' INFLUENTIAL VOICES

National Youth Administration workers at Maquoketa Caves State Park. ca. 1940.

All human communities – past, present, and future The people profiled in these pages range from scientists to – must reckon with the challenges of balancing our activists, educators to legislators. They all worked in some immediate needs and wants with the needs and wants way to understand, protect, or care for land and the people of both non-human communities and tomorrow’s world. and organisms that depend on it for spiritual and physical How do we ensure the soil that grows our food now sustenance. They all shared a few other things in common: can continue to do so in the future? How can we drink a deep, personal connection to the natural world, generally and use water while keeping it clean and abundant? derived from spending a great deal of time outdoors; Who ensures that the sound of the bobolink, or chorus a concern over the stewardship or loss of our natural frog, or pileated woodpecker will echo through ’s resources; and a desire to ensure that natural resources hills and valleys in each passing year? Who protects be available for future generations to experience, learn the rich biological diversity of our prairies and forests? from, and enjoy. Who honors the history of the people who live off this The pen of history is not infallible, and this is perhaps land and ensures future generations can do the same? especially true in documenting the individual actions of This account tells the story of the voices that have people taking steps, both small and large, to save the championed a caring ethic for this land and the stories rich natural resources of Iowa’s 36 million acres. Indeed, it holds in Iowa and beyond. millions of people have at some time cared for this land, protecting hillsides, nurturing plants, lighting life- rejuvenating fires, planting seeds, and more. Each of these actions deserve our praise, for each action helped ensure future Iowans had their chance to work, love, and enjoy Iowa’s land. But each of these stories cannot be told. This is the challenge of writing a biographical history of a story that has no clear beginning and no clear end. The beginning of the story of conservation in Iowa must, at least, start thousands of years ago with the earliest arrival of people. Surely in their day, just as today, these small groups of hunter-gatherers toiled with questions

Whitebreast family of the Nation outside of a wikiup. ca. 1924. Connections of Native people to Iowa's land go back thousands of years and include many tribes and cultures. of wise use of natural resources, learning about the land, JOHN F. LACEY and interacting with the environment to meet their needs Federal legislator, attorney for survival and well-being. May 30, 1841 – September 29, 1913 Through time, a diversity of cultures and traditions evolved, After being born in what is now and with them grew deeply entrenched spiritual, emotional, West Virginia, John Fletcher and practical relationships with plants, animals, and land. Lacey moved with his family Some plants were used to care for the sick, others for to Iowa when he was 14. They shelter or food. Whole ecosystems, such as the tallgrass arrived in Keokuk and then prairie, were modified through use of fire to improve traveled across the state’s conditions for hunting. Rivers served as natural highways, unbroken prairie to Mahaska facilitating commerce between cities. County. In his later years, Lacey The history of these times – the efforts to understand, would look to that trip across manage, and improve the natural resources of the land prairies full of wildflowers and that today is called Iowa – and the people who made those wild birds as pivotal in the development of his concern for efforts is mostly unrecorded. However, oral and written the environment. histories passed down through some cultures reveal not Lacey served in the Army and attained the just the importance of natural resources to their survival, rank of major during the Civil War. Upon his discharge, he but also the reverent, reciprocal relationship many Native returned to Iowa, married, and began to practice law. cultures and communities have with the land. But the names of the champions of those causes are largely Lacey was first elected to the U.S. House of unknown, and thus go unfeatured in these pages. Though Representatives in 1888, representing Iowa’s 6th district. these important early voices cannot be individually profiled Prior to his arrival, there were few pieces of legislation here, the authors emphasize the importance of their work concerning the environment and very few voices for and their legacy that is reflected today in Iowa’s rich wildlife protection. The depth of Lacey's convictions and biological and ecological diversity that modern Iowans, the ability with which he turned those convictions into both Native and immigrant, benefit from. policies helped establish conservation as an important component of policy in the United States. Thus, we are left with the history books and accounts of the work of champions of land that came after the arrival At the federal level, Lacey has been given credit for of Europeans during the mid-1800s. Even during this period, legislation providing for coal mine safety and justice in we know the actions of many people are unrecorded, the treatment of Native Americans. He worked diligently particularly for women and people of color whose work for the establishment of federal wildlife sanctuaries and may have been disregarded or unrecognized in their forest reserves, and for the expansion of the national parks time. Though we tried to include a diversity of stories in system, including introducing