Key People in Conservation Outdoor Education

John James Audubon Painted and described the birds of North America. Published life-sized prints that are still considered the standard. Audubon society named in his honor.

Mary Austin Wrote a book dedicated to the deserts of the American southwest. Used very descriptive language in her book The Land of little rain.

Florence Merriam Bailey Ornithologist and nature writer. Worked with congress to pass legislation preventing unnecessary bird slaughter.

Hugh Bennett Father of American soil conservation. Encouraged conservation in 1920’s & 1930’s. Created the Federal Soil Conservation Service, now known as Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Rachel Carson Wrote Silent Spring about pesticide abuse. Spurred a nation into action and started the modern environmental movement. Her worked resulted in nation wide ban of DDT.

Anna Botsford Comstock First person to bring students and other teachers outside to study nature, implemented course on nature study in NY public schools. Encouraged observation as the best way to study nature.

Jay “Ding” Darling Attended UW where he began working as a cartoonist. Published conservation cartoons, designed the first federal duck stamp. Appointed as the head of the Bureau of Biological Survey. Founded National Wildlife Federation.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wrote Everglades: River of Grass and mobilized Florida against the draining and overdevelopment of the everglades. Founded Friends of the Everlgades.

Rosalie Edge One of the first female leaders of the conservation movement. Became active because of outrage against the Audubon Society. Founded Hawk Mountain Wildlife Refuge.

William Temple Hornaday Chief taxidermist of U.S. National Museum. Became president of the Permanent Wild Life Protective Association. Credited with saving American Bison and Alaskan Fur Seal from extinction.

John F. Lacey Wrote legislation that made it illegal to ship game across state lines-the first federal conservation law. Lacey Bird Act of 1900, and several other land conservation acts passed because of him.

Aldo Leopold Father of Wildlife management. Served for 19 years in United States Forest Service before working at UW-Madison. Founded the Wilderness Society while writing about ethical and conservation issues.

Robert Marshall Founder of the Wilderness society. Helped to preserve large tracts of Alaska. Shaped US Forestry policy of wilderness management.

Stephen Mather First director of National Park Service. Evaluate possible sites for National Parks. Felt scenery was an important factor for parks.

John Muir Settled by Portage, WI and attended UW-Madison were he was influenced to explore nature. Founded the Sierra Club and helped preserve Yosemite Valley Image is on the CA quarter

Helen Nearing Advocated self-sufficient living and back to the land movement. Developed improvements for maple syrup production while advocating an organic food approach, wrote several books on those areas.

Gaylord Nelson From Clear Lake, WI. Elected as state senator, then governor, and eventually US senate and attended conservation tour with JFK. Principal founder of “Earth Day.”

Frederic Law Olmsted Brought Nature to the city. Designed Central Park. He was the first prominent Landscape Architect

Sigurd Olson Grew up and was influenced by Northern Wisconsin’s nature. Helped draft the Wilderness Act of 1964 while serving as president of Wilderness Society. He also helped establish Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota.

George Perkins Marsh America’s 1st environmentalist. Published Man and Nature the first book to pose questions concerning man’s impact on the environment.

Roger Tory Peterson Published Guide to Birds and co-wrote Wild America. He served as editor of Peterson Field Guides and developed the Peterson identification system still used today.

Gifford Pinchot First chief forester of US Forest Service. Advocated conservation by planned use and renewal. Coined the term “conservation ethic”.

John Wesley Powell Lived a mountain man lifestyle by exploring the Rocky Mountains, walking across WI, taking passages on Mississippi river. Became second director of US Geological Survey shaped Western Land use policies

Theodore Roosevelt Founded the National Parks. Created federal wildlife and bird refuges, set aside land for nature preserves. Established the US Forest Service

Henry David Thoreau Wrote On Walden Pond that helped start the environmental movement, a reflection on simple living in the natural environment.