Gifford Pinchot: America's Father of Conservation and the Fight for Public Land.

America's natural resources are abundant, beautiful, and awe inspiring. They are places where we seek adventure. Photographers capture swans in the lakes; boys and men alike go to test their mettle in whitewater rafting or to pack out a bull elk while day hikers enjoy a stroll before sunset on the prairie. America's public land is loved by all Americans, but these lands are under constant threat of being developed and stripped of their natural beauty. How to protect the environment while using it to our benefit has been a long lasting debate in America and was answered by the North American Model of Conservation.

We are unique in the sense that we have what are called "public lands," meaning that it is owned by the public and, of course, managed by the government. Other countries around the world have similar models but do not compare to the model of American conservation. These lands are used anywhere from grazing livestock to hunting and fishing, logging, or simple camping and hiking trips. American's have a deep connection to the outdoors within our borders, and we love them and cherish them while trying to manage them well. Good stewardship of land has not always been an American ideal though. It came through hard lessons learned by our fathers. 

In the 18th century it seemed that the land in North America was endless, and for the settlers and colonials it was hard to imagine that the vast landscape had a limit. In the 19th century America boomed and expanded across the continent. With the Louisiana Purchase and the California Goldrush (along with the building of the transcontinental railway), settlers made their way west to make their fortune and explore the vastness of America. But with that expansion, America quickly saw many species of animals - most notably the buffalo - become endangered, extinct, or moved to a different habitat. Forests were logged to the point that in Wisconsin every single yellow pine had been chopped down and floated down the Wisconsin river. Eventually Americans started to understand the toll that was being taken on the land they loved and cherished. The Boone and Crocket Club was established, and men such as Theodore Roosevelt and "The Father of Conservation" Gifford Pinchot built upon the ideas of earlier conservationists such U.S. Grant who signed into law the protection of Yellowstone National Park.

Gifford Pinchot was what would be considered the first American forester. He came from a wealthy family that harvested timber, and his father desired for him to become a forester. The common practice for timber companies at the time was to clear cut a piece of land and sell it to a farmer. (Gifford thought this method was short-sighted.) He was sent by his father to Yale, then studied forestry in France, and came back to America with his newfound knowledge. President McKinley appointed him as head of the Forestry Division in 1898. President Roosevelt (who many considered the nation's leading expert on America's big game animals as well as birds) appointed Pinchot to his unofficial board of advisors on all things conservation. Pinchot and Roosevelt were good friends and saw eye-to-eye on the subject. Both Pinchot and Roosevelt desired to regulate the amount of mining, logging, hunting, and other activities that took from nature on public land allowing both nature and industry to live in harmony. Gifford constantly battled against logging industries but supported small logging businesses that were not capable of cutting massive swaths of land. He also fought against preservationists who wanted to seal up the land, never to be used for industry.  During the Roosevelt administration, Pinchot advocated for 230 million acres of land to be added to the U.S. forest reserves and then another 16 million after that. Wildlife refuges started with Pelican Island in Florida and parks include the Grand Tetons.

It is hard to imagine that one day it could be possible for all of the soil in America to be tilled and cultivated, or that there will be no public land to roam free. Sadly this is the reality for other countries, many of them in Europe. Here in America we are fortunate to conserve, protect, and utilize our resources wisely for the good of the nation. 

"The vast possibilities of our great future will become realities only if we make ourselves responsible for that future." Gifford Pinchot.