The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) held a series of regional forums in October 1999 to discuss conservation issues that affect America's farms, forests, and ranchland. In December, input from the five regional forums (held in Sacramento, Portland, Denver, Syracuse, and Atlanta) was summarized and presented at the National Conservation Summit held in Ames. Comments from the regional forums and from the summit confirmed that conservation is one of the USDA's most important tasks.