US Forest Service Support Letter

USDA    Department  of Agriculture	Forest Service	Washington Office	1400 Independence Avenue, Washington, DC. 20250

File Code: 2300   Date: MAY 1 4

Ms. Kristin Vander Molen, Grants Manager                                                                                                            Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs                                                                                                            600 E. Locust Street, Des Moines, IA 50319

 

Dear Ms. Molen:

This letter supports the purchase of the Starker-Leopold House in Burlington where Aldo Leopold started his famous career in ecosystem conservation and resulting in the development of  the concept of a land ethic.  Leopold’s childhood was integral to developing his curiosity and  observation skills of the outdoors.  He used these talents to great benefit while serving with the  Forest Service first in the southwest and later in his life in Wisconsin. Aldo Leopold's legacy is the Forest Service and America's conservation legacy.  His appreciation for the land and the importance of conserving it led to the modern concepts and practices of species and wilderness    management.  These tenets, which are so common place today, were ground breaking in his time. Our nation's modern value of land and species conservation began with his family's urging to explore the wilds around their home on Clay Street!

In addition to being an instrumental voice for the creation of wilderness, Leopold is considered to be the father of wildlife ecology in the United States. Graduating from the Yale School of  Forestry in 1909, he eagerly joined the Forest Service in the southwestern United States and was  promoted to the job of Supervisor for the Carson National Forest in New Mexico. From this  position he developed the proposal to manage the Gila National Forest as a wilderness. It became the country's first official wilderness in 1924.

From this auspicious beginning. Leopold and his family moved to Wisconsin where he was hired as the new Chair for Game Management at the University of Wisconsin. This position was a  first for both the teaching institution and the country.  A few years later, he and his family  purchased "played out" land in Wisconsin, lovingly naming it "The Shack" where they practiced  the art of restoring the ecosystem. They planted thousands of trees and restored the damaged wetlands. Throughout his life he was a prolific writer, using his experiences to flavor articles and books, including the influential tome ''A Sand County Almanac" which has become a must         read for aspiring wildlife biologists.

The Forest Service is guided by Leopold's inspiration and philosophy of the land ethic on a daily basis.  He is not only our hero he is an American hero. We are very happy to hear of the  efforts of the Leopold Landscape Alliance and heartily recommend the approval of the REAP  Grant application to protect this national treasure.

Sincerely,

 

Deputy Chief, National Forest System