Editorally Speaking...

Editors Note:

The following editorial appeared in the Monday, April 27, 1970 edition of the Chicago Tribune.

Since this editorial was important to us, it was felt that you, too, might enjoy reading it, if you had not already done so.

"The Nixon administration is proposing a substantial increase in federal spending for acquisition of new park and recreation areas. The increase is substantial, that is, in terms of percentages, though a 50 per cent increase in the land and water conservation fund brings it to only 300 million dollars a year. The previous rate of 200 million has been little more than half appropriated in recent years, so much has the government's devotion to conservation been a matter of talk rather than action.

Now, however. Assistant Secretary of the Interior Harrison Loesch has told the House interior affairs committee that the President wants the current 200 million dollar allocation fully appropriated and increased 50 per cent for the following year. As the land and water conservation fund consists of money raised through user fees, offshore oil leases, etc., rather than money taken from general revenue, this is a painless as well as a worthwhile point at which to increase spending.

The purchase of wilderness and recreation areas is not something that can well be deferred until later. The privately held acreage most worth conserving is in grave danger of irretrievable exploitation. Delay will mean not only higher prices but, even worse, outright loss for posterity of natural landscapes.

We are glad to see the Nixon administration urge putting some money where its mouth is. We urge our readers, also, to go on record as supporting conservation of portions of America for the recreational use and the spiritual refreshment of future generations."

July/August 1970 Illinois Parks 101