markets. We will not accomplish that goal by telling the farmer how much he can grow or the rancher how much livestock he can raise. Fidelity to this principle will have the welcome effect of encouraging both fair food prices for consumers and growing income from the marketplace for farmers. -We must reduce the farmer's dependence on Government payments through increased returns from sales of farm products at home and abroad. Because some of our current methods of handling farm problems are outmoded, the farmer has been unfairly saddled with the unflattering image of drinking primarily at the Federal well. Let us remember that more than 93 percent of gross farm income comes directly through the marketplace. Farmers and ranchers are strong and independent businessmen; we should expand their opportunity to exercise their strength and independence. -Finally, we need a program that will put the United States in a good posture for forthcoming trade negotiations. In pursuing all of these goals, we will work closely through the Secretary of Agriculture with the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture to formulate and enact new legislation in areas where it is needed. I believe, for example, that dairy support systems, wheat, feed grains and cotton allotments and bases-some established decades ago are drastically outdated. They tend to be discriminatory for many farm operators. It would be desirable to establish, after a reasonable transition period, a more equitable basis for production adjustment in the agricultural economy should such adjustment be needed in the years ahead. Direct Federal payments should, at the end of the transition period, be limited to the amounts necessary to compensate farmers for withholding unneeded land from crop production. As new farm legislation is debated in the months ahead, I hope the Congress will address this important subject with a deep appreciation of the need to keep the Government off the farm as well as keeping the farmer on. PROTECTING OUR NATURAL HERITAGE An important measure of our true commitment to environmental quality is our dedication to protecting the wilderness and its inhabitants. We must recognize their ecological significance and preserve them as sources of inspiration and education. And we need them as places of quiet refuge and reflection. Important progress has been made in recent years, but still further action is needed in the Congress. Specifically, I will ask the 93rd Congress to direct its attention to the following areas of concern: -Endangered Species. The limited scope of existing laws requires new authority to identify and protect endangered species before they are so depleted that it is too late. New legislation must also make the taking of an endangered animal a Federal offense. -Predator Control. The widespread use of highly toxic poisons to kill coyotes and other predatory animals has spread persistent poisons to range and forest lands without adequate foresight of environmental effects. I believe Federal assistance is now required so that we can find better means of controlling predators without endangering other wildlife. -Wilderness Areas. Historically, Americans have always looked westward to enjoy wilderness areas. Today we realize that we must also preserve the remaining areas of wilderness in the East, if the majority of our people are to have the full benefit of our natural glories. Therefore I will ask the Congress to amend the legislation that established the Wilderness Preservation System so that more of our Eastern lands can be included. -Wild and Scenic Rivers. New legislation is also needed to continue our expansion of the national system of wild and scenic rivers. Funding authorization must be increased by $20 million to complete acquisitions in seven areas, and we must extend the moratorium on Federal licensing for water resource projects on those rivers being considered for inclusion in the system. -Big Cypress National Fresh Water Preserve. It is our great hope that we can create a reserve of Florida's Big Cypress Swamp in order to protect the outstanding wildlife in that area, preserve the water supply of Everglades National Park and provide the Nation with an outstanding recreation area. Prompt passage of Federal legislation would allow the Interior Department to forestall private or commercial development and inflationary pressures that will build if we delay. -Protecting Marine Fisheries. Current regulation of fisheries off U.S. coasts is inadequate to conserve and manage these resources. Legislation is needed to authorize U.S. regulation of foreign fishing off U.S. coasts to the fullest extent authorized by international agreements. In addition, domestic fishing should be regulated in the U.S. fisheries zone and in the high seas beyond that zone. -World Heritage Trust. The United States has endorsed an international convention for a World Heritage Trust embodying our proposals to accord special recognition and protection to areas of the world which are of such unique natural, historical, or cultural value that they are a part of the heritage of all mankind. I am hopeful that this convention will be ratified early in 1973. -Weather Modification. Our capacity to affect the weather has grown considerably in sophistication and predictability, but with this advancement has also come a new potential for endangering lives and property and causing adverse environmental effects. With additional Federal regulations, I