The Everything Theodore Roosevelt Book (33 page)

Later in 1908, TR created the Country Life Commission. He appointed Liberty Hyde Bailey, director of the College of Agriculture at Cornell University in New York, as chairman. The commission’s assignment was to study the status of rural life and make suggestions on how to integrate the lesser populated areas of the United States into mainstream America.

By that time, Congress was getting testy about TR’s commissions. It refused to pay the printing costs for Bailey’s final report, which advocated creating a large agricultural society in the United States. That did not impact the publication.

The Spokane, Washington, Chamber of Commerce published the report. TR forged ahead, undeterred by Congress’s reluctance to pay for his commission’s report or threats to put the brakes on his creation of others.

The National Conservation Committee completed its work quickly. Its extensive report filled three volumes. Twenty governors, representatives from twenty-two state conservation commissions, and other interested parties assembled in Washington, D.C., in December 1908 to hear the report.

One of the reasons Congress was growing more concerned about TR’s ever-widening focus on conservation was his attempt to make it a worldwide effort. The members were right. At the North American Conservation Conference in 1909 he called for an international session. His call was ignored.

The ramifications of the commission’s work were far reaching and long lasting. The report provided by the National Conservation Committee encouraged TR to expand his conservation efforts. Even though the end of his presidency was nearing, he accelerated his attempts to push his agenda. TR convened the North American Conservation Conference in the White House on February 18, 1909.

Ending Exploitation

In the final analysis, TR accomplished quite a bit from a conservation standpoint in his seven years as president. One of his most significant contributions was in public relations. He raised the nation’s awareness of the need for conservation and put “Big Business” on notice that it had to start paying attention to saving natural resources, even if he had to take them out of its hands—which he did.

TR’s conservation efforts included withdrawing coal, mineral, oil, phosphate, and water-power site lands from private exploitation. In the process, he relied on his old trick of enlisting allies who were best equipped to help him.

He worked with a consortium of industrialists, business moguls, and prominent naturalists such as John Muir and John Burroughs to accomplish his conservation goals. TR was relentless, and he traveled far and wide to promote his interests.

TR visited with John Muir in California in 1903 to discuss adding Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa sequoia grove to Yosemite National Park. That was not necessarily what TR had in mind when he went out there on a camping trip. Nevertheless, that is what he did. He did not always agree with Muir, but expanding Yosemite National Park seemed like a good idea.

The credit for founding the Sierra Club goes to TR. He suggested to John Muir that such an organization would be a great asset for conservationists. Accordingly, Muir organized the club in 1892. He was its first president, and he served in that capacity until his death in 1914.

After Muir died, TR wrote a glowing tribute to him in the January 16, 1915, edition of
Outlook
magazine. He said:

Muir talked even better than he wrote. His greatest influence was always upon those who were brought into personal contact with him. But he wrote well, and while his books have not the peculiar charm that a very, very few other writers on similar subjects have had, they will nevertheless last long. Our generation owes much to John Muir
.

In retrospect, the same could be said about TR.

John Burroughs

Another conservationist with whom TR worked was John Burroughs. The two shared special mutual interests: a love of nature and a desire to preserve it. Burroughs wrote about nature while TR acted legislatively to preserve it. Together, they were effective in providing Americans with an appreciation for conservation.

John Burroughs was one of TR’s favorite authors and a longtime friend. Burroughs called TR “a rare combination of sportsman and naturalist.” In return, TR wrote about Burroughs’s writing: “Every lover of outdoor life must feel a sense of affectionate obligation to you.” As a gesture of respect,
TR dedicated his book, Outdoor Pleasures of an American Outdoorsman, to Burroughs
.

In reference to the two-week camping trip the two took in Yellowstone National Park in 1903, TR continued, “You were with me on one of the trips described in this volume, and I trust that to look it over will recall the pleasant days we spent together.” Their writings are enjoyed by sportsmen, conservationists, and lovers of literature nearly 100 years after their deaths—a fact that would please them both to no end.

Signs of Success

By the time TR left the White House, conservation was a significant issue among politicians and the public. He happily reported those signs in his conservation initiatives as proponents became more active in their efforts.

Theodore Roosevelt camping with John Burroughs at Yellowstone Park, 1903

After a 1901 hunting trip to Colorado, he wrote in
Outdoor Pleasures of an American Outdoorsman
:

This high country is the summer home of the Colorado elk, now woefully diminished in numbers, and of the Colorado blacktail deer, which are still very plentiful, but which, unless better protected, will follow the elk in the next few decades. I am happy to say that there are now signs to show that the State is waking up to the need of protecting both elk and deer; the few remaining mountain sheep in Colorado are so successfully protected that they are said to be increasing in numbers
.

That single paragraph summed up his conservation concerns: diminishing numbers, the need for better protection, people’s awakenings regarding the need for protecting natural resources, and successful results. It was a tribute to his conservation efforts as well.

Enemies of Conservation

TR and his conservation-minded friends, some of who almost made saving resources a religion, had created a movement that picked up speed—and enemies. Once business leaders figured out that conservation was going to cost them money, they began to fight attempts to promote it. Even Congress fought against the conservation of natural resources at times.

Fighting with Congress and business people over the value and costs of conservation was one thing TR would not miss after he left office. Neither would he give up his own campaign to protect the nation’s resources. TR redirected his efforts to private ventures, while his supporters carried on the fight in their own arenas. Together, they set a trend for future, never-ending battles over conservation issues.

Together, TR and Pinchot helped preserve more than 170 million acres of land by designating them as national parks and monuments. One of the president’s last acts was to designate Mount Olympus in Washington state as a national monument—only two days before he left office in 1909.

The Aftermath

TR’s influence and efforts to push conservation lasted long after he left office. His actions in the area led to the formation of the National Park Service, which was established on August 25, 1916. That was only part of his legacy.

According to some estimates, TR placed approximately 230 million acres of natural resources under federal protection during his tenure as president. That included parks, forests, game and bird preserves, and other unique natural resources. Congress, business people, and other critics may have opposed him at times, but he succeeded in conserving huge amounts of resources for all the people of the United States.

One of TR’s most enduring pieces of legislation was the Antiquities Act of 1906, which he signed on June 8 that year. It made possible the preservation of historic, scientific, commemorative, and cultural values of the archaeological and historic sites and structures on public land. Most importantly, it obligated—and continues to obligate—the federal agencies that manage that land to act in the best interests of present and future generations.

“Present and future …” That highlighted TR’s attitude about conversation. Not only was it intended to save natural resources for everybody, but for those of future generations. That was typical of TR when it came to conservation—and almost everything else in which he had an interest. He was always looking ahead.

QUIZ

13-1 The multitalented scientist “WJ” McGee never earned a formal college degree
.

A. True

B. False

13-2 TR appointed Liberty Hyde Bailey as chairman of the National Commission on Country Life because he was:

A. the best car salesman in a small town in upstate New York.