spirit of "Earth Day" observances. Agree or not with Dr.
present, one can only conclude that the American en-
vironmental movement has been "a long time coming"
Carson's carefully-developed case against persistent
and has by no means achieved its objectives to date.
pesticides which accumulate in the environment, even-
tually her basic recommendations were accepted and
A Brief History of the Corps' Work in the
enacted into law by the Congress and EPA regulations.2
Environment
Silent Spring was an avant-courier of the great American
environmental movement of the 1970's which eventually
With the foregoing background in mind, I would like
gave us the Environmental Protection Agency, the Na-
now to assess the relationship which the Army Corps of
tional Environmental Policy Act.3 the Council on En-
Engineers has had over the years with the American en-
vironmental Quality, the Clean Air Act Amendments o f
vironment and the environmental movement. Rather
early in the Corps' history, the Congress and a number of
ments of 1972,5 the Noise Control Act of 1972,6 and the
presidents gave the Corps many and varied assignments
E n d a n g e r e d S p e c i e s A c t o f 19737-to name the more
to help develop the newly-founded Republic. The Corps
prominent ones.
was honored with weighty responsibilities, primarily
because its West Point-trained engineers constituted the
Today the environmental movement is becoming in-
only U.S. governmental entity possessing the technical
stitutionalized at all levels of American government and
competence to deal with many engineering problems in
in innumerable private organizations such as the Na-
the early 19th Century.
tional and State Audubon Societies, the Sierra Club, the
A few examples of 19th Century missions assigned to
National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources
the Corps suggest the national drive toward economic
Defense Council, the Environmental Defense Fund, and
development which determined priorities for both the
Zero Population Growth. Nevertheless, the battle to save
Corps and the young Republic which it served. In 1824,
America's remaining natural environment has only been
Congress authorized President James Monroe to direct
joined. We need more effective national programs in the
Army engineers to survey roads and canals needed for
United States if we are to preserve our remaining farm-
commerce or military purposes.8 In that same year Con-
land and natural habitats from sprawling suburbs and
gress authorized the first civil works to improve naviga-
recreational-home developments, t o d a m p e n t h e e x -
tion in the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers,9 under which
plosive population growth rate of the U.S.A. and the
authority the Corps began an extensive program to clear
world, to effect widespread conservation of energy, or to
those rivers of snags, floating trees, and sandbars, all of
solve other environmental problems. Reviewing the
which impeded navigation.
history of the American environment from 1492 to the
--
The extermination of the bison is but one example ol rampant exploitation in America's history.
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