Conservation Movement. The same year, Gifford Pinchot is appointed chief of the Division of Forestry in the Department of Agriculture, the precursor to the U.S. Forest Service. Concerned with historic preservation, rather than wilderness preservation, this movement gained even broader support after World War II, as a booming economy, sprawling development, and … "We stand now where two roads diverge. Congress passes the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery. "In the original plan for the City of New York," Riis observed, "the children seem to have been forgotten.". The project is an example of the growing emphasis on "community-based conservation" in the United States. Lois Gibbs and other residents of Niagara Falls, New York form the Love Canal Homeowners' Association and fight against the toxic contamination of their neighborhood by the Hooker Chemical Corporation. Inspired by William Henry Jackson's photographs and Thomas Moran's paintings, Congress sets aside Yellowstone as the nation's -- and the world's -- first national park. 1969. 1935: The Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service) forms. "Our conservation must be not just the classic conservation of protection and development, but a creative conservation of restoration and innovation. Together the trusts have protected nearly 5 million acres. Conservation Movement: Conservation Chronology 1847-1871. The photographs of Ansel Adams exemplify the emerging power of photography to shape the perceptions of the postwar generation. The Nature Conservancy is incorporated by its predecessor, The Ecologist's Union. Home, after all, is the place where we make our living. Public timelines; ... Timeline of Key Developments in the Global Conservation Movement Timeline created by xxFelinexx. As secretary for New York City's Committee on Small Parks, Jacob Riis helps to generate momentum for public playgrounds and other small parks. Well, it's easy as toast! In the mid to late 19th century, natural resources were heavily exploited, especially in the West. Pollution was associated with the spread of epidemic disease in Europe between the late 14th century and the mid-16th century, and soil conservation was practiced in China, India, and Peru as early as 2,000 years ago. This is one of the first acts of private historic preservation in the United States. Congress passes an act prohibiting hunting in Yellowstone Park. Club members become advocates for conservation and publish several volumes of writings about conservation and hunting. across conservation agencies, and the Division of Predator and Rodent Control (now Wildlife Services) forms. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth. Congress passes the Forest Reserve Act, granting the President the power to establish forest reserves. Conservation Movement Timeline Fact 2: 1851: Henry David Thoreau delivers an address in Massachusetts declaring that "in Wildness is the preserva… Concern for the impact on human life of problems such as air and water pollution dates to at least Roman times. Seminal works that serve as milestones in environmentalism come from writers and naturalists from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. Landscape painter Asher B. Durand calls for the birth of a new movement, art devoted to scenes of the American wilderness. Many of the ideas expressed in the speech would become the philosophical foundation for the conservation movement. Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, located on Whidbey Island, Washington, is established. The U.S. Navy is authorized to establish forest reserves to protect hardwoods for building its ships. The following year, Congress enacts the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, and in 1968 the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the National Trails Act are approved. Influenced by ideas and practices introduced from Germany, the forestry movement in the United States begins to promote scientific and "efficient" forest management. Yosemite Protected by Government 1864. 1950s–1960s : The environmental movement continues to grow with many influential books being published. German foresters like Dietri… The early con Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana. Timeline of Conservation Catalysts and Legislation Share this page. The Historic Sites and Buildings Act directs the Secretary of the Interior to document, acquire, and preserve historic properties. The harvest moon, Currier & Ives. Thoreau 1817 - 1862. Jan 1, 1960. Updated February 22, 2019. Muir believed that human actions could harm our nations landscapes and therefore should be avoided, sha… The Monument is later reclassified as Acadia National Park, the first national park east of the Mississippi River. History: Sierra Club Timeline. Congress enacts the Forest Management Act, which designates Forest Reserves as national resources for timber harvesting, grazing, and mining. ", "I think it is inappropriate to call land a "resource" because that term is tied so closely to economics. The other fork of the road, the one "less traveled by" offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of our earth. Man did not weave the web of life: he is merely a strand in it. It also marks the beginning of a shift from a conservation movement dominated by wilderness lovers to the emerging environmental movement, which brings together scientists from different fields. Earth Day is celebrated for the first time by an estimated 20 million people across the United States. One-quarter of the population of the United States lives in rural areas; less than three percent lives on farms. Congress transfers responsibility for the nation's Forest Reserves from the Department of the Interior to the Forest Service. Drought and dust storms sweep the Great Plains, thereafter known as the "Dust Bowl". Albert Bierstadt first visits the Rocky Mountains and begins a career of painting grand images of western scenery, including an image of Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite Valley (1870) that is in the Billings family collection. "Pueblo people believe that the primary and most important relationship for humans is with the land, the natural environment, and the cosmos, which in the pueblo world are synonymous. Working to protect the mountains, rivers and trails of the northeastern United States, it is now the nation's oldest conservation and outdoor recreation organization. The same year, President Benjamin Harrison sets aside land in Wyoming to form the nation's first forest reserve. The choice, after all, is ours to make. Congress passes a bill establishing Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and Zion National Park in Utah. -Escape the cities … Wilderness Myth. Land speculators and developers took over large tracts of forests and grazing land. A group of ranchers from a million-acre region in southern Arizona and New Mexico form the Malpai Borderlands Group, a nonprofit organization dedicated to achieving more sustainable ranching techniques and protecting the area's unfragmented landscape. Conservation will become an important domestic priority. In the first significant historic preservation case to reach the Supreme Court, the Court rules that New York City's preservation law is constitutional. It's not.". "Conservation and rural-life policies are really two sides of the same policy; and down at the bottom this policy rests upon the fundamental law that neither man nor nation can prosper unless, in dealing with the present, thought is steadily taken for the future.". In a time of declining government resources, non-governmental organizations play an increasingly important role in conservation worldwide. Pioneering regional planner Benton MacKaye proposes a trail and wilderness belt along the mountain ranges of the eastern United States. Tree-Planting Day is first observed in Nebraska. Landscape architect Charles Elliott advocates creating a private organization to permanently protect scenic treasures of the northeastern United States. 1832 – Hot Springs Reservation; 1864 – Yosemite Valley; 1872 – Yellowstone National Park; 1892 – Sierra Club; 1916 – National Park Service Organic Act; 1916 – National Audubon Society; 1949 – UN Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Resources; 1961 – World Wildlife Foundation Vernon Ladies Association acquires 200 acres of George Washington's estate. and stretching into the modern era. The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920 documents the historical formation and cultural foundations of the movement to conserve and protect America's natural heritage, through books, pamphlets, government documents, manuscripts, prints, photographs, and motion picture footage drawn from the collections of the Library of Congress. I suggest consulting the Timeline’s bibliography or the “essential reading” sections in each area. Lewis & Clark Expedition 1804 - 1807. President Theodore Roosevelt establishes a federally protected wildlife refuge at Pelican Island, Florida. His vision later becomes the 2,000-mile-long Appalachian Trail. The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the future. As the vast American wilderness began to be explored, settled, and exploited, the idea that some wild spaces had to be … At the beginning of the conservation movement of the 20th century, the contemporary environmental movement’s roots can be traced back to – Murray Bookchin’s “Our Synthetic Environment.” Paul R. Ehrlich’s “The Population Bomb.” Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring.” Two years later the world's first land trust, the Trustees of Public Reservations (today the Trustees of Reservations), is formed in Massachusetts. The legislation establishes the idea that national parks should not be used for hunting. The International Council on Monuments and Sites is established. ... Nikolaus Pevsner suggests fifty Modern Movement buildings for listing, thirty-seven of which (including Sir Owen Williams' 1932 Boot Factory in Nottinghamshire), were added to the list. Central Park in New York City, designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, is completed.