the bill that would become this booklet, the biographies nonetheless still feature the Antiquities Act that grants the president authority to predominately white men from relatively recent history. We create national monuments. acknowledge this shortcoming and its failure to accurately The protection of migratory birds was another of Lacey’s and fully describe the pivotal role that all Iowans – Black, signature legislative accomplishments. The Lacey Act brown, white, Native, immigrant, male, female, and more – of 1900 prohibited the transport of illegally taken wildlife, have played and continue to play in conserving the land we fish, and plants across state lines, positioning the federal today call Iowa, its history, and the natural resources that government as a player in wildlife protection and making have for generations allowed people to prosperously live the first significant dent in the economics of unrestricted here. market hunting and poaching that was devastating wildlife This booklet provides only a brief snapshot of the voices of populations across the nation. some of the people who demonstrate what it means and While Lacey's conservation efforts were pioneering and why it matters that we care for Iowa’s nature. We hope that critically important to the protection of natural resources it serves as inspiration for further research into individuals nationwide, his constituents in Iowa did not share some and organizations, both past and present, creating a chorus of his beliefs. He was criticized for appearing to ignore of voices for Iowa’s nature and all the promise it holds for economics and foreign trade and was defeated in his people today and for generations to come. bid for office in 1906. Although he was offered a federal appointment by President Theodore Roosevelt, Lacey chose to return to his law practice in Oskaloosa in 1907, where he remained until his death in 1913. In recognition of Lacey's work, Louis Pammel stated became a professor of botany at the University of Iowa in 1915 that "John Lacey had done more for the and devoted the rest of his professional career to protection of wildlife and to stimulate forestry than teaching, research, and co-founding and directing the another man ever did in our national life." John Lacey is Iowa Lakeside Laboratory at Lake Okoboji in northwest often considered the "Pioneer of Federal Conservation Iowa. Legislation" and the "Pioneer of Federal Game Protection." He conducted scientific fieldwork across all of Iowa, Lacey-Keosauqua State Park in southeastern Iowa was the Midwest, and the nation. His personal research named in his honor in 1915. collections included 2.4 million shell specimens eventually sold to the Smithsonian Institute upon his death. He is Thomas Macbride estimated to have added more than 200,000 specimens July 31, 1848 – March 27, 1934 to the herbarium then housed at the University of Iowa, Macbride served at the University of Iowa for nearly fifty including vascular plant specimens from every county in years as professor, administrator, and eventually president. Iowa. He was a renowned botanist and authority on fungi (slime Though largely considered one of the country’s leading molds in particular). In 1909, he founded Iowa Lakeside plant ecologists, one of Shimek's most interesting Laboratory at Lake Okoboji “for the study of nature in scientific contributions was geological. In a series of nature.” Macbride was the first president of the Iowa Park papers written in the 1890s, Shimek concluded that the and Forestry Association and passionately advocated for the loess sediments found across the state were deposited development of state and local parks, including his namesake by wind, not water. state park in Johnson County. He was awarded an honorary Shimek was a scientist, but he was also an educator, LL.D. from the University of Iowa in 1928 and the university’s believing the best place to teach natural history Hall of Natural Science was renamed in his honor in 1934. was in nature. He was among the first to espouse a comprehensive conservation and environmental education program for Iowa. In the wetlands, on the BOHUMIL SHIMEK prairie, and among the trees, he helped his students Scientist, botanist, educator not only learn about the natural world but also protect it. He shared with them his love of nature and helped June 25, 1861 – January 30, 1937 them develop their own conservation values. He focused Bohumil Shimek was born in the educational process on awareness and knowledge east-central Iowa soon after of the natural world, sharing and facilitating positive statehood as large influxes of attitudes toward the environment, and teaching the skills people were beginning to plow required to act for the protection of nature. These same up the prairie for agriculture. His concepts are still considered fundamental in the field of parents moved to Iowa to escape environmental education. political persecution in what is He is the namesake for the Shimek State Forest, an now the Czech Republic. Shimek's elementary school, an award for environmental educators, father had been a noted scientist and a species of snail, . in Europe and no doubt guided Discus shimekii Shimek in the study of science and literature. The Shimek family was poor. Bohumil Shimek often sought to escape the struggle to eat and stay warm by retreating to the woodlands surrounding the farm. He was a keen observer and studied all he could about the natural world, from the tallest trees to the tiniest insects. It was in these woodlands that Shimek began a lifelong passion for collecting, identifying, and classifying the variety of species he encountered. Of particular interest to Shimek were the species that dominated