The Wildlife Professional - Spring 2010 2009

The New Mexico Game Protective Association had three major goals, reflecting the perceived needs of the time: laws and their enforcement, refuge centers for game recovery, and the “wise control of predators.” Leopold, who was Secretary of the NMGPA, also addressed the question of privileged vs. democratic participation in the shooting sports. He pointed to the European system as “undemocratic, unsocial, and therefore dangerous.” He further wrote: “I assume that it is not necessary to argue that the development of any undemocratic system in this country is to be avoided at all costs. When we take away the democracy of sport, we take away the only chance for fair public consideration of the sportsman’s interest.”

When the New Mexico Game Protective Association was later honored for its work, Leopold made an acceptance speech before the Albuquerque Rotary Club, saying:

“[Our aim is] to restore to every citizen his inalienable right to know and love the wild things of his native land. We conceive of these wild things as an integral part of our national environment, and are striving to promote, restore, and develop them not as so many pounds of meat, nor as so many things to shoot at, but as a tremendous social asset, a source of democratic and healthful recreation…. It is our task to educate the moral nature of every one of New Mexico’s half million citizens to look upon our beneficial birds and animals, not as so much gun fodder…but as irreplaceable works of art…. They are to be seen and used and enjoyed, to be sure, but never destroyed or wasted.”

Because of his interests in the recreational values of wildlife and wilderness, Leopold was assigned to work on recreational policy for his forest district. He joined and led sportsmen’s organizations, and continued to articulate his views in The Pine Cone newsletter, writing: “As the cone scatters the seeds of the pine and the fir tree, so may it scatter the seeds of wisdom and understanding among men, to the end that every citizen may learn to hold the lives of the harmless wild creatures as a public trust for human good against the abuse of which he stands personally responsible. Then, and only then, will our wildlife be preserved.”

Leopold, got an unexpected compliment when he received a letter in January 1917. The letter said: “My Dear Mr. Leopold:

Through you I wish to congratulate the … Game Protective Association on what it is doing. I have just read the Pine Cone… I think your platform is simply capital…. It seems to me that your association in New Mexico is setting an example for the whole country. Sincerely yours — Theodore Roosevelt”

The concept of preservation grew when Leopold’s work in forest recreation took him to places such as the Kaibab Forest and the Grand Canyon, where he witnessed the dangers of over-exploitation of recreational development. Such experiences led Leopold and colleague Arthur Carhart to suggest that some Forest Service lands should be protected from “man-made” improvements on “scenic territories.” Though Leopold immediately viewed the “ wilderness concept” as a worthy land-use goal, it only gradually gained support within the commodity-oriented ranks of the Forest Service.

Refining and Sharing His Vision By 1924, Forest Service leaders recognized that although Leopold had an excellent analytical mind and an articulate voice, he was inclined to think ahead of current Forest Service policy. They hit on the idea of transferring him from the field to the USFS Research Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. Leopold took the job and did it well, but his energy and originality soon turned away from wood products and toward the Wisconsin environment.

In 1927 he took a job with the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturing Institute, tasked with assessing game conditions in the North Central States to promote more effective wildlife conservation. He saw an obvious and continued downward trend in game populations, but there were diverse opinions on the causes and remedies. Leopold’s task was to gather and interpret the facts on the ground.

Leopold and other biologists surveyed eight states, incorporating personal observations, interviews with local experts, and reviews of the scientific literature and state records. The resulting Game Survey, published in 1931, found, for example, that populations of grain-eating wildlife were directly related to farming practices, yet there were no efforts to integrate game conservation with agriculture.