needed to be “woodsmen” with a background in
science. He also advocated sustainable use, saying,
“Game birds should never be shot to the greater
extent than will offset the natural rate of increase.”
In 1900, Roosevelt began promoting the importance of citizen science. He believed that public
awareness was always the first step in winning
political battles, and encouraged individual participation in field research projects, surveys, censuses
and polls. This led to the phenomenon of backyard
birding and the pastime of attracting birds with
feeders and water features, where they can be observed close to home. Roosevelt was the only really
serious birder and naturalist to become president
of the United States, developing close relationships
with the great ornithologists of the time such as
John Burroughs and George Grinnell.
Notably, Roosevelt also hired Gifford Pinchot as
his first chief forester. Both men were appalled by
the destruction of lands from unchecked industrialization, and together they forged conservation
policy based on the belief that federal regulation of
the public lands was necessary and that scientific
management of natural resources, guided by appropriate experts, would ensure the sustainability
of the land’s resources.
Further expanding the role of science in government,
Roosevelt hired the great mammalogist C. Hart Meriam as chief of the first U.S. Biological Survey, and
took a personal interest in the survey’s field notes
and accompanying biotic summaries. T.R. encouraged Meriam to hire field biologists and “camp men”
to inventory the native plants and animals of the
country. Pinchot explained that “Roosevelt respected
expert opinion and made use of it to a degree which
was unmatched among the public….”
Taking the Long View
No short-term thinker, T.R. had a long-term view
of conservation. He famously said, “We have taken
forward steps in learning that wild beasts and birds
are by right not the property merely of people alive
today, but the property of the unborn generations,
whose belongings we have no right to squander.”
Probably the best example of T.R.’s conservation
decision-making style was his famous dictate, “I
so declare it,” with which he established the first
federal bird reservation at Pelican Island, Florida.
He used this declaration many times throughout
his presidency to establish new fish and wildlife
reserves, and then appointed wardens to police the
areas against poachers. He always turned to professional biologists, foresters, and field naturalists,
rather than politicians, to get the conservation job
done. Furthermore, Roosevelt fully understood why
species needed to be conserved for both scientific
and recreational purposes, and used his presidential powers effectively to establish areas for these
purposes to the benefit of all Americans.
Readers of Brinkley’s book will gain insight into
Roosevelt’s deeply held philosophy, but no one
could state it better than Roosevelt himself. Consider the following excerpt from T.R.’s publication,
Wilderness Reserves:
“The wild creatures of the wilderness add to it by
their presence a charm which it can acquire in no
other way. On every ground it is well for our nation
to preserve, not only for the sake of this generation, but above all for the sake of those who come
after us, representatives of the stately and beautiful haunters of the wilds which were once found
throughout our great forests, over the vast lonely
plains, and on the high mountain ranges, but which
are now on the point of vanishing save where they
are protected in natural breeding grounds and
nurseries…. The movement for the preservation by
the nation of sections of the wilderness as national
playgrounds is essentially a democratic movement
in the interest of all our people.”
Following this philosophy, Roosevelt took decisive
action to restore many wildlife species that were
severely depleted when he took office at the turn
of the 20th century. From the wading birds of the
Florida coast that were decimated by the millinery
trade to the iconic bison, pronghorn antelope, and
Rocky Mountain elk depleted by market hunting
and habitat loss, Roosevelt took it upon himself to
save these animals from the brink of extinction.
In 1912 Roosevelt said, “There can be no greater
issue than that of conservation in this country.” My
organization, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation
Partnership, was established to help carry on the
wildlife conservation vision that T.R. had the phenomenal foresight to address. His actions overcame
the ignorance and greed that led to wildlife decline,
and signaled the start of a new era of professional
wildlife management. TWS is part of this legacy,
which Brinkley’s book so powerfully conveys.