the Iowa landscape prior to arrival of European descendants. Shimek entered the University of Iowa, obtained a degree in engineering, and embarked on what would be a short- lived career as a civil engineer. After just two years, he turned to teaching to more fully immerse himself in his primary interest, the natural sciences. Shimek eventually LOUIS H. PAMMEL Ecology, is thought to be the first text to use the word Professor ecology in its title. Through his work as a teacher, he April 19, 1862 – March 23, 1931 served as a mentor to such individuals as Ada Hayden and George Washington Carver. Louis H. Pammel’s childhood was filled with farm chores Pammel's early explorations in the natural world and his and regular forays into extensive scientific training came together in a personal the woodlands on the philosophy based upon the belief that humans could bluffs overlooking the not exist without direct contact with the living world. around Pammel suggested that it was our duty to hand to the LaCrosse, . He also next generation some "typical and scientific areas in witnessed the disappearance different parts of the state," leading him to play a key role of something he had learned in establishing the first Iowa State Board of Conservation to love: by the time he arrived in 1917. The board’s mission was to determine what in Iowa in 1889, Pammel had natural places in Iowa were of value for conservation witnessed the extirpation of passenger pigeons, wanton and preservation, for the value of their natural history, cutting of forests, and plowing of the prairies. their forestry reserves, their archaeological or geological resources, or their plant and animal life. Though Pammel’s early education and professional research wandered across the nation – including time Pammel was named the first president of the board and he in Chicago, Massachusetts, St. Louis, and Texas – he immediately began working to develop the state park eventually settled into a career as a professor and system by acquiring land; investigating the forestry, plant, researcher at the Iowa State Agricultural College (now and scenic value of sites; and securing donations and Iowa State University). He taught bacteriology, mycology, funding. He helped established 38 state parks during his and plant pathology. He was particularly interested in tenure as president, the first of which was Backbone State agriculture and founded the first seed-testing laboratory Park in Delaware County. Pammel State Park, near in the United States. Pammel wrote many books and Winterset, was dedicated in 1930 to honor the man now more than 700 scientific papers on subjects ranging from recognized as the "Founder of Iowa's State Park System." poisonous plants to the pollination of plants by honeybees. One of these books, published in 1890 and titled Flower GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER Naturalist, scientist, educator Ca. 1864 – January 5, 1943 Although George Washington Carver is best known for his work in championing the uses and benefits of the soil-rehabilitating peanut on southern farms, his impacts in the realm of conservation, environmental stewardship, and wellbeing of rural communities go largely unnoticed in the “Peanut Man” caricature commemorated in children’s books. In retracing Althea Sherman George Washington Carver’s path to eminent leader in October 10, 1853 – April 16, 1943 caring for the land and the communities of plants, animals, Though originally trained as an artist, Althea Sherman is and people that depend on it, the impact of his training and best known for her scientific studies of the life cycle of birds time in Iowa are unequivocal. – chimney swifts in particular. In 1915, she built a 28-foot- George Washington Carver was born into or in the tall wooden tower in Clayton County, Iowa. The tower had immediate shadow of slavery in Missouri during the an internal staircase and special doors and peepholes that 1860s, to a mother that had herself been enslaved there. allowed her to be the first to observe and document the chimney The earliest years of George Washington Carver’s life swifts’ life cycle. She published more than seventy articles in are not clearly documented, but it is known that he was scientific and ornithological journals. once kidnapped and then returned to the family that had enslaved his mother, raised on their Missouri farm until Upon arriving at Tuskegee, Carver found ample work to around 1876 and then departed to pursue what would do on behalf of the African American communities and become a lifetime defined by service and education. students engaged in agriculture there. He championed Carver was enthralled by nature at an early age and found practices that worked well for the land and people, such inspiration there for his art, science, inventions, faith, and as growing a diversity of crops, raising or harvesting wild hope for people and communities. foods to feed families (rather than buying them), using products from the farm or surrounding environment “Wherever the soil is wasted the people are wasted. (like “pond muck”) for fertilizer, and reducing input A poor soil produces only a poor people – poor costs on the farm related to capital or fertilizer. He economically, poor spiritually and intellectually, delivered his educational messages with remarkable poor physically.” skill, inspiring generations of students in the classroom George Washington Carver, 1938 and in communities reached through the Tuskegee extension program and speaking engagements across the country. He was prolific in his education in surrounding In the late 1880s Carver moved to Winterset, Iowa from a communities, writing bulletins on uses for acorns, plums, farm in western