Committed to Conservation: 50 Years of Work to Help Protect America?s Soil and Water

From checking mountain snow depth in Idaho to designing a soil conservation system in Alaska while, at the same time, dealing with local and national conservation politics — the stories told here by Neil and Rob Sampson help us experience what is happening on our American lands. In the 1960s, Neil found one winter’s Western snow samples rich with radiation as a result of China’s above-ground testing of nuclear devices. During Rob’s four years as an Alaskan conservationist, he visited over 50 Native Villages in remote areas to explore ways to plan their future on the land in an era of climate-change. In Oregon, Rob got in during the infancy of forming watershed councils that could plan for endangered salmon and steelhead. Neil worked with a Washington, D.C. coalition that helped environmentalists understand agricultural land and water issues. He was also asked to join a team helping farmers in West Africa’s The Gambia develop a productive agriculture that could feed an increasing population, the beginning of his international consulting. Both Rob and Neil not only have great stories to tell, but have developed a big-picture overview of the challenges facing American agricultural lands and waters. Committed to Conservation lets us join them in their experiences and discoveries.