munities develop in harmony with their environment, rather than mangling the environment in the process of developing communities. This is the heart of sound land management, whether it be the management of public lands, which comprise about one-third of this Nation's territory, or whether it be the management of privately owned acreage.

We can, with planning, help free our communities of industrial sprawl, erosion, air and highway traffic jams, and the kinds of construction that foster pollution. We can bring more parks to places where people live-to urban areas where the natural environment has been overshadowed by concrete towers and where outdoor recreation space has been gobbled up haphazardly for shortterm gain at the expense of environmental balance and the long range interest of all. We can protect the quality of life in the neighborhoods of America by planning new construction with care. We can preserve the fragile areas of our land by monitoring and regulating the activity permitted upon them.

Primary responsibility and authority for land-use planning and management of non-federal lands

rests with State and local governments, to be sure. But a national responsibility does exist to protect the total environment of our land, and this can only be accomplished by maintaining a consistent land-use ethic from coast to coast.

With a national land-use policy, formulated so that the property holder can still realize a reasonable return on his investment, we can keep development within the bounds of a general morality-a morality based on appreciation for

the natural resources and a respect for the quality of human life.

Conservation in this sense neither begins nor ends with government, although governments at all levels must continually strive to give environmental considerations the highest priority. It is a responsibility inherent in our daily activities-within our commerce and industry, within our communities and neighborhoods, and even within the family circle, right down to the individual citizen whose litter is multiplied by 206 million daily.

Interest in the total environment should be on a level with economic interests or social interests, because it is the product of the interrelationship of both. It cannot be given a secondary place in our planning, either national or personal planning.

The President's 1971 Enivronmental Message to Congress ended with a plea for better, more informed citizen participation in all environmental matters. He noted that our educational system, at all levels, has a critical role to play. And he added:

"As our nation comes to grips with our environmental problems, we will find that difficult choices have to be made, that substantial costs have to be met, and that sacrifices have to be made. Environmental quality cannot be achieved cheaply or easily. But I believe the American people are ready to do what is necessary.

"This nation has met great challenges before. I believe we shall meet this challenge. I call upon all Americans to dedicate themselves during the decade of the seventies to the goal of restoring the environment and reclaiming the earth for ourselves and our posterity. And I invite all

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peoples everywhere to join us in this great endeavor. Together, we can hold this good earth in trust. We must-and together we canprove ourselves worthy of that trust."

As far back as the turn of this century, Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt spoke of planning in the development of resources and the right of the people to have their stake in a living land protected.

It is to these ends that the Department of the Interior will direct its missions. Its responsibilities include management of public lands, development of public resources, preservation of wildlife and, in sum, protection of the well-being of people, through protection of the land base upon which they depend.