he had been tending. By 1890 he and famously peanuts, as well as championing the enrolled at Simpson College in Indianola to study art and importance of connecting kids to the environment and piano. Although he was successful as an artist throughout farm through nature study programs in rural schools. his life, Carver soon decided to focus his studies on the emerging field of scientific agriculture and matriculated at Owing to his intellect, gifted communication skills, and Iowa Agriculture College in Ames in 1891. Despite creativity, Carver would eventually earn international challenges he faced as the first African American student notoriety, primarily as an inventor and icon for racial at the institution he thrived in the classroom and field, equality. But his stature as an inventor and associated earning the respect of his fellow students, the community, monikers like “Peanut Man” or the “Creative Chemist”, and the life-long adoration of his most important mentor, as he was often known, is today generally recognized Louis Pammel. By 1896, Carver had completed a bachelor’s as having been overstated. Understated, however, was and master’s degree in agricultural science at Iowa Carver’s clear message and work on the inextricable links Agriculture College, become the first African American between people and land. As captured by the quote that faculty member there, built a strong and trusted network of leads this account, Carver saw clearly that what was colleagues and peers, and defined a focus for his life’s good for land was good for the people that lived there, and work in service of “his people” through research and what was bad for land, in the long term (though not clearly education on agricultural sciences and the emerging field in the short term) was bad for people in the long term too. of ecology. So, when the nationally prominent Booker T. In this way, Carver’s was one of America’s earliest voices Washington wrote to ask Carver to lead an agriculture for conservation and wise use of natural resources. program at the budding college for African Americans in Unfortunately, this voice was not elevated in the way Alabama called Tuskegee Institute, Carver packed his bags his white contemporaries working primarily in forests one last time and left for a life in Alabama. and other natural areas like Muir or Pinchot were. Today, with the benefit of hindsight and reduced fog of racial inequality, we can see unequivocally that Carver’s voice for nature was strong and as important today as it was in rural Alabama in the early 1900s.

Ellison Orr June 14, 1857 – January 25, 1951 Along with Charles R. Keyes, Ellison Orr was a founding figure in Iowa archaeology. He carefully surveyed and documented an immense number of archaeological sites and collections across the state, particularly in northeast Iowa. Orr recognized archaeological resources as limited and worked for their preservation and protection. He lobbied for the creation of Effigy Mounds National Monument, and some of the sites he documented were included when the monument was established in 1949. Louis H. Pammel (left) and his wife Augusta Emmel, Robert R. Moton (Tuskegee Institute President), and George Washington Carver (right). 1928. Ernest Oberholtzer incorporating her accomplished skills in art, photography, February 6, 1884 – June 6, 1977 and writing to make her reports thoughtful, informative, accurate, and exceptionally well-illustrated. Born in Davenport, Iowa, Ernest Oberholtzer’s love for exploring and camping in true wilderness areas led to him becoming a In 1944, Hayden was tasked with surveying remaining pioneering advocate for the protection of such places. He was prairies across the state to select the best for potential a central figure in the fight to protect the Quetico-Superior lake protection. With the support of a $100 grant, she traveled area between and Ontario, Canada, an area that to, photographed, and documented 22 prairie tracts in includes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He was 10 counties, eventually recommending the purchase a founding member of The Wilderness Society and served on of these sites as prairie preserves. She became the their executive council for thirty years. In 1967, he received “champion” for Iowa’s most special remnant prairies: the Distinguished Service Award from the Department of the firmly, knowledgeably, and convincingly arguing for state Interior, the highest honor the agency grants to a citizen. preservation based on their roles as a “historic preserve illustrative of the native cover as the settlers found it; as a living museum of flora and fauna; as a reference specimen of vegetative structure; as an example of the ADA HAYDEN native landscape; and as a field laboratory.” Botanist, educator, herbarium curator Of Hayden’s original 22 recommended sites, two were August 14, 1884 – August 12, 1950 protected in her lifetime, including the 240-acre Hayden Prairie State Preserve, in Howard County, purchased Ada Hayden grew up on a farm by the state in 1950 and named in her honor. The State north of Ames where her family Preserves Advisory Board was formed in 1965 and took kept a small tract of virgin prairie on Hayden’s vision of officially recognizing preserves as simply to preserve its natural a means of permanently protecting Iowa’s special sites. beauty. This sparked not only Hayden’s love for prairie, but also JAY NORWOOD her scientific curiosity that would “DING” DARLING remain the focus of her scholarly Journalist, cartoonist, and educational pursuits federal administrator, throughout her career. activist By the time she was a teenager, she was encouraged October 21, 1876 – February 12, 1962 to pursue her interest in