REVIEWS
In the Footsteps of a Warrior

By Thomas m. franklin

What a pleasure it is to trace the conserva- tion saga of the greatest conservation President in American history. In The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America (2009), author Douglas Brinkley relates a detailed account of the extraordinary conservation accomplishments of an outdoorsman who, like so many wildlife biologists, was enthralled with wildlife as a child and whose career was heavily influenced by the natural world.

with conservation colleagues make it a joy to read. Photographs, maps of the lands that T.R. helped conserve, extensive notes, and an index also enhance the book’s value to wildlife professionals. The author’s personal interest in wild lands clearly helped him describe the motivation of his subject, despite his somewhat confusing depictions of Roosevelt as a “preservationist,” a “utilitarian conservationist,” and a “Darwinian naturalist.”

In his day, President Roosevelt was “the new Delphic oracle of conservation,” Brinkley writes, “the political authority of the forestry movement, best-selling author, wilderness trooper, birder, hunter, and moral advocate for nature.” Roosevelt spent a lifetime thinking deeply about the origin of species, Darwinian theory, and the need to conserve wild living resources for posterity. As a child, he collected and studied birds and other wildlife near his New York state home and spent formative years in the Maine woods, Midwestern prairies, the badlands of the Dakotas, and Europe. He was a voracious reader of natural history topics and throughout his career regularly conversed with the best and brightest natural scientists in the U.S.

Labels aside, The Wilderness Warrior makes it clear why wildlife professionals should all be aware of Roosevelt’s contributions to conservation. In a very real sense, Roosevelt helped launch our profession. He promoted professionalism in wildlife science and management, blazing a trail for the likes of Aldo Leopold and others who followed. As Governor of New York in 1900, for example, T.R publically stated that game wardens

Thomas M. Franklin is Senior Vice President of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and immediate Past President of The Wildlife Society. Credit: Daniel Stiles

His insatiable interest in wildlife and love of the outdoors and the “strenuous life” sparked a conservation ethic that made him the country’s leading advocate for designating public lands for wildlife and conservation. He recognized that public lands are necessary as places where people can escape the stress of everyday life by interacting with nature. A measure of his commitment to conservation is evident in his legacy: By the time T.R. left office in March 1909, he had established 234 million acres of American conservation lands and waters dedicated to national forests, monuments, national parks, bird reservations, and game preserves. It staggers the imagination to contemplate the benefits to fish and wildlife that these actions produced.