This volume traces the history of conservation on the local and state level, from 1844 to 2002. When he assumed office in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt, building on a few earlier national efforts (like the establishment of Yellowstone Park and the enactment of the Forest Reserve Law), constructed a national dimension to the conservation effort. During his presidency, the clash between conservation and preservation became an important theme in environmental history. Over the course of the 20th century, the ideas of conservation and preservation continued to define different approaches to the natural world. Primary documents from the period are included.
Preface; PART I - Environmentalism and the Government, 1844-2002; 1. Conservation by Localities and the States in the Nineteenth Century; 2. The Federal Government and Conservation in the Nineteenth Century; 3. Theodore Roosevelt and Conservation; 4. From Roosevelt to Roosevelt, 1913-1933; 5. Franklin D. Roosevelt as an Environmentalist; 6. Postwar America, 1945-1970; 7. Epilogue; PART II - Documents; 1. The First Annual Report of New York State's Fisheries Commission, 1868; 2. Adirondack, 1869; 3. Arbor Day: A New Holiday, 1889; 4. A Word to Fishermen, 1903; 5. Grover Cleveland's "A Word to Forestry," 1904; 6. The Lacey Bill, 1900; 7. Excerpts from Theodore Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1902; 8. The Conservation of Natural Resources, 1907; 9. How the Raker Act Affects the Hetch Hetchy, San Francisco, and the Rest of the Country, 1914; 10. The Tuolumne Yosemite in Danger, 1907; 11. Environmentalist Critique of CCC, 1935; 12. FDR's 1935 Message on the Environment; 13. Proclamation 2667: Policy of the United States with Respect to the Natural Resources of the Subsoil and Seabed of the Continental Shelf, 1946; 14. Excerpts from the President's News Conference of February 29, 1956; 15. "This Crisis is Urgent" Says Silent Spring Author in Acceptance of Audobon Medal, 1964; 16. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 199 6; 17. U.S. Climate Action Report, 2002; Index; About the Authors.