botany and prairies by Louis Pammel, who eventually became Hayden’s mentor, Born in Norwood, Michigan, on colleague, and friend. By 1918, Hayden became only the the banks of Lake Michigan, fourth person, and the first woman, to receive a doctoral Jay Norwood Darling moved degree from Iowa State University. to Iowa by his tenth birthday and it became a home base for She then became a professor of botany and curator of the his life-long battle to protect herbarium at Iowa State University, which was renamed in wildlife and wild places. her honor in 1987. She is estimated to have added 40,000 meticulously preserved and recorded specimens to the Darling spent his youth exploring the hills and marshes herbarium collection over her time there. surrounding City. His exploration was so thorough that his biographer would later remark that it was Hayden’s career was focused on the documentation Darling’s intention to “not to let any marsh, lake, or and conservation of prairies and prairie plants, often pothole escape his attention.” After high school, Darling left Sioux City for college, first in South Dakota and then in Wisconsin. There he started “What park planting can equal a mile or two of flaming Turk’s cap lily which frequents the damp what would become his life-long passion and work, native prairie in July, or the white beds of nodding political cartooning. Darling signed his cartoons with anemones, the red and white sweet william, the the pen name “D’ing”– a contraction of his last name – purple patches of gauzy spiderwort, the gorgeous for anonymity at first. The name stuck and he became butterflyweed, the glowing goldenrod, and the known throughout his life simply as “Ding.” banks of stately, radiant sunflower. All these Soon after his college graduation, Darling returned to plants are carefully cultivated by florists in parts Sioux City to save money for medical school by working of the country where they are not native. Why not preserve now at a small cost what cannot be as a journalist. Years later, having never gone to medical replaced at any cost?” school, he retired in Des Moines as a Pulitzer Prize- winning cartoonist and lifelong champion of journalism, Ada Hayden, 1919 art, and conservation. Ding’s journalistic work served to raise a new ecological ALDO LEOPOLD awareness not only within the general public but also Author, professor of wildlife among politicians. He was appointed to Iowa’s Fish and management Game Commission in 1931 and convinced the commission January 11, 1887 – April 12, 1948 to fund a state biological survey, later conducted by Iowa native Aldo Leopold, that would result in a model, Aldo Leopold was born in 25-year conservation plan for the state, featuring many of and spent his childhood in Ding’s drawings. Burlington, Iowa, eventually graduating from Burlington Darling also served in several leadership and administrative High School before heading to roles within the federal government, as Chief of the Bureau Yale University in Connecticut. of Biological Survey, the agency responsible for federal He worked for Gifford Pinchot wildlife law enforcement, the budding National Wildlife in the U.S. Forest Service in Refuge System, and scientific monitoring of wildlife New Mexico, completed Iowa's populations. During his eighteen-month tenure as chief, first statewide biological survey, and created the nation's Darling worked to protect over three million acres of new first comprehensive university curriculum in wildlife national wildlife refuges. Perhaps most importantly, he management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. lobbied for the creation of the “Duck Stamp” program that Throughout his academic and professional career, Leopold would fund wildlife habitat conservation through the sale studied literature, philosophy, and the full range of of annual federal stamps required for hunting migratory biological sciences and applied those lessons in writings waterfowl. Fittingly, Darling drew the first stamp released that remain as important today as they were in his day. in the program. Even with his impressive academic and scientific career, Back in Iowa, Ding invested his own money and leveraged Leopold's most influential and lasting contribution to his state and national connections to start a cooperative modern conservation came through his work as a writer. wildlife research and education program at Iowa State His literary classic, A Sand County Almanac, published University (then Iowa State College), a system that would posthumously in 1949, not only explains his view of eventually catalyze wildlife education and research the natural world as a complex, beautiful, and living programs at public universities across the country that community, but also provides a view of the stages through continue today. which Leopold traveled on his journey to those visionary Of his own cartoons, Darling said, “The cartoon is the conclusions, lessons from which all can learn. applesauce in which political pills were immersed and fed to unwilling children.” He was aware of the educational “Examine each question in terms of what is power of a well-crafted message, and his messages ethically and esthetically right, as well as what is indeed left a lasting legacy on the land and in the hearts economically expedient. A thing is right when it and minds of generations of Iowans. His library of over tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty 20,000 cartoons captured the spirit of political and social of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends discourse of the time and, in many cases, still ring true otherwise.” to the challenges and opportunities for natural resource Aldo Leopold, 1949 conservation today.

