Conservation of natural resources

The combined “Books” and “Book Notes” sections contain four lengthy reviews, a brief review essay, and a notice about five works related to the life of Theodore Roosevelt. It also includes a short excerpt from Roosevelt’s writings on conservation and a report by Wallace Finley Dailey on the status of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University. Christopher Volpe praises Edward Renehan’s biography of John Burroughs and highlights Burroughs’s friendships with Roosevelt and the poet Walt Whitman. Volpe notes that Burroughs was a very popular figure as a nature writer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but that he fell into obscurity after his death in 1921.

John A. Gable admires the cartoons and commentary found in J. David Valaik’s Theodore Roosevelt, An American Hero in Caricature which reproduces forty-seven caricatures of Roosevelt found in the pages of Puck magazine. Gable also favors Caleb Carr’s historical novel, The Alienist, which revolves around Roosevelt’s tenure as Police Commissioner of New York City. Gable, deeply skeptical of fictional portrayals of Roosevelt, finds Carr’s treatment “entirely accurate,” and he notes how other characters that people the novel have roots in real persons.

James G. Lewis reviews Char Miller’s Gifford Pinchot: The Evolution of an American Conservationist and notes that the work challenges the established view of the relationship between Pinchot and John Muir. Lewis says that Miller is “writing revisionist environmental history” by providing a nuanced portrait of Pinchot. Some of the selections as well as some of the commentary found in Mario R. Di Nunzio’s Theodore Roosevelt: An American Mind are questioned by the anonymous reviewer.

Wallace Finley Dailey, Curator of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University, provides a detailed update on manuscript and book additions to the collection; the use of the collection holdings by numerous authors; and the adoption of new computer based cataloging technology. Dailey also discusses fundraising efforts, exhibitions using the collection materials, and donations from members of the Roosevelt family. Photographs of Burroughs, Pinchot, Carr, and Valiak appear in the sections along with a view of the Theodore Roosevelt Gallery at Harvard.

Richard P. Harmond examines the conservation efforts of Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt’s uncle. Harmond discusses the influence of Henry William Herbert on Robert B. Roosevelt, and he looks at the productive relationship he had with Seth Green on the New York Fisheries Commission. Harmond dwells on Roosevelt’s work to establish the artificial hatching of fish to supplement declining natural populations, and he notes the tension between those who advocated propagating fish like trout for sportsmen and those who wanted to increase supplies of fish such as shad that could feed lots of people inexpensively.

A drawing of Robert B. Roosevelt and a photograph of the members of the New York Fisheries Commission appear in the article. A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association as well as the members of its executive committee accompanies the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

This brief biography of Gifford Pinchot recounts his accomplishments as first Chief of the United States Forest Service, as well as later in life. Pinchot participated heavily in Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive Party, and was later elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1922 and 1930 as a Republican. Pinchot helped found many associations focused on forestry and conservation, and was additionally a founder of the Roosevelt Memorial Association.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

Barry W. Walsh provides an overview of the career of America’s first and most famous forester, Gifford Pinchot. Walsh emphasizes Pinchot’s work in government to promote forest conservation, and she examines his work with President Theodore Roosevelt and his dismissal under President William Howard Taft. Walsh also examines Pinchot’s bitter quarrel with John Muir over building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy valley in Yosemite National Park, and she notes his advising President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the founding of the Yale Forest School. A photograph of Pinchot appears in the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

Stephen R. Fox explores the divide in the American conservation movement between camps headed by followers of John Muir and those of Gifford Pinchot. He talks about the popularity of each and of the scholarship that has been produced about each of them. Fox argues that Pinchot “is best understood not as a conservationist but as a politician,” and he examines Pinchot’s autobiography in some detail to support this assertion. Fox argues that Pinchot had presidential aspirations and that he demonstrated little interest in practical forestry matters in his later years, but he also contends that Pinchot remains an important figure in the history of the American conservation movement.

A photograph of Roosevelt and Pinchot appears in the article as does a listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. A notice that this issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal is dedicated to Jessica Kraft appears on the last page of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Horace M. Albright, a prominent conservationist who worked to organize the National Park Service, died on March 28, 1987. The Theodore Roosevelt Association acknowledges his accomplishments and publishes his last article, “Memories of Theodore Roosevelt,” in this issue.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

In a quote from his work, Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter, Theodore Roosevelt waxes poetic about the natural wonders of the United States, and believes that Americans “should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children’s children forever.”

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1905

Two passages from Theodore Roosevelt, one from a speech and one from a magazine article, about conservation. In the first, Roosevelt praises the work of James R. Garfield and Gifford Pinchot and emphasizes that they actually carried out the policies that they and Roosevelt talked about. In the second passage, Roosevelt asserts that it is becoming recognized that trees, wildlife, and flowers need to preserved for future generations. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1910-1915

John A. Gable provides a comprehensive accounting of the conservation record of President Theodore Roosevelt, and in ten quotations dating from 1905 to 1912, Roosevelt explains his philosophy of conservation. Roosevelt stresses that natural resources must be carefully managed for future generations and that conservation is the most important issue facing the country. Gable lists the 21 reclamation projects, 150 national forests, 51 bird refuges, and 4 national game preserves established by Roosevelt during his presidency. Gable also lists the 5 national parks and 18 national monuments created during Roosevelt’s tenure. He also notes the 7 different commissions and conferences called by Roosevelt during his presidency to study issues related to conservation and natural resources.

