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Show Nation's Soil - Water Conservation Districts Play Major Role in Rebuilding Rural America Secretary of Agriculture Or-villo Or-villo Freeman said the nation's soil and water conservation dis- j tricts have an exciting and challenging chal-lenging rolo in rebuilding the; gates of rural America so they open in as well as out, reports Elmer O. Gurr, chairman of the Iron County Soil Conservation district. Freeman, in a talk prepared for the 20th annual meeting of the National Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts at New Orleans, said the greatest contribution that rural leader- provide greater opportunity for more people. When wise use of natural resources re-sources is combined with the programs of health and education educa-tion to improve human resources, we see more clearly that conservation conser-vation is concerned not with nature na-ture alone, but with the total relation between man and the world around him, Freeman said. The objective is to raise the quality of life and to give it new dimension. ship can make today is to enable en-able more pleople to live rich and rewarding lives where the space is in the countryside. He emphasized the countryside must be equipped with adequate educational and health services, water and sanitation systems, facilities for job training, social services and cultural activities. It also must provide more industries, indus-tries, businesses and service institutions, in-stitutions, since the people who live there must be able to work there. Soil conservation district leaders lead-ers who today apply their skills in conservation planning and practices to the broad range of natural resource uses essential to communniy development have a vital role to play in this undertaking, under-taking, he said. Of the new tools in rural development, de-velopment, Freeman cited President Presi-dent Johnson's proposed Community Commu-nity Development District concept con-cept as one of the most promising promis-ing for the advancement of the soil conservation district principles. princi-ples. Through these new proposed pro-posed districts, he said soil conservation con-servation district leaders can help achieve the conditions necessary nec-essary for economic and social advancement in rural areas and |