Abstract The "New Deal" expenditures for conservation indicate that from now on damage to land is to be repaired at public expense. Misuse of land thus becomes a direct liability against the public purse. In the light of this new premise, this paper critically examines current programs for public land acquisition and for regulation of private land practice. It suggests prevention rather than cure of misuse, and the fusion of conservation laws into some single system for rewarding the private owner whose land-use serves the public interest.
Aldo Leopold (Tue,) studied this question.