Ira Gabrielson Through his letters, journal entries, and early essays, Leopold proves himself an intelligent scientist and keen September 27, 1889 – September 7, 1977 observer. He enjoyed and wrote about the outdoors, Ira Gabrielson – from Sioux Rapids, Iowa – had a diverse Mississippi River backwaters, and hunting game with and productive career in conservation that lasted more than his father. He carefully and creatively documented the 65 years. It included everything from conducting decades experiences and efforts of his family as they worked to of ecological research as a field biologist to guiding restore and reinvigorate a worn-out farm on the banks of groundbreaking federal conservation legislation, including the Wisconsin River near Baraboo, Wisconsin. the Duck Stamp Act and Pittman-Robertson Act, through to Leopold was not static in his beliefs. In one essay from passage. He became the first director of the U.S. Fish and , “Thinking Like a Mountain,” he Wildlife Service in 1940 and oversaw the addition of millions A Sand County Almanac writes that he “thought that because fewer wolves meant of acres to the National Wildlife Refuge System. He founded, more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters' paradise." served on, and advised innumerable conservation boards and As an avid hunter, he thus despised wolves and worked organizations across the nation and world. Among many other to eradicate them. But, over the course of the essay, he accolades, Gabrielson was awarded the Audubon Medal in relates personal experiences that taught him, and the 1949, was awarded The Wildlife Society’s Aldo Leopold Award in 1953, and was initiated into the Conservation Hall of Fame of the National Wildlife Federation in 1978. Jack Muskgrove reader, the important role predators play in the natural October 20, 1914 – December 13, 1980 world as they help keep a balance between all species. Though his first job with the state of Iowa was just a six-month Leopold's new appreciation of predators helped lead appointment, Jack Muskgrove eventually served the state him to a pivotal realization: the biological community is for more than forty years in various positions. He spent much a living system of interrelated and interdependent parts. of his career as curator and director of the State Historical Studying those parts – the soils, waters, plants, and Museum and director of the Division of Historical Museums and animals – by themselves was important but not enough. Archives. He fought for less crowded storage and exhibition He considered it essential to study the interrelationships facilities at the museum, while also pushing to grow and among those parts, pioneering the study of ecology. Prior expand the museum’s collections and reach. He was well to this time, forestry and wildlife management focused on known for his natural history knowledge (he served as senior managing the populations of individual species. Modern author of Waterfowl of Iowa), as well as for his hand-carved conservationists now work to study and strengthen wooden duck decoys and wildlife photography. ecosystems, building on Leopold’s early insights. Leopold also advocated for what he called a “land ethic,” a moral responsibility to extend a sense of right and SYLVAN T. RUNKEL wrong beyond humans to include the entire natural Biologist, naturalist, community. For Leopold, the human and natural worlds educator were intertwined and therefore, he asserted, ethical decisions must consider both worlds. August 30, 1906 – January 22, 1995 Sylvan “Sy” T. Runkel Leopold's most important contribution to modern received a degree in forestry conservation was the sharing of this new approach from Iowa State College toward conservation through his writings. Leopold’s (now Iowa State University) books and essays are as relevant today as they were in in 1930, working as a forester his time and now reach a world-wide audience. before being appointed superintendent of the first Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in Iowa in 1933. He then returned to forestry, serving with the United States Soil Conservation Service until World War II, when he was a glider pilot for the United States Air Force. He was shot down in the June 6, 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy, wounding his leg and leading to his use of a walking stick.

