Pinchot and the Forests
From 1890-1920 the United States went through a period of reform known as the Progressive Era. The era’s reformers had a wide variety of social, political, and economic goals that they began pursuing at a grassroots level, such as temperance and women’s suffrage (“Progressive Era and World War I”). A significant facet of the era was the Conservation Movement, whose philosophy came from the writings of early naturalists such as John Muir (1838-1914) (“Conservative Movement”). Less well known than Muir, yet no less a significant figure in the movement is Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946), the first Chief of the United States Forest Service and later Governor of Pennsylvania who was dubbed “the Father of American Conservation” …show more content…
In the late 19th century, Americans treated natural resources as though they were infinite by heavily exploiting them (“Conservation in the Progressive Era”). Industrial logging, according to naturalist George Marsh, left the land unproductive and vulnerable to erosion (“Conservation Movement”). In Europe, however, forests were seen as a public resource and managed accordingly (“Gifford Pinchot”). At his father’s suggestion, Pinchot studied forestry after he graduated from Yale, having always loved the woods and the outdoors. He studied forestry for a year in Nancy, France since no American school offered a course in it (“Gifford Pinchot (1845-1946)”). As the son of a well-off merchant he had lived a very privileged life and saw forestry as a way for him to give back to society. Upon his return to the United States in 1890, he started practicing scientific forestry, first working on George Vanderbilt’s private estate in Biltmore, then the National Forest Commission, the Division of Forestry, and in 1905 the U.S. Forest Service (“Gifford Pinchot”). Pinchot took a practical stance when it came to forestry, with the philosophy "to make the forest produce the largest amount of whatever crop or service will be most useful, and keep on producing it for generation after generation of men and …show more content…
In the May of 1908, he helped finance the Governor’s Conference on the Conservation of Natural Resources, which was held at the White House. The conference made the public aware of the conservation issues and resulted in a significant number of state-level and private conservation initiatives (“Documentary Chronology”). The difference in public awareness before and after the conference was great. In 1910 Pinchot described it in The Fight For Conservation, “The movement so begun and so prosecuted has gathered immense swing and impetus. In 1907 few knew what conservation meant. Now it has become a household word.” Pinchot made conservation a national concern for everyone, from the President of the United States to just everyday
From 1890-1920 the United States went through a period of reform known as the Progressive Era. The era’s reformers had a wide variety of social, political, and economic goals that they began pursuing at a grassroots level, such as temperance and women’s suffrage (“Progressive Era and World War I”). A significant facet of the era was the Conservation Movement, whose philosophy came from the writings of early naturalists such as John Muir (1838-1914) (“Conservative Movement”). Less well known than Muir, yet no less a significant figure in the movement is Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946), the first Chief of the United States Forest Service and later Governor of Pennsylvania who was dubbed “the Father of American Conservation” …show more content…
In the late 19th century, Americans treated natural resources as though they were infinite by heavily exploiting them (“Conservation in the Progressive Era”). Industrial logging, according to naturalist George Marsh, left the land unproductive and vulnerable to erosion (“Conservation Movement”). In Europe, however, forests were seen as a public resource and managed accordingly (“Gifford Pinchot”). At his father’s suggestion, Pinchot studied forestry after he graduated from Yale, having always loved the woods and the outdoors. He studied forestry for a year in Nancy, France since no American school offered a course in it (“Gifford Pinchot (1845-1946)”). As the son of a well-off merchant he had lived a very privileged life and saw forestry as a way for him to give back to society. Upon his return to the United States in 1890, he started practicing scientific forestry, first working on George Vanderbilt’s private estate in Biltmore, then the National Forest Commission, the Division of Forestry, and in 1905 the U.S. Forest Service (“Gifford Pinchot”). Pinchot took a practical stance when it came to forestry, with the philosophy "to make the forest produce the largest amount of whatever crop or service will be most useful, and keep on producing it for generation after generation of men and …show more content…
In the May of 1908, he helped finance the Governor’s Conference on the Conservation of Natural Resources, which was held at the White House. The conference made the public aware of the conservation issues and resulted in a significant number of state-level and private conservation initiatives (“Documentary Chronology”). The difference in public awareness before and after the conference was great. In 1910 Pinchot described it in The Fight For Conservation, “The movement so begun and so prosecuted has gathered immense swing and impetus. In 1907 few knew what conservation meant. Now it has become a household word.” Pinchot made conservation a national concern for everyone, from the President of the United States to just everyday