The two biggest issues facing Washington today are homeland security and economic stimulus. Ever since the terrorist attack on 9/11, homeland security has dominated policy decisions and completely rearranged the federal bureaucracy and federal budget. Having recently traveled by air, it occurred to me just how much our lives and daily routines have changed in the name of homeland security.

The issue of an economic stimulus was such a powerful issue that it completely changed the outcome of a presidential campaign in just a few weeks. Currently, Congress is about to spend a trillion dollars to stimulate the economy, create jobs, and give us all enough confidence and credit that we will once again go shopping and go into debt up to our eyeballs. Yet, one group that has the answer to homeland security and economic stimulus is being overlooked by the media and our national leaders. This group had the answer with a price tag of much less than a trillion dollars.

The reason this group is overlooked is because they do not do their work in Washington. This is heresy to most political leaders who feel Washington is the only place that problems can be solved. While this group uses federal dollars, they give them to the people who actually do the work to solve the problems. This is also a foreign concept for those inside the Washington beltway who feel special interests, think tanks, and consultants are the places to spend money to solve problems.

This group also believes on accountability. When the money is spent there is something to show for it - again something Washington would never stand.

Who is this group and what is their solution? The group is the Soil and Water Conservation Districts around the United States, and its solution is soil and water conservation. Now, before you dismiss me as being a few bricks shy of a load, let me make my case.

Homeland security

Every single day part of this country is stolen. Inch-by-inch, mile-by-mile, the physical land mass that is the United States is stolen. It is washed downstream or blown across borders. Lack of conservation practices is diminishing our nation.

Not exactly front-page news? How about this?

Much of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina would have been avoided by conservation. Lack of proper conservation in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast resulted in greater flooding and damage than would otherwise have been the case.

Take, for example, the flood that hit Indiana last year. On the land where conservation practices had been put in place, there was little or no damage. The conservation practices held.
Economic stimulus

The purpose of the stimulus package now being crafted in Washington is to put people back to work and create economic activity.

That is exactly what installing conservation practices on the land would do. Making these improvements to our public and private land would create millions of jobs and would generate economic activity at the local level. It has been estimated that each conservation dollar generate six times as much economic activity in the community.

Instead of leaving a legacy of debt for future generations as the Washington plan would do, conservation leaves a legacy of sustained environmental improvement for future generations to enjoy.

The cost

As for cost, I am sure someone has figured out what it would cost to bring conservation sustainability to the entire nation, but not me. Ray McCormick from the board of directors of the Indiana Assoc. of Soil and Water Conservation Districts did, however, tell me what it would cost to make conservation sustainable in the state. He said it would cost $27 million in 2009.

This would result in about $162 million in economic stimulus activity in our state this year.

Replicate this in greater or lesser degrees in other states, and you could revitalize local communities and make real improvements to our environment. Unfortunately, conservation has seldom been popular in Washington. Naming a grass waterway after your senator just does not impress them much. Yet, with the President talking “green” and Congress desperate to prove to us they know what they are doing about the economy, perhaps there is window of opportunity for conservation.

Indiana has such an opportunity. With just 1.5 million additional dollars allocated to the Clean Water Indiana fund, the state could receive $25 million in matching funds. This would allow the state to make conservation sustainable and generate $162 million in economic activity in local communities hit hard by job loss and recession.

Just think Gov. Daniels: a $162 million economic stimulus package for only $1.5 million added spending. While the state budget is tight, this looks like an offer too good to pass up.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.