heritage of natural splendor which we must preserve for those who come after us we americans have made great strides in the protection of most of our natural resources under this concept for example we raise more wars than we use in the lumber and pulp industry because we grow trees like  we practice the conservation of water resources for irrigation which is turned drive there and deserts into vast productive garden when it comes to the conservation of most natural resources we are responsible people we want to conserve our natural well we cannot leave to the generations who appollo us an empty and wasted land the best of our ability we must pass on to them the land of natural riches that we enjoy in our time but there is one rich heritage that we use in a different more personal way this is the america of the land and water the glorious outdoors which we use for recreation this too we must regard as a great resource we can meet some of the natives too remembering that they were here before us and that they have a stake in the future of our open country we can follow the sun to the beach or we can enjoy ourselves in a more active way we can do even better we can capture wind and wave and bring them home with us on ca those without the artist touch can still capture nature's beauty the simple way some of us prefer the quiet stroll along wooded pathways while others prefer the challenge of an exclusive  america's scenic and recreation areas are one of our most important natural resources while we are a responsible people with regard to our tangible resource as a forest and minerals how do we treat this important resource for recreation we go away from home on a vacation and take a holiday from responsibility we launch up fall out of litter the litter problem seems to get worse sadly and ironically because of scientific advances and new improvements in modern living trash only becomes trash after it is first serve litter only after people from possibly discarded modern packaging is help to make our outings even more enjoyable almost anything we need is conveniently available but state is these wonderful packages cans bottles and paper containers  y discarded which we carelessly convert to litter across the face of our country  as highway miles increase and roads grow better wider smoother leading to ever more interesting places more and more of us are taking advantage of our great resources for recreation as with modern automobiles and expanding highway systems and an increasing amount of leisure time we go our happy way spreading more litter in more places than ever before and our low considerable time and money have been spent to provide roadside litter containers many a traveller still tries to hit them from moving out a mile below the average motorist by this kind of marksmanship is no annie oakl this is not only a legal violation but more importantly an offense to the laws of decency and not only do we americans litter public property which might be considered our own but we invade private lands as well you'd be surprised and shocked to find a party of strangers littering your front lawn yet has it occurred to you that many people will do what amounts to the same thing on private property where they've gone to hike fish  man as always had an affinity for a lake or a stream and for the continuing enjoyment fail often reclamation projects in many parts of our beautiful land have created scores of new water playgrounds water letter is not only unsightly floating debris can be dangerous even tragic a can be a very real danger on land as well as water many of these snow loving sportsmen to help make literally year round problem when rubbish is discarded in the winter snow wildflowers are not all that bloom in the spring in many areas the growth of our civilization has changed the landscape but much of the beauty of the north american continent is just as the discoverers and pioneering settlers found it except for the special touch we have added there was a time when the ruthless cutting of timber threaten to do nude our land when we ripped the earth apart in our quest for gold and when we over drilled our oil fields when i water ran wild and destructive to waste itself in the sea but as responsible americans we did something about it through a continuing program of public education we are learning to protect the nation's wealth of natural resources  except our priceless resources for recreation the need has become critical for us to protect and preserve the lovely land we hold in trust for future generations but time is come to do something and by a strange paradox this is really the easiest of all national problems to solve instead of going on the ground or into the water discards go into a litter bag and a grocery sack will do or a cardboard box where there are trash receptacles that is used some give a public litter container is not available there's always the one at home but the car plastic or other permanent litter containers are inexpensive simple to install and best of all easy to use when it comes to litter you can't get with you what can we do to beat the litterbug have a time to think individually we can make an effort to avoid littering and set a good example for impressionable people such as the younger generation next we should remember that group effort is simply individual effort multiplied many responsible organizations are sponsoring cleanup campaigns in an effort to solve a little problem organizations such as keep america beautiful incorporated plus sponsoring educational campaigns and others who are providing disposal facilities have shown that the war against litter can be won among individual efforts it's well to remind hunters and fishermen that they can do themselves a favor by always asking permission to use way pay the owners kindness by cleaning up and taking their litter with leave their litter behind can turn a welcome into a lockout in fact the lock outs have already started in more than one locality a public trout stream has become closed because of the expense of cleaning up litter left by careless fisherman in other areas stretches of beach have been closed because of a few people who can't remember their manners as the situation grows worse and the clean up costs continue to mount wouldn't it be a shock to find closed signs on public recreation areas while there's extreme situation hopefully will never happen it does point up one fact that is immediate as taxpayers we pay dearly and in many ways for our messy habits the united states forest service alone budgets two and a half million annually for its house cleaning job in the national forests after the citizens depart total national bill for litter cleanup is now estimated at five hundred million dollars a  year it is also tell us that sixty thousand brush and forest fires a year can be traced to the trash and litter problem where dry litter is easily ignited by discarded matches or burning tobacco and thirty percent of these fires are caused by people attempting to burn accumulated trash and litter in wooded area our beloved country is faced with many complex problems but solution of the litter habits surely is not one of them we can solve that one ourselves you and i we need to live only by a simple cre no man regret that i passed here let us remember that america the beautiful land is not ours alone this is our land but it's ours only for the time being belongs also to those who are very close to us and to people whom we will never know play to or entitle it continued enjoyment of our great outdoors this heritage of splendor belongs to our children to the generations of the future on down the years for decades and centuries to come america belongs to them to the new its not ours to waste and to despoil we hold this land in trust trust we dare not carelessly betray our great scenic splendors are one of our most vital resources deserving of devoted care and protection the challenge is so great and the solutions so simple that's not fai and as we conquer the problem of letters we and all the generations of the long queue church will be rewarded with endless enjoyment and renewed inspiration let's keep america the land of beautiful tomorrow