believe that we can minimize these dangers. MEETING OUR ENERGY NEEDS One of the highest priorities of my Administration during the com ing year will be a concern for energy supplies—a concern underscored this winter by occasional fuel shortages. We must face up to a stark fact in America: we are now consuming more energy than we produce. A year and a half ago I sent to the Congress the first Presidential message ever devoted to the energy question. I shall soon submit a new and far more comprehensive energy message containing wide-ranging initiatives to ensure necessary supplies of energy at acceptable economic and environmental costs. In the meantime, to help meet immediate needs, I have temporarily suspended import quotas on home heating oil east of the Rocky Mountains. As we work to expand our supplies of energy, we should also recognize that we must balance those efforts with our concern to preserve our environment. In the past, as we have sought new energy sources, we have too often damaged or despoiled our land. Actions to avoid such damage will probably aggravate our energy problems to some extent and may lead to higher prices. But all development and use of energy sources carries environmental risks, and we must find ways to minimize those risks while also providing adequate supplies of energy. I am fully confident that we can satisfy both of these imperatives. GOING FORWARD IN CONFIDENCE The environmental awakening of recent years has triggered substantial progress in the fight to preserve and renew the great legacies of nature. Unfortunately, it has also triggered a certain tendency to despair. Some people have moved from complacency to the opposite extreme of alarmism, suggesting that our pollution problems were hopeless and predicting impending ecological disaster. Some have suggested that we could never reconcile environmental protection with continued economic growth. I reject this doomsday mentality-and I hope the Congress will also reject it. I believe that we can meet our environmental challenges without turning our back on progress. What we must do is to stop the hand-wringing, roll up our sleeves and get on with the job. The advocates of defeatism warn us of all that is wrong. But I believe they underestimate this Nation's genius for responsive adaptability and its enormous reservoir of spirit. I believe there is always a sensible middle ground between the Cassandras and the Pollyannas. We must take our stand upon that ground. I have profound respect for the enormous challenge ahead, but I have even stronger respect for the capacity and character of the American people. Many of us have heard the adage that the last letters of the word, "American," say "I can." I am confident that we can, and we will, meet our natural resource challenges. The White House, February 15, 1973. RICHARD NIXON . National land use policy* Powerplant siting* Wetlands protection* Preservation of historic buildings* Public lands management* Transfers of Federal properties for park and Relocation of Federal facilities* Land and Water Conservation Fund amendments* Reform of laws for mining and mineral leasing on Mined area protection* American Agriculture Work with the Congress to expand farm production and incomes through greater freedom for farmers to make production and marketing decisions minimizing direct Federal payments developing a more equitable method for providing agricultural production adjustments when they are needed Controlling Pollution Toxic substances control⭑ Controlling land disposal of hazardous wastes* Sulfur oxides emissions charge* Sediment control* Controlling impacts of transportation U.S. contribution to UN Environment Fund* Approval of international convention on ocean Approval and implementation of IMCO marine pollu- Protecting Our Natural Heritage Wild and scenic rivers Big Cypress National Fresh Water Reserve* Protection of marine fisheries Ratification of World Heritage Trust convention DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAM MANAGING THE LAND National Land Use Policy A National Land Use Policy Act would authorize Federal assistance to encourage the States, in cooperation with local governments, to protect lands which are of critical environmental concern and to control major development, including airport and highway siting. One hundred seventy million dollars would be authorized over five years to assist the States in this effort $40 million in each of the first two years and $30 million in each of the next three years. - Any State that fails to establish an acceptable land use program within three years from enactment would be subject to cumulative reductions of up to 21 percent of the funds allocated to the State under the Airport and Airway Development Act, the Federal-Aid Highway Acts, including the Highway Trust Fund, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Powerplant Siting A new powerplant siting law would assure that needed electric power facilities are constructed on a timely basis and require early and thorough review of longrange plans and specific proposals for plants and transmission lines to protect environmental values. The powerplant siting law being submitted this year has a number of significant improvements over the legislation submitted by the Administration to the 92nd Congress. Early identification of long-range power needs on a yearly basis would be accompanied by the review and comment of public agencies and members of the |