLM initiated a study of its policy of allowable cut in light of the total environmental picture.

One objective of this study was to determine how much timber could be harvested from these lands on a sustained yield basis without damaging other resource values. In 1970, BLM proposed a reduction of allowable cut. A significant factor in this reduction was a proposal to withdraw certain areas from all timber production to protect other resource values. At the same time, BLM proposed a program of intensified management to increase the yield of timber on those areas where timber production is considered the primary value. Secretary Morton ordered the first phases of the BLM plan implemented. Further economic impact studies are being made.

Beginning with the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, the Federal Government has sought out and set aside areas from the public domain that have exceptional scenic beauty or unique resources for the enjoyment of all the people. In addition to those areas that have been reserved for national parks, there remain countless areas with outstanding aesthetic qualities. As the Nation has grown, population pressures and rising demand for recreational opportunity have increased the use of these areas and at the same time threatened their ruin because use has not been properly regulated and planned. BLM has now started to identify and manage outstanding scenic or otherwise unique areas of public land for their

aesthetic and recreational values.

Outstanding among these projects to date have been: The Red Rocks Canyon National Recreation Area near Las Vegas, Nevada-a 70,000-acre area dedicated to recreational use and the preservation of its unique plant and animal life and its historical and archeological values.

The Aravaipa Canyon Primitive Area and the Paria Canyon Primitive Area, both in Arizona-set aside to provide wilderness experience for visitors and to preserve

environmental values.

The Rio Grande River Canyon in northern New Mexico and the Rogue River in Oregon-set aside to preserve wild and scenic values. The Rogue River is managed by BLM and the U.S. Forest Service.

The Department of the Interior has also proposed the establishment of a National Scenic Area in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska.

Almost one-fifth of the Nation's land area remains in public ownership under administration of Interior's Bureau of Land Management. Space-wise it is our safety valve and gives us room for adjustment. If we respond with wisdom instead of greed, it can provide us with a quality environment for the foreseeable future. But we must manage it well.

Johnny Horizon

Secretary Morton presents the Johnny Horizon National Award for Environmental improvement to the Boy Scouts of America.

Counting Our Treasures

he earth-specifically the thin outer shell or crust-is the "cornucopia" from which we obtain our vital resources. Getting to know the earth's crust is what the Geological Survey is all about. This agency seeks answers to basic questions about our land, water, soil and minerals: How they interract under varying natural conditions, and how they are affected and altered by man and his works.

Established in 1879, the Geological Survey is the largest earth science research agency of the Interior Department. Its earliest functions fostered westward migration by gathering knowledge of that unexplored territory. But it is also one of the most futuristic of Interior's components; its special knowledge and skills are part of the space age. Interpretations of the moon's surface have helped man reach the moon, and soon, "remote sensing" specialists will interpret data from earth-orbiting satellites designed to delineate and assess a variety of environmental problems.

To build the cornerstones of a quality environment, it

is necessary to understand the forces and stresses of nature which, through more than four billion years, have shaped our land and its waters. To use our resources wisely, while at the same time protecting them from degradation, requires a knowledgeable assessment and inventorying.

Through research, the Geological Survey solves basic problems in hydrology, geology, geochemistry, geophysics and mapping, and develops new techniques and methods for appraising and conserving minerals and water. These investigations require the concerted efforts of many kinds of scientists, engineers and technical assistants, and the data they gather help solve problems related to the Nation's technological and population growth.

At this environmental crossroad in the Nation's history, the geological sciences may well emerge as the most critical science, and the Survey's role in helping solve environmental problems of the 70's promises to increase.

An example of Survey's involvement in environmental studies can be found in San Francisco where it is now engaged in studies of the San Francisco Bay area. In a geologist's terms this is a tectonically active area-a place where the earth is subject to stress. Large-scale horizontal and vertical movements are taking place, but so slowly that they are noticeable only over a span of many years,

unless a sudden movement occurs that results in an earth

quake. Teams of geologists and seismologists survey and observe the traces of the faults along which movements have occurred in the past so as to gain a measure of the likelihood of future movements and their related earthquakes.

Landslide-prone and other potentially unstable areas are identified and surveyed by engineering geologists. Dangers of sliding can be greatly heightened during an earthquake and compounded by increased development on marshlands or on fill marginal to San Francisco Bay.

In cooperation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Geological Survey is developing maps showing slope, landslide potential, faults, ground characteristics, hydrologic data and other information on which sound land-use planning in the San Francisco Bay area depends. County and city planners will be kept informed as the program develops. This data will provide information on which local building codes, ordinances and zoning controls can be established.

Many millions of Americans are coming to realize that man must maintain a reliable inventory of physical characteristics affecting air, water, land, forests, minerals and streams. Without such an inventory, our efforts to maintain the "integrity" of the environment and to use it most efficiently are severely handicapped.

The topographic map is a key tool for maintaining this inventory because it depicts existing physical features and helps show how these features can be used to advantage.

