1953: President Eisenhower Message

In a published message to Congress entitled, "Program Designed to Conserve and Improve the Nation's Natural Resources," President Dwight D. Eisenhower emphasized the conservation and use of the nation's resources. Eisenhower's message included no mention of wilderness, but praised the "growing recognition on the part of land users and the public generally of the need to strengthen conservation in our upstream watersheds..."

Elsewhere in his message to Congress, the President pointed to his recent State of the Union address in which he "called attention to the vast importance to this Nation now and in the future of our soil and water, our forests and minerals, and our wildlife resources. I indicated the need for a strong Federal program in the field of resource development... In addition to the immediate danger of waster resulting from inadequate conservation measures, we must bear in mind the needs of a growing population and an expanding economy... we shall need to give increased attention to the improvement and reclamation of land in its broadest aspects, including soil productivity, irrigation, drainage, and the replenishing of ground-water reserves, if we are adequately to feed and clothe our people, to provide gainful employment, and to continue to improve our standard of living."

Source:

"Program Designed to Conserve and Improve the Nation's Natural Resources" Message from The President of the United States, July 31, 1953, 83d Congress, 1st Session, House of Representatives, Document No. 221.