8 LAW WISE | OCTOBER 2021
“There is a delight in the hardy life of the open”: Theodore Roosevelt’s Environmental Impact Though other Americans have influenced American environmental efforts and policies throughout our nation’s history like Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Rachel Carson, and others, none may have exhibited a more widespread and lasting legacy than Theodore Roosevelt. According to the Department of the Interior, after becoming President in 1901, Roosevelt established 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 18 national monuments, five national parks, and four national game reserves. Combined, they span over 230 million acres of public land. Today, at least six national park sites are either fully or partially devoted to Roosevelt. Though a rather sickly child growing up in New York City, in adulthood Roosevelt became an ardent outdoor enthusiast who engaged in hiking, rowing, swimming, horseback riding, bird watching, and hunting. Many of the specimens Roosevelt exhibited in his home, and he donated part of his collection to the Smithsonian. President Roosevelt’s love and appreciation of nature can be seen in this excerpt from a speech he delivered in Osawatomie, Kansas in 1910 at the dedication of the John Brown Memorial Park. “There is a delight in the hardy life of the open. There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm. The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in value.”
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