Highlights Archives
Earth Day: From Leopold to Nelson
Forty years ago this year, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson first conceived of the idea of a national teach-in to raise public awareness of the rampant environmental problems of the times. One year later, on April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated. Nelson's advocacy of environmental conservation and protection were inspired, in part, by the work of another pioneering environmentalist, Aldo Leopold. On April 21st at 12:15 p.m., Stan Temple will explore Leopold's life, legacy and observations of the natural world in a lunchtime talk at the Wisconsin Historical Museum.
The Legacy of Aldo Leopold
Born in Iowa in 1887, Leopold developed many of his insights on wildlife and sensible land use while spending time at his family cabin, "the shack," near Baraboo. There he carefully observed and recorded every detail of the plants and animals around him, recognizing how everything in nature was connected. Serving on the Wisconsin Conservation Commission in the 1940s, Leopold helped to formulate policies that emphasized the management of land not just for commercial uses but also for the benefit of humans, animals and plants. Leopold's most famous book, A Sand County Almanac, contains short essays that describe a year spent in his Wisconsin River shack. It was published in 1949, a year after his death. Leopold's work helped give rise to a new attitude toward wildlife as an object of observation rather than of sport hunting.
Leopold's ideas characterized the shift toward preservation, appreciation and protection of nature of the emerging environmental movement in the 1940s and 1950s. In the first half of the 20th century the conservation movement had stressed natural resources as commodities to produce material goods, and called for more efficient management of both renewable and nonrenewable resources. The environmental movement, on the other hand, arose from growing interest in outdoor recreation in a more natural environment and focused on resources — air, water and land — that would enhance the quality of life. Rather than focusing on the efficient development of exploitable resources, the environmental movement prized these resources for aesthetic, moral or spiritual reasons.
This new perspective on animals and natural resources ultimately led to the federal endangered species act, state-sponsored wildlife programs, a heightened interest in habitats for plants and animals, a focus on biological diversity, and the creation of the first Earth Day.
Learn More About Wisconsin's Environmental History
:: Posted April 16, 2009
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