Conservation and Land Use Acts

The Desert Land Act of 1877 allowed the government to sell dried out land at cheap rates if that in return the buyer irrigated the land.

The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 allowed for the president to set aside areas of forests and other areas as national parks and reserves.

The Carey Act of 1894, sort of like the Desert Land Act, allowed the government to sell land to states in condition that they irrigate the land.

The Newlands Act of 1902 provided government revenue from the sale of dried out Western lands, and the government would use this money to develop irrigation systems.

The progressives valued the idea of conservation, they respected the land and didn't want to just use it all up. However, they did believe in land efficiency, and that they could use conservation methods to harness energy from the land without harming it.