Aldo Leopold

Considered by many to be the father of wildlife ecology and modern conservation, Aldo Leopold was a forester, philosopher, conservationist, educator, writer, and outdoor enthusiast. Among Aldo Leopold’s best-known ideas is the “land ethic,” which calls for an ethical, caring relationship between people and nature. This land ethic continues to inform our work, values, and goals at the Aldo Leopold Foundation today, just as it informs the work of countless individuals and organizations worldwide – a testament to the power of Leopold’s conservation philosophy. There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot. First published by Oxford University Press in 1949, Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac has become a conservation classic, selling over 2 million copies worldwide and being translated into 15 languages. Leopold spent many years crafting these essays, which inspire readers to understand how the natural world works and to care for all wild things. Informed by his developing philosophies and his family’s effort to transform the landscape surrounding The Shack, the essays make an appeal for moral responsibility to the natural world. After a series of rejections from various publishers, Leopold’s manuscript was finally accepted by Oxford University Press on April 14th, 1948. Tragically, just one week later, Leopold died of a heart attack while fighting a grass fire less than a hundred yards from where the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center stands today. While Aldo Leopold was writing in the 1940s, he could not have imagined the far-reaching impact his book would have. Admired by an ever-growing number of readers and imitated by hundreds of writers, A Sand County Almanac serves as one of the cornerstones of modern conservation science, policy, and ethics. Join us as we explore five aspects that showcase Aldo's intriguing personality, reminding us that behind every great legacy lies a very real, complex human being. Explore how the Leopold family keeps Aldo’s legacy and ideas alive through our work at the Aldo Leopold Foundation. Aldo Leopold’s passion for teaching lives on as we aim to provide free access to high-quality learning resources for all. In 1935, he and his family initiated their own ecological restoration experiment on a worn-out farm outside of Baraboo, WI along the Wisconsin River, known as “The Shack”. During their time there, the family restored prairies and planted tens of thousands of trees.