Conservation and Preservation
Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir's Yosemite Camping Trip (1903)
President Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir embarked on a three-night camping trip in Yosemite to discuss conservation.
Muir aimed to persuade Roosevelt to include Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove within the national park system.
The trip led to the federal preservation of Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove.
It also resulted in a preliminary outline for the Antiquities Act.
Both men expressed respect and affection for each other.
Alignment on Environmental Issues
Roosevelt and Muir shared similar views on key environmental issues despite being seen as adversaries (conservationist vs. preservationist).
Both dedicated their lives to protecting natural scenic wonders.
They viewed wilderness as a necessary escape from civilization.
Roosevelt created several national parks (influenced by Muir), national monuments, bird reservations, game preserves, and national forests.
Legacies and Differences
Roosevelt: "We are not building this country of ours for a day; it is to last through the ages."
Muir's writings established him as the father of national parks.
Muir's mission, according to biographer Donald Worster: "saving the American soul from total surrender to materialism."
They had differences, notably over the damming of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite.
The American West and Public Lands
The West faced exploitative market demands.
The region began to assert its identity through extensive public lands.
This federal approach to commons (forest reserves, parks, monuments, refuges) became a hallmark of the American West.
It established new ways to value nature beyond commodification.
Concerns About Waste and the End of the Frontier
Carl Schurz (former Interior Department secretary) criticized Americans for recklessly wasting their heritage.
Frederick Jackson Turner warned that "the frontier has gone and with it has closed the first period in American history."
Roosevelt and Muir embodied conservation and preservation ideas that shaped environmental thought and policy into the 21st century.
Progressivism and Environmental Protection
Public commitment to protecting natural resources grew during the Progressive Era.
Progressivism aimed to improve the human condition through governmental reforms addressing social inequalities from urbanization and industrialization.
Progressives: white, middle-class, valued science/statistics, promoted efficiency/education, saw government as a tool for change.
Progressivism had a religious aspect, reconciling Protestant morality with capitalism/democracy to promote Christian stewardship.
The movement championed diverse causes, including environmental protection.
Conservation vs. Preservation
Progressive concerns about limited natural resources led to conservation and preservation.
Conservation: wise use of nature.
Preservation: protection of nature from exploitation.
Conservation was utilitarian, emphasizing science and rational planning for efficient resource development and use.
Conservationists aimed to protect resources for the nation's benefit, ensuring availability for future consumers.
Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot were key advocates, addressing concerns about declining timber supplies.
Forest Management and Legislation
Deforestation in the Great Lakes region exposed the myth of inexhaustible forests.
Interior Secretary Schurz lamented rapid forest destruction.
West Coast forests were stripped to supply housing booms and timber markets.
The Forest Reserve Act (1891) allowed the president to conserve forest reserves.
The Organic Act (1897) reinforced conservation, ensuring a continuous timber supply for citizens.
William McKinley appointed Pinchot to manage forest holdings, which grew to over 47 million acres.
Theodore Roosevelt's Impact
McKinley's assassination elevated Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency.
Roosevelt's rise was seen as beneficial for the West and Progressives.
He had a strong interest in protecting the West.
Roosevelt reinvented himself as a virile "cowboy" through ranching and hunting in the West.
Boone and Crockett Club
Roosevelt co-founded the Boone and Crockett Club (1887) to promote wildlife conservation and management.
The club advocated ethical hunting and sportsmanship.
They lobbied for the protection and conservation of wild animals and American masculinity.
They believed the federal government should steward natural resources against capitalist exploitation.
Wildlife Refuges and Game Preserves
Roosevelt established wildlife refuges and game preserves in multiple states and territories to protect bison, elk, and birds.
He had allies such as William Temple Hornaday (director of the New York Zoological Park).
Hornaday warned about the near extinction of bison and other western game species due to commercial exploitation: No wild species of bird, mammal, reptile or fish can withstand exploitation for commercial purposes.
The Plume Trade and Audubon Societies
Feathered hats became a major fashion trend.
Bird species suffered catastrophic losses due to the millinery trade.
Ornithologists counted numerous bird varieties on hats in Manhattan.
Rare birds fetched high prices, leading to the near extinction of herons, egrets, and other birds.
The annual avian death toll reached over 200 million in North America.
Women played a role in reform.
Harriet Hemenway and Minna Hall founded the Massachusetts Audubon Society (1896) and recruited members to boycott feathered hats.
State Audubon Society groups formed across the country, leading to the National Audubon Society (1905).
These societies successfully lobbied Roosevelt to establish the first national wildlife refuge (Pelican Island, Florida) in 1903.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1918) prohibited the killing, capturing, and transport of protected migratory bird species.
Bison Restoration Efforts
Roosevelt set aside the Wichita National Forest and Game Preserve (Oklahoma) as a bison restoration effort.
Hornaday donated bison from the Bronx Zoo to reestablish the species.
Indian activists played an important role in bison restoration.
George Bird Grinnell detailed Samuel Walking Coyote's role in establishing the Flathead Valley buffalo herd.
Walking Coyote brought a small group of bison to the Flathead Valley of Montana in 1878.
The Pablo-Allard herd grew but was later sold to Canada due to the Dawes Act.
Restoration efforts led to a slow rebound in bison populations by 1919.
Bureau of Biological Survey and Evolving Conservation
Roosevelt consolidated agencies into the Bureau of Biological Survey (1905), later the Fish and Wildlife Service (1940).
The focus remained on fish and game protection, not predator protection.
Aldo Leopold advocated for habitat protection as a whole.
U.S. Forest Service and Gifford Pinchot
Roosevelt transferred forest reserves to the U.S. Forest Service and appointed Pinchot as chief.
The Department of Agriculture housed the Forest Service, reflecting its conservation mission.
Trees were viewed as a crop to be managed.
Pinchot: