Changing the Landscape: Aldo Leopold’s Conservation Legacy

 Guest Post by Kate Jakubowski

Changing the Landscape: Aldo Leopold’s Conservation Legacy

Combing through the archives of Aldo Leopold is no small feat. Located at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Aldo Leopold archives contain 83 boxes of material which are divided into twelve different series. It will take you more than a day to learn about the life of Leopold—probably months or years, if you have the time—but this is appropriate for a man who devoted his life to his love of conservation.

Known as the Father of Wildlife Management,[1] the Father of Modern Conservation, and father of five children, all of whom followed in his footsteps to become noted scientists of their own, Aldo Leopold was not just an important figure in the 20^th century conservation movement but a pioneering one. Leopold’s book, A Sand County Almanac, was a landmark in environmentalism where he developed his land ethic philosophy. He also created a new field of study within environmentalism, game management, as he developed and taught the first course on the subject as a professor at UW-Madison. His devotion to his passion is clear as he was active on over 100 committees and wrote over 10,000 pages of material in his lifetime.[2] Aldo’s achievements can be boiled down to three categories: his writings, his career as an educator, and his advocacy for conservation. All of these are important to understanding Leopold’s legacy and commitment to preserving the natural land for future generations.

Aldo Leopold’s legacy, much like Vincent van Gogh, is one that began to form after his death rather than during his lifetime. Leopold’s biggest work—The Sand County Almanac—was published posthumously in 1949. The book described foundational environmental concepts such as trophic cascade for the first time.[3] It also introduced Leopold’s “land ethic” philosophy, or the idea that humans should live in harmony with the land to foster a healthy relationship with it, not a harmful one. As he puts it: “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”[4] It wasn’t until a revised version was put out in the 1970s that the book became a bestseller—and was important in stimulating conversations in the environmental movement alongside Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. It is also fitting that Leopold’s book became popular around the time the first Earth Day was celebrated—the fact that both the holiday’s founder, Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson, and Leopold had Wisconsin roots should cement the state’s legacy in environmental history.

Leopold’s work on A Sand County Almanac was years in the making and shows his dedication to the crafts of science and writing. Beginning as a teenager, Leopold regularly went out to observe birds, waking up before dawn to journal about their habits and migration patterns.[5] His oldest diaries in the UW Archives show his sketches of animals from a young age, as well as his notes on birds—many of which are written with their scientific, Latin names. Leopold spent his entire life observing the world around him, taking meticulous notes. This practice continued his whole life and played an important role in his teachings as a professor.

Aldo Leopold’s journal from 1903, when he was 16, where he kept ornithological notes. The pages pictured lists different bird species using their scientific names.

In 1933, Aldo Leopold was appointed Professor of Game Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.[6] This was the first time anyone had taught this subject. Leopold was pioneering a new field of study within conservation. As such, Leopold became known as the father of wildlife management, and his textbook Game Management became foundational in teaching this topic at other universities.[7]

Leopold’s passion for both wildlife management and environmental studies in general, showed throughout his lectures as professor. In his 1948 lecture “Putting the Sciences Together,” Leopold’s multi-disciplinary approach is on full display. Drawing from the areas of meteorology, physiology, and ornithology,[8] Leopold explains his theory on why cardinals do not fight or sing in the spring. To prepare this lecture, Leopold spent the winter months with his colleagues recording cardinal singing activity in different locations around Wisconsin. He concluded that cardinals do not sing or fight in December due to changes in the cold temperatures suppressing their endocrine system’s natural urges.[9] Leopold’s conclusion would not have been possible without combining all the disciplines he was passionate about.

Leopold’s love for many things also shines through in his advocacy for conservation. Throughout his career, Leopold was active on hundreds of committees. These included President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Committee on Wildlife Restoration,[10] the Izaak Walton League of America’s Committee on National Projects in Conservation (of which he was chairman),[11] and the Ecological Society of America (where he served as president).[12] Additionally, he attended the Matamek Conference on Biological Cycles in 1931, where he gave a notable speech,[13] and provided the US Senate Committee on Conservation of Wildlife with notes that were later incorporated into their report.[14]

Leopold’s tireless advocacy shows why he was so important to the field of conservation. He certainly made a mark on the field in his committee service. But it was his open-mindedness that made him so foundational as an advocate. This is evident not only in his multidisciplinary lectures, but also from his critics, who judged him for refusing to be pigeonholed. As a former colleague said: “Leopold is a forester who does not know whether he had rather carry a caliper or a shotgun, so he has wasted twenty years carrying both.”[15]

Perhaps this quote is a metaphor for Leopold’s larger personality: he was measured in his approach to writing about environment ethics, but bold when it came to advocating for them. When Leopold was appointed to the Conservation Commission and Citizens’ Deer Committee, the State Journal praised him by saying:

Aldo Leopold may not be a popular commissioner with everyone… [but he] knows what real conservation is and how to achieve it. That will involve stepping on toes, but, fortified by an informed love for nature and having no political axes to grind, he will not be reluctant to step… If the people of Wisconsin allow men like Leopold to direct their conservation program, the generations to come will be blessed. [16]

Perhaps it was Leopold’s apolitical nature that allowed him to be so productive in conservation. His only goal was informing others of the importance of the environment and advocating for its protection; as a result, he was willing to work with anyone to achieve his goals.

As an accomplished and distinguished figure throughout his lifetime, there are many more achievements of Leopold’s that deserve mention. Leopold advocated for the establishment of the first wilderness area in the world; with the designation of the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico in 1924 as such,[17] his dreams became a reality. Over 2 million copies of Leopold’s Sand County Almanac have been sold, and it has been translated into 15 other languages.[18] Leopold was even asked to be a representative at a United Nations conference in 1949.[19] However, he tragically passed away the year before, after suffering a heart attack while putting out a fire at a neighbors’ house.

Though Leopold’s life was cut short, he accomplished more than many of us could ever achieve. His devotion to the environment and bold approach can be summed up by Leopold himself: “A person is an ecologist if he is skillful in seeing facts, ingenious in formulating a hypothesis, and ruthless in discarding them if they don’t fit.”[20] Indeed, Leopold wasn’t afraid to tackle topics with an open mind, change his opinion if the facts challenged his position, and work with different people to ensure his vision was realized. Six decades after his death, Leopold still remains one of the defining figures of the Wisconsin environmental movement. He undoubtedly changed the landscape we live in to benefit future generations.

For Leopold, what many would view as the most mundane parts of nature became the object of appreciation and nurturing. In A Sand County Almanac, he wrote “to those devoid of imagination, a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part.”[21] Leopold always looked for the fine details, observing what others could not. The blank places on maps thank Leopold today, because they are the opposite of vacant space—they are full of life.

 

Picture credits

Pacific Southwest Region 5, Aldo Leopold Trip to the Rio Gavilan, photograph, Wikimedia Commons, December 20, 2010, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aldo_Leopold_trip_to_the_Rio_Gavilan_(5441676907).jpg.

“Complete List [of Bird Species], Eastern United States,” 1903, series 9/25/10-7: Diaries and Journals, box 1, folder 2, Aldo Leopold Papers, The Aldo Leopold Archives, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.

 

 

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[1] Marybeth Lorbiecki, A Fierce Green Fire: Aldo Leopold’s Life and Legacy. Oxford University Press, 2016, xi-xii.

[2] Lorbiecki, Fierce Green Fire, 26.

[3] Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There (Oxford University Press, 1949), 137-141.

[4] Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, xxvi.

[5] Lorbiecki, Fierce Green Fire, 18.

[6] Lorbiecki, Fierce Green Fire, 123.

[7] Lorbiecki, Fierce Green Fire, xi.

[8] “Putting the Sciences Together,” 1948, 9/25/10-1, Box 2 folder 3, page 134, Aldo Leopold Papers, The Aldo Leopold Archives, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AZ6ANIT4I3QM679E/pages/ATU53WW2XJSIIG8Q.

[9] “Putting the Sciences Together.”

[10] “President's Committee on Wild Life Restoration,” 1934, series 9/25/10-2: Organizations, Committees, Box 7 folder 8, Aldo Leopold Papers, The Aldo Leopold Archives, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.

[11] “Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA) -- National, 1931,” 1937-1948, series 9/25/10-2: Organizations, Committees, box 4 folder 14, Aldo Leopold Papers, The Aldo Leopold Archives, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.

[12] “Ecological Society of America (ESA),” 1936-1950, series 9/25/10-2: Organizations, Committees, box 2 folder 9, Aldo Leopold Papers, The Aldo Leopold Archives, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.

[13] “Matamek Conference on Biological Cycles, June 1931,” 1931-1934, series 9/25/10-2: Organizations, Committees, box 5 folder 2, Aldo Leopold Papers, The Aldo Leopold Archives, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.

[14] “US Senate Committee on Conservation of Wildlife,” 1930, series 9/25/10-2: Organizations, Committees, Box 8 folder 11, Aldo Leopold Papers, The Aldo Leopold Archives, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.

[15] “Insert Preface,” Year Unknown, series 9/25/10-6: Writings, box 10 folder 1, Aldo Leopold Papers, The Aldo Leopold Archives, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AG65AV6OBR2TSI8G/pages/AMZDFN4FJ56VIO8V.

[16] Lorbiecki, Fierce Green Fire, 161-162.

[17] Curt Meine and Richard L. Knight, The Essential Aldo Leopold: Quotations and Commentaries (University of Wisconsin Press, 1999), 99.

[18] “Who Was Aldo Leopold?,” The Aldo Leopold Foundation, accessed March 27, 2025, https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/aldo-leopold.

[19] Lorbiecki, Fierce Green Fire, 178.

[20] “Putting the Sciences Together.”

[21] Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 294.