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American Sportsmen and the Origins of Conservation
Environmentalists who believe that hunters and anglers are interested only in the kill and the catch may be surprised to learn that sportsmen were originally in the vanguard of the conservation movement. John Reiger's work has been hailed as an authoritative look at these early conservationists; now his landmark book is available in an expanded edition that broadens its historic sweep.
Beginning in the 1870s, sportsmen across America formed hundreds of organizations that not only fostered responsibility for game habitats but also spearheaded the creation of national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. Reiger tells how these "gentlemen" hunters and anglers, outdoor journals like Forest and Stream , and organizations such as the Boone and Crockett Club—founded by Theodore Roosevelt, George Bird Grinnell, and other prominent sportsmen—lobbied for laws regulating the taking of wildlife, and helped to arouse public interest in wilderness preservation.
In this new edition, Reiger traces the antecedents of the sportsmen's conservation movement to the years before the Civil War. He extends his coverage into the present by demonstrating how the nineteenth-century sportsman's code—with its demand for taking responsibility for the total environment—continues to be the cornerstone of the sporting ethic. A new Epilogue depicts leading environmental thinker Aldo Leopold as the best-known exponent of this hunter-conservationist ideal.
Praised as "one of the seminal works in conservation history" by historian Hal Rothman, Reiger's book continues to be essential reading for all concerned with how earlier Americans regarded the land, demonstrating even to those who oppose hunting that they share with sportsmen and sportswomen an awareness and appreciation of our fragile environment.
Beginning in the 1870s, sportsmen across America formed hundreds of organizations that not only fostered responsibility for game habitats but also spearheaded the creation of national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. Reiger tells how these "gentlemen" hunters and anglers, outdoor journals like Forest and Stream , and organizations such as the Boone and Crockett Club—founded by Theodore Roosevelt, George Bird Grinnell, and other prominent sportsmen—lobbied for laws regulating the taking of wildlife, and helped to arouse public interest in wilderness preservation.
In this new edition, Reiger traces the antecedents of the sportsmen's conservation movement to the years before the Civil War. He extends his coverage into the present by demonstrating how the nineteenth-century sportsman's code—with its demand for taking responsibility for the total environment—continues to be the cornerstone of the sporting ethic. A new Epilogue depicts leading environmental thinker Aldo Leopold as the best-known exponent of this hunter-conservationist ideal.
Praised as "one of the seminal works in conservation history" by historian Hal Rothman, Reiger's book continues to be essential reading for all concerned with how earlier Americans regarded the land, demonstrating even to those who oppose hunting that they share with sportsmen and sportswomen an awareness and appreciation of our fragile environment.
338 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 21, 2022
I didn't finish this one, but it had a few interesting ideas on conservation and it's origin in the United States. It felt like the author had a strong bias, so that was part of the reason I didn't feel the need to finish it.
May 5, 2015
This book does well to provide readers with an understanding that people came before Muir and Pinchot (and T.R.) in regards to the conservation movement. If Reiger had stuck to his point about the sportsman's influence on the movement, as a subject, rather than trying to manufacture an argument of the value of sportsman on nature, it might have been a better book. HOwever...
Pg 187, his final paragraph...
It is indeed ironic that the individuals who established [the conservation programs under Pinchot and TR] were sportsman, for if they lived today* they would find themselves being increasingly accused of insensitivity to nature....how does one explain the fact that American sportsman were, by far, the single most important group in the making of conservation?"
Easy -- the early sportsman, as Reiger notes, were affluent -- rich! The sportsman policies revolved on saving their playgrounds. He notes the Boone and Crockett club. Do you think getting wild game -- a Bear -- in Alaska in the late 1890s happened without a ton of money? Yes, they did start conservation, but for what purpose?
In Karl Jacoby's work, Crimes Against Nature, he notes that the Adirondack National Park/Preserve, which is detailed in this book, had several private parks,notably one owned by Rockefeller --yes, that rich guy --and protected by none other than the PINKERTONS! This is rich/middle class protection of their leisure, including their favorite sport of the day, fishing and hunting.
There is nothing wrong with hunting and fishing, but let's not make out Grinell and other sportsman of the 19th century and into the progressive era out to be nature's savoir. They had a motivation that did not involve the same motivation towards nature as, say, Muir. It wasn't sensitivity, it was a protection of a life they enjoyed -- a life of leisure and sport. Yes, that also enjoyed a love of nature -- as it does today with hunters, but that's only part of the story, and far too simplistic to provide as an argument in a monograph,I argue.
Again, this is not a judgement on Grinell, Pinchot, Muir, T.R. or hunting/angling -- this is a critisism of this book. His moral judgments within this book utterly fail to convince.
There are good parts of this book, but way too many missteps within his judgements to rate it higher than 2 stars.
* The book was written in the early 70s and published in 1975, but I have the 3rd edition from 2001. Some of it was updated in '01, so I'm sure if "today" is 75,2001, or the date of the 2nd edition. Either way..., it applies.
Pg 187, his final paragraph...
It is indeed ironic that the individuals who established [the conservation programs under Pinchot and TR] were sportsman, for if they lived today* they would find themselves being increasingly accused of insensitivity to nature....how does one explain the fact that American sportsman were, by far, the single most important group in the making of conservation?"
Easy -- the early sportsman, as Reiger notes, were affluent -- rich! The sportsman policies revolved on saving their playgrounds. He notes the Boone and Crockett club. Do you think getting wild game -- a Bear -- in Alaska in the late 1890s happened without a ton of money? Yes, they did start conservation, but for what purpose?
In Karl Jacoby's work, Crimes Against Nature, he notes that the Adirondack National Park/Preserve, which is detailed in this book, had several private parks,notably one owned by Rockefeller --yes, that rich guy --and protected by none other than the PINKERTONS! This is rich/middle class protection of their leisure, including their favorite sport of the day, fishing and hunting.
There is nothing wrong with hunting and fishing, but let's not make out Grinell and other sportsman of the 19th century and into the progressive era out to be nature's savoir. They had a motivation that did not involve the same motivation towards nature as, say, Muir. It wasn't sensitivity, it was a protection of a life they enjoyed -- a life of leisure and sport. Yes, that also enjoyed a love of nature -- as it does today with hunters, but that's only part of the story, and far too simplistic to provide as an argument in a monograph,I argue.
Again, this is not a judgement on Grinell, Pinchot, Muir, T.R. or hunting/angling -- this is a critisism of this book. His moral judgments within this book utterly fail to convince.
There are good parts of this book, but way too many missteps within his judgements to rate it higher than 2 stars.
* The book was written in the early 70s and published in 1975, but I have the 3rd edition from 2001. Some of it was updated in '01, so I'm sure if "today" is 75,2001, or the date of the 2nd edition. Either way..., it applies.
August 15, 2013
I read this book for a class on American environmental history and I thought the book was really great. It largely focuses on the origin of environmental policies and regulations in America and on the lives of the policy-makers. It was very well researched and difficult to put down.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews