The Corps of Engineers and
the American Environment:
Past, Present, and Future
By Lieutenant General J. W. Morris*
Chief of Engineers, United States Army
In Washington, D.C., my office desk sits between two
livable environment, there can be little real value in an
framed quotations by two great Americans; each quota-
e v e r - i n c r e a s i n g G r o s s N a t i o n a l P r o d u c t . If the average
tion describes a representative mission of the Army
American's "quality of life" m u s t d e t e r i o r a t e a s o u r
Corps of Engineers. One of these is by Mark Twain,
economy and population grow, then "growth" can hardly
who said, in 1882:
be desirable.
Because some degree of "environmental conscious-
The Military Engineers have taken upon
ness" has become commonplace, some of our citizens
their shoulders the job of making the
Mississippi over again - a j o b t r a n s c e n d e d i n
find it hard to understand why many of our institutions
and government agencies have not always been closely
size only by the original job of creating it.
identified with these currently accepted environmental
The other is an 1895 quotation from John Muir, the
policies. In fact, the more strident environmentalists do
famous turn of the century conservationist and founder
not hide their distaste and contempt for large segments of
of the Sierra Club:
American industry and for many governmental agencies
The best service in forest protection,
which traditionally have emphasized economic develop-
almost the only efficient service, is that ren-
ment goals rather than environmental preservation.
dered by the military. For many years they
A l t h o u g h I think I understand such extreme views, I
have guarded the great Yellowstone Park,
would remind those who hold them that institutions,
and now they are guarding Yosemite. They
e c o n o m i c systems, a n d agencies w i t h i n d e m o c r a t i c
have found it a desert, as far as underbrush,
governments almost always reflect the predominant
grass and flowers are concerned, but in two
economic and social forces of their age; very rarely in-
years the skin of the mountains is healthy
deed can a government agency give complete deference
again. Blessings on Uncle Sam's soldiers as
to the values of a future generation in preference to those
they have done the job well, and every pine
of the current generation. And the fact is that "environ-
tree is waving its arms for joy.
mentalism" has become a truly powerful force in the
To me, these two quotations represent the comple-
United States only in relatively recent times.
mentary missions of the Corps of Engineers in the past,
present and future to develop America's water resources
A Brief History of America's Environment
and to perform engineering missions so as to contribute
From the earliest years when European cultures came
to the nation's economic well-being; and to preserve and
to the New World until modern times, the primary
enhance the quality of our natural environment, ensuring
motivation of almost all of the new Euro-Americans was
a more fulfilling life for every American. Because the
to use, develop, and exploit the natural resources of a
Corps' *developmental mission is relatively well under-
virgin land. The settlers at Jamestown and the Pilgrim
stood, I will here emphasize the Corps' environmental
Fathers and Puritans in New England generally regarded
record and goals.
America's wilderness forests as "howling wastes*`:
In the United States today most of our citizens have
hostile, dangerous, and worthless until subdued and used
developed at least a degree of concern for environmental
by farmers, woodcutters, and mill-operators. Thus from
quality. Public opinion polls regularly disclose that a ma-
the Europeans' arrival in the 16th Century through the
jority of Americans want to breathe clean air, enjoy
middle of the 20th Century, the story of the American en-
waters free of pollutants, h a v e access to parks and open
vironment was the story of explosive human population
space, preserve wildlife, and control excess noise. We
growth, conversion of wilderness into farms, towns, and
want to balance economic development with environ-
factories, and rapid development and consumption of
mental quality. These beliefs follow from our realization
natural resources. The tragic examples of waste, greed,
that, if we cannot have both a functioning economy and a
and exploitation are well-known and do not need ex-
is
planation: the extermination of immense numbers of
General M rrris expresses appreciation to Lance D. Wood of
o
passenger pigeons, bison, and waterfowl; wasteful level-
Office of the Chief Counsel, Office of the Chief of Engineers,
ing of our virgin forests by fire and ax; wind and water
whose comprehensive research m a d e this article possible.
Based on an address prepared for presentation to the Class of 1978, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C.
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