Senate joint resolution NO. 9
INTRODUCED BY B. Gillespie, J. Ellis
By Request of the ****
A joint resolution of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the state of montana eSTABLISHING THE FIRST WEEK IN APRIL AS MONTANA SOIL HEALTH WEEK and the first wednesday in april as soil health day.
WHEREAS, the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture defines soil health as the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans; and
WHEREAS, agriculture is Montana's top industry, generating more than $3.7 billion in services and products to the state's economy; and
WHEREAS, healthy soil increases nutrient availability and helps capture, retain, and store more water, increasing the economic viability of farms and ranches, the availability of water for municipalities and recreational uses, and in-stream flows for power generation; and
WHEREAS, farming and ranching are vital to economic development for Montana's tribes and rural communities; and
(1) help to control where rainfall, snowmelt, and irrigation water goes as water and dissolved solutions flow over or into and through soil;
(2) sustain a diverse, productive plant and animal life;
(3) filter and buffer potential pollutants; and
(4) cycle and recycle nutrients of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients that are stored and transformed in the soil; and
WHEREAS, Montana has designated the Scobey as its official state soil; and
WHEREAS, forest management and logging play an important role in Montana's soil health, including protecting our streams and rivers from pollution through erosion prevention.
That the first week of April be designated as Montana Soil Health Week.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Wednesday of the first week of April be designated as Soil Health Day and that the people of Montana, the Montana Department of Agriculture, the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and the Montana Association of Conservation Districts are encouraged to observe the day.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of State send copies of this resolution to the director of the Department of Agriculture, the Office of the Governor, the director of the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, the director of the Montana Association of Conservation Districts, the Office of Public Instruction, and Montana's Congressional Delegation.
Latest Version of SJ 9
(SJ0009.003)
Processed for the Web on April 25, 2023 (3:25PM)
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