Tolman Attends White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation
(8-31-05)
National Corn
Growers Association (NCGA) CEO Rick Tolman attended the White House
Conference on Cooperative Conservation in St. Louis this week where
shared governance and citizen stewardship were emphasized.
“It was
impressive to see so much emphasis on conversation,” Tolman
said.
Tolman was scheduled
to give a presentation, “The Public’s Misconception of
Corn,” but because of time restraints, he was not able to. Instead,
he handed a copy to Johnson, who said he’s anxious to read it.
Tolman said he
emphasized how farmers are conservationists with a vested interest
in the land.
“The National
Corn Growers Association has a strong conservation ethic and we believe
that as good stewards of the land our members must maintain its productivity
by retaining nutrients in the soil, reducing soil erosion and managing
crop inputs,” Tolman’s presentation noted. “Our
members have a commitment to their communities to ensure that they
have clean water, and healthy, viable soil to ensure the land is productive
for many years to come.”
Four members of
President George W. Bush’s cabinet attended the event: Secretary
of Agriculture Mike Johanns; Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; Secretary
of the Interior Gale Norton; and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson also
attended.
In the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch, Michele St. Martin, spokeswoman for Bush’s Council
on Environmental Quality, said, “The White House conference
on cooperative conservation is a national assembly—the first
of its kind in 40 years—aimed at strengthening conservation
partnerships with states, tribes and local communities”
“It was
very well attended by a wide range of groups that we might not normally
come in contact with: foundations, wildlife conservation groups at
local and national level, and sportsman’s groups,” said
Tolman. “There were several case studies of groups working together
for mutual benefit. And in all cases, the results were a win-win situation
for the parties involved.”
Tolman said one
interesting study focused on a sportsman’s group helping farmers.
The sportsman’s group contributed money to farmers in order
to plant more trees and grasses. Farmers benefited from reduced soil
erosion, and the sportsman’s group supplied cover for wildlife.