Conservation Of The United States Essay

1793 Words8 Pages

Conservation of the United States natural resources, including our water, land, ecosystems and animals, is a large issue facing our government. There are several policies that are currently in effect, such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, which provide much needed support to conservation efforts. But conservation for the entirety of the United States is a vast task, and acts often do not receive the support or funding they need to accomplish their goals.
Conservation is a pressing issue because many of the United States land are being damaged and destroyed, our waters quality is worsening in many areas making it virtually unusable. Both of these factors, as well as human expansion also affects our native wildlife, shrinking their populations and ecosystems, and driving some species into endangerment or even extinction.
In the United States, our soil is being lost ten times faster that it can naturally be replenished (Soil, Science). According to “What We Do to Protect …show more content…

The conservation requirements have two main parts, Swampbuster and sodbuster. In order to qualify for federal farm bill programs, farmers couldn’t drain wetlands to meet the Swampbuster requirement, and they couldn’t farm on easily erodible ground without a conservation plan to meet the sodbuster requirement. These requirements should not be difficult to meet as there are several conservation methods that would be simple to put into practice, and will benefit the farmer and their land in the long run. For land that erodes easily, three ways to meet these requirements would be no till, cover crops, and rotating perennial crops, such as corn and soybeans or alfalfa (NWF Farm Bill). Studies of crop rotation have shown that it often improves the yield of the crops as well as improving the soil contents and reducing the amount of sprays and other chemicals needed (Crop