The Geological Survey is carrying out a national topographic mapping program responsive to our urgent needs. The National Topographic Map Series includes 10 different kinds of maps. However, the principal standard map made by the Survey is the general-purpose topographic map covering a 71/2-minute quadrangle at a scale of 1:24,000

(1 inch on the map represents 2,000 feet on the ground). Map coverage at this scale is now available for about 56 percent of the total area of the United States. An additional 24 percent of the total area is covered with useable maps at a scale of 1:62,500 (1 inch represents 1 mile). The Survey plans to complete the coverage in one or the other of these scales in the 1970's.

As the environment changes, existing maps become outdated and reliability of the inventory deteriorates. An important step toward solving this problem was taken recently when the Geological Survey adopted an "interimrevision" program. New information is compiled from aerial photographs and subsequently printed in purple on the outdated map. This low-cost, rapid-production method of updating maps, shows new features such as interstate highways, industrial plants and suburban areas where rapid land developments are taking place.

The Geological Survey, in cooperation with HUD, is preparing an orthophotomap of the San Francisco Bay area. Such a map-combining the best of aerial photography and standard mapping techniques can be used in transportation planning, urban renewal and development, and hydrologic, geologic and engineering studies.

The Survey has also produced an experimental orthophotomap of the Prudhoe Bay area, Alaska, and is now

producing more than 20 orthophotomaps of the frozen marshlands between the Arctic Ocean and the Brooks Range in Alaska. These maps will be used in support of oil drilling and trans-Alaska pipeline activities.

Since 1968, when the first orthophotomaps covering the Okefenokee Swamp were published, twenty 71/2-minute orthophotomaps have been published in sales editions at 1:24,000 scale, and more than 200 new orthophotomaps are being prepared.

High-altitude jet aircraft photography and space-age photography offer a new technology that man can use for his benefit. The Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) program of the Interior Department, administered by the Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is aimed at applying remote sensing data obtained from air and space technology to exploration, management and conservation of the earth's resources.

Experiments conducted from aircraft have shown the effectiveness of remote sensing in detecting such environmental problems as subsurface coal-mine fires and the presence of potential sinkholes in limestone areas; in monitoring thermal, biochemical and silt pollution in the Nation's waterways; in outlining wet ground which might indicate areas containing potential building problems; in

delineating the source and extent of aggregates for highways and building construction; and in pinpointing sources of air pollution. Additional studies are being made by Interior bureaus to improve our capability to locate food fish; to determine the conditions of rangeland, protect these lands and improve stock production at the same time; to study erosion and changes along the coastlines and major rivers; and to identify trees that are under attack by insects or disease. All these studies will provide a basis for interpreting pictures coming from the initial experimental earth resources satellites planned for launching in 1972.

Design specifications have already been set up for this earth resources technology satellite (ERTS). Such a satellite will provide very large area views that would otherwise require hundreds of photos from aircraft. Also, repetition photos from space will record landscape changes as they occur. Information gained from ERTS will be available to those concerned with such studies and activities as agriculture, forestry, oceanography, geology, hydrology, geography and cartography. All nations will share the benefits.

Beyond topography, the chemistry of our land, and its impact on life, is also a matter for study by Survey scientists. In the present national concern over chemical pollution of the environment, it is frequently forgotten that there

is considerable variation in the natural abundance of the chemical elements in the land. When the activities of a modern society result in the concentration of a chemical substance rising to a level hazardous to man's well-being, we call it "pollution," but medical researchers now suspect that naturally occurring levels of some elements may be high enough in some areas to have subtle, but large-scale effects on animals and vegetation, and on the health of the people of the region.

The Geological Survey for many years has been studying the variations in chemical composition of rock, soil, vegetation and water, and patterns of chemical variations have been used as prospecting guides to high concentrations of economically valuable elements. The experience gained now provides environmental scientists and medical researchers with a measure of the background levels of elements that can be expected under natural or normal conditions.

Many diseases exhibit definite geographic patterns in their rates of occurrence and severity, giving strong evidence of ties between environment and health. In addition, clinical studies are showing the importance of chemical substances, especially trace metals, in the human body. The chemical character of the environment is regarded by medical researchers as one of the most important environmental aspects.

The Geological Survey has several studies underway in direct cooperation with medical research groups. One, in cooperation with the U.S. Public Health Service, is a study of geochemical environments in two areas of Georgia that have highly different rates of death due to cardiovascular causes. Results to date show that the geochemistry of the two areas differs vastly. The area with the higher death rate contains significantly lower amounts of a number of trace elements in the soils and vegetation.

The largest Survey program in environmental geochemistry is being conducted with the University of Missouri in support of the school's epidemiological investigations. The program is concerned with the geochemistry of rocks, soils, vegetation and water. Although chemical elements may enter the human and animal food chain primarily through water and vegetation, their fundamental sources are the underlying bedrock and soils.

In general, health hazards due to excesses and deficiencies of chemical elements in the environment have been recognized only where the imbalance is so great that the effects are obvious. It is reasonable to expect that a great many more subtle relationships will be identified, but only through intensive study.

Prevention of environmental degradation is of paramount concern to the Survey in carrying out its responsibilities for managing federally owned minerals that are subject to lease and for overseeing the extractive industry's operations in locating, developing and producing such minerals.

In its programs, the Survey works to lessen, through proper supervision of all phases of lease operations, the possibilities of environmental pollution. These operations involve fluids, such as oil and gas, and minerals recovered through conventional mining methods, such as coal and