“Getting people, getting children, acquainted with what’s out here will make people concerned about what is happening here. If we get acquainted with Paul L. Errington natural communities, we feel at home. Any place June 14, 1902 – November 5, 1962 we feel at home, we feel like protecting.” Paul L. Errington spent thirty years as a professor at Iowa -Sylvan Runkel State University in the cooperative wildlife research unit founded by Ding Darling. Like his mentor and colleague, Aldo Following the war, Runkel continued his work in forestry, Leopold, Errington was a pioneer contributor to the modern biology, and conservation in Iowa, eventually serving as understanding of population ecology, wildlife management, State Biologist for twenty years. He also spent ten years on and the role of predators as crucial members of healthy natural the State Preserves Board, where he would work directly communities. Perhaps more importantly, Errington used his with landowners to protect valuable and unusual natural writing to bridge the gap between the scientific community and resources in Iowa. the public. Through personal story and observation, his writings But Runkel’s name eventually became synonymous with distill complex scientific concepts in ways that non-scientists conservation in Iowa not because of his work with natural understand and appreciate, and he advocated for the intrinsic resources, but because of his work with people. Always value of wetlands, wilderness, and other “wastelands.” wearing the trademark ranger’s hat he first donned at the Errington was awarded the Aldo Leopold Award in 1962 by CCC camp, Runkel directly influenced many thousands of The Wildlife Society. Iowa State University hosts an annual students, teachers, and naturalists through workshops, memorial lecture in his honor. near Lake Red Rock, ornithological work that eventually talks, and nature walks, such as his popular field trips earned her an honorary doctorate from Simpson College. during the Loess Hills Prairie Seminar. He reached It was her dedication to sharing her love and passion for countless more through televised expeditions on Iowa birds with others, however, that earned Black the nickname Public Television. “Iowa’s Bird Lady.” She wrote for the Des Moines Register His success in sharing his expertise lay in his ability to and several weekly papers for decades, becoming a become the voice of nature, letting nature tell its story household name through her folksy, lively columns that through him. Runkel might suggest listening for the “tree enlisted thousands in her campaign to protect land and birds. pumps” carrying water from tree roots up to the leaves. Through these columns and because of her willingness When people protested that they couldn’t hear anything, answer questions from, correspond with, or listen to birding Runkel would just grin and respond, “Ain’t Nature grand?” stories from just about anyone, Iowans regarded her as the Humans use noisy, complex machinery to pump water, bird expert. while nature does it simply and quietly.” Black’s columns were far from the only way she spread Runkel was also the author of three wildflower her message of conservation. She regularly squeezed identification guides, all written during “retirement”, that kids into her old Ford for back-road birding, banded birds are still considered classics in Iowa. These books are yet with local students, and helped students conduct science another demonstration of his commitment to engaging experiments in her own backyard. She testified at meetings, people with the natural world, as they do more than simply wrote letters to the editor, visited service clubs, and called provide plant identification, also explaining how the plants radio shows. She dogged bureaucrats and politicians about could be used by people. environmental issues ranging from roadside spraying to The Sylvan Runkel State Preserve in Monona County habitat loss to lead ammunition. was dedicated posthumously in 1996. While Runkel has Black was a trailblazer. She led nature hikes before the received many awards and accolades, from the Iowa advent of county conservation board naturalists. She Academy of Science, the Iowa Chapter of the Wildlife espoused the risks of pesticides in the early 1970s, before Society, and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, his most people recognized their hazards. Black taught respect personal, hands-on approach to helping people appreciate for the Earth before “environmental education” caught and understand the natural world could be considered his on and cared for sick and injured birds before “wildlife greatest legacy. rehabilitator” became a profession. Black was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 1985. She received a certificate of appreciation from the U.S. GLADYS BLACK Army Corps of Engineers for her conservation and education “Iowa’s Bird Lady,” efforts around Lake Red Rock and a popular birding area educator, writer, activist near Red Rock Reservoir she frequented was dedicated in January 4, 1909 - July 19, 1998 2004 as the Gladys Black Bald Eagle Refuge. Born in 1909 near Pleasantville, Iowa, Gladys Black’s formal education was in nursing. In Arthur Carhart the early 1940s, she and her September 18, 1892 – November 27, 1978 husband moved to Robins Air Born in Mapleton, Iowa, and then trained as a landscape Force Base in Georgia, where architect, Arthur Carhart was one of the original Forest she worked for the U.S. Public Service “recreation engineers” and designed the then- Health Service, became radical “roadless” plans for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area active in community affairs, Wilderness in Northern Minnesota. He believed in the social and was named Woman of the Year in 1953. value of wilderness and outdoor recreation and approached Upon her husband’s death in 1956, Black returned to management decisions and issues with local ecology and local Pleasantville and, despite maintaining a full plate as partnerships in the forefront. He later became a full-time writer, a public health nurse and caregiver for her mother, eventually producing 24 books and more than 4,000 articles embarked on a new phase of civic engagement: studying, and stories, many focused on forestry, wildlife management, educating about, and advocating for birds. and reconciling sport and conservation. Carhart received the Izaak Walton League of