Photographs of Roosevelt at the dedication of the Roosevelt Dam in Arizona, at a federal bird refuge in Louisiana, and on horseback supplement the text.

A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association along with the members of its executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees is included in the article.

Edward P. Cliff provides a brief history of Theodore Roosevelt’s leadership of the conservation movement. Cliff highlights Roosevelt’s role in founding the Boone and Crockett Club, emphasizes the importance of Roosevelt’s friendship with Gifford Pinchot and their role in establishing the Forest Service, and notes the use that Roosevelt made of the Antiquities Act to create national monuments.

A photograph of Roosevelt at the dedication of the Roosevelt Dam and an illustration of Roosevelt in a dynamic speaking pose accompany the article.

Comments and Context

Theodore Roosevelt IV, great grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, argues that the conservation battles waged by President Roosevelt are still being fought but with a different set of opponents. He focuses on the threat to clean water posed by acid rain.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1983

In “News of the Association,” John A. Gable discusses plans for the Quasquicentennial of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth during 1982 and 1983. He provides a detailed look at an article about Roosevelt’s conservation legacy in National Geographic Magazine and also examines Paul Schullery’s article about Roosevelt and fishing in The American Fly Fisher. Gable discusses Roosevelt’s use of the Antiquities Act, notes the passing of members of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), and quotes extensively from a letter from Alton A. Lindsay praising the value of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal to scholars. Gable notes the TRA’s support of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in Buffalo, New York, praises the documentary film My Father the President about life at Sagamore Hill, and acknowledges the work of Wallace Finley Dailey of Harvard University in compiling a bibliography of journal and magazine articles about Roosevelt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1982

In this obituary for Nicholas Roosevelt, John A. Gable examines his involvement in Republican party politics, his career as a newspaper journalist, and work as an author. Gable also covers his efforts in conservation in the state of California.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1982

Commencement address given by John A. Gable, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, at the Broadmeadow School in Middletown, Delaware in May 1981. He argues that education is a lifelong process, and he identifies five objectives of an education. Gable discusses how Theodore Roosevelt’s education helped him become a leader in the conservation movement. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1981

Two quotations about the conservation of natural resources by Theodore Roosevelt, one from 1905 and the other from 1915. Both stress the need to preserve resources for future generations.

The quotations are followed by an advertisement for the Roosevelt Savings Bank of Garden City, New York, listing its various branch offices.

In this chapter excerpt from his book John Muir and His Legacy: The American Conservation Movement, Stephen Fox examines efforts to expand Yosemite National Park, the battle between preservationists and conservationists over the use of forests, and provides portraits of John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, John Burroughs, and Theodore Roosevelt. He looks at the work undertaken by the conservation movement to preserve Niagara Falls, the redwood forests of California, and Mount Desert Island in Maine. Fox concludes the chapter with a look at the battle over the city of San Francisco’s desire to build a dam at the southern end of Hetch Hetchy valley in Yosemite National Park. In addition to looking at the life and work of Muir, the chapter provides information on many lesser known figures in the turn of the twentieth-century conservation movement.

A listing of the officers and the members of the executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees of the Theodore Roosevelt Association is found on the second page of the excerpt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

In “The Sighting at Pine Knot, Virginia,” Alton A. Lindsay explores the question of whether Theodore Roosevelt was the last person to report a credible sighting of the extinct passenger pigeon near his presidential retreat, Pine Knot in Virginia, in 1907. Lindsay provides a history of Pine Knot and also looks at the making of Roosevelt as a naturalist going back to his childhood.  He notes some of the defining experiences in Roosevelt’s life that made him a naturalist and conservationist, such as his time in the Dakota Badlands. Like other scholars he pushes back against the idea that Roosevelt was merely a man of action and asserts that he “was a man of intellect.”

He details Roosevelt’s sighting of a small flock of passenger pigeons in May 1907, and argues that Roosevelt’s history and experience as a naturalist and ornithologist lend credibility to his claims to have seen the birds. 

Six quotations and speech excerpts from Theodore Roosevelt on the topic of conservation. The excerpts highlight Roosevelt’s belief that the United States has been wasteful in its use of natural resources and that it must use better judgment in the future to ensure that the resources that have allowed the nation to grow and prosper will be available for future generations. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1977

A brief description of how the Wheeler Geologic Area was formed, how to get there, and how it came to be protected by the United States government.

Collection

Rio Grande National Forest

Creation Date

Unknown

George W. McLane has long admired Theodore Roosevelt’s work in forest conservation. He has been in the nursery trade in Mexico and Central America and knows trees that would do well in the various climates of the United States. McLane wants to discuss the matter with Roosevelt during his upcoming trip to New York.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-31