Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
The Modern Environmental Movement
Wisconsin has played a major and highly visible part in the development of environmental protection in the twentieth century, including a key role in forming the national organizations of the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society and in creating Earth Day in 1970. Although the first protests against pollution, first efforts to conserve natural resources, and first campaigns to save forests all occurred in the late 19th century, the modern environmental movement that emerged after 1950 had different social roots and objectives than the conservation movement that preceded it.
In the first half of the twentieth century, the conservation movement... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | The state of Wisconsin's environment, 1934. |
| Gaylord Nelson seeks to bring the environment into the classroom, 1969 |
| An overview of Earth Day, 1970 |
| The U.S. Congress recognizes Earth Day, in 1975. |
| Gov. Nelson tries to save unspoiled Wisconsin lands in 1961. |
 | A "Blitz Fog" pesticide dispenser, 1965 |
 | A guide to teaching conservation in 1949 |
| State parks and protected lands expand in the 1960s. |
| John Nolen drafts a plan for a state park system in 1909 |
| A pamphlet describing a Madison-area food co-op of the 1970s. |
 | Photographs of Gaylord Nelson |
| Smokey Bear visits Milwaukee in 1954 |
 | Gaylord Nelson proposes an environmental agenda to Congress, 1970 |
| Gaylord Nelson's early environmental speeches, 1962-1971 |
| Selections from Gaylord Nelson's Earth Day files, 1970 |
 | The newsletter of a Madison food co-op, 1971-1977 |
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