America’s Founder Award in 1956 and A self-described “amateur” ornithologist, Black eventually the Outdoor Writers Association of America’s Conservation documented more than 300 bird species around Award in 1958. He is the namesake for the National Wilderness Pleasantville. She spent time every day for 35 years, Training Center run by the U.S. Government in Montana. with only a single five-day break due to a hospital stay, observing birds and compiling species data in the area MARIA PEARSON / he asked what he could do for her, she responded “You RUNNING MOCCASINS can give me back by my people’s bones, and you can quit digging them up.” Native American rights activist The remains of the mother and child were reburied in the July 12, 1932 – May 24, 2003 same cemetery as the other people, and Pearson met with legislators, archaeologists, and tribal representatives to Maria Pearson, also known as determine how to guarantee equal treatment of Native Hai-Mecha Eunka / Running American remains. The Iowa Burials Protection Act was Moccasins, was a member of passed by the state legislature in 1976, the first law in the the Turtle Clan of the Yankton nation to specifically protect Native American graves and Sioux . She was born burial mounds and provide for repatriation, the return of in South Dakota but spent Native American remains to their community. much of her adult life in Iowa Lois Tiffany where she fought on local and Pearson’s activism didn’t stop in Iowa. She took her March 8, 1924 - September 6, 2009 concerns to Washington D.C. and became an instrumental national scales to protect the legacy of the original leaders Dr. Lois Tiffany was nicknamed the “Mushroom Lady” for her who cared for Iowa’s land. figure in the eventual passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990. groundbreaking and expansive mycological (study of fungi) At its core, Pearson’s advocacy was about reconciling NAGRPA dictates that all human remains of any ancestry research, though she was also an accomplished botanist and the complex and historically fraught relationship between "must at all times be treated with dignity and respect." field ecologist. In addition to her scholarly research, Tiffany people and land in the U.S. This land, where millions taught and inspired thousands of students during her 40-plus- of people were once enslaved and millions more were Pearson continued to fight for indigenous rights and year career at Iowa State University and was the first female involuntarily driven off ancestral lands amid broken respect in Iowa, in part by serving as chair of the Indian president of the Iowa Academy of Sciences. She faced, and treaties and brutal wars, has scars from more than the Advisory Council of the Office of the State Archaeologist overcame, the challenges of sexism faced by women in transgressions of the plow, dredge, and ax ordinarily and president of the Governor’s Interstate Indian Council. academics in the 1940s and 1950s, becoming one of the most recognized in the conservation conversation. Voices like Her work in Iowa, the United States, and beyond led to two respected and recognized faculty members at Iowa State Maria Pearson’s have been and continue to be pivotal in nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. University. reconciling this complicated history and moving towards a The movement for repatriation for which Maria Pearson relation between people and land that respects a diversity is widely regarded as the “mother” was one step toward of cultures and ensures future Americans have their reconciling that complicated history and healing the chance to enjoy nature and its life-sustaining resources. wounds bore by people who cared for this land first and continue to care for it today. Thanks to her advocacy “Your culture does not lie in this land, it lies across at state and national scales, steps were taken in this that ocean. You go over there and practice your journey here in Iowa, across the U.S., and even across grave robbing if you want and I won’t bother you. the world. Through incremental steps in repatriation and Otherwise I’ll fight you until there is no damn breath reconciliation, a clearer picture emerges of how people left within me to see that this does not occur again and land are inextricably linked together, and that what’s in my land.” good to heal peoples’ relations to land is similarly critical to -Maria Pearson, 1971 heal the health of the land itself.

In early 1971, Pearson’s activism on behalf of Native John Madson Americans was catalyzed when she learned that remains 1924 - April 19, 1995 of 26 white people and a Native American mother and child were uncovered during road construction near Glenwood, John Madson’s prolific career as an outdoor writer included Iowa. While the remains of the white people were quickly serving as editor of the Iowa Conservationist produced by reburied in a nearby cemetery, the remains of the Native the Iowa Conservation Commission (now the Iowa DNR) American mother and child were sent to a lab to be studied. and writing for Smithsonian, National Geographic, Field Pearson was appalled at the discrimination in protecting and Stream, and Audubon magazines. He authored several and respecting the white remains, but not the Native books focused on the Iowa prairies and rivers he loved so American remains. deeply; several are considered classics of environmental literature and helped spark the modern prairie preservation The story of her subsequent protest and the activism, and restoration movement. Madson cared deeply about places, born out of the so-called Glenwood Controversy, has but he also believed that people could not be separated from become legendary. Soon after learning of the incident, the land that shaped their experiences. Truly understanding she sat outside the office of Governor Robert D. Ray in full a place, for Madson, meant understanding the stories of its traditional attire until she was granted time with him. When natural history, ecology, and people. he asked what he could do for her, she responded “You ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS can give me back by my people’s bones, and you can quit This article was produced through a collaborative project digging them up.” led by members of the Iowa Association of Naturalists The remains of the mother and child were reburied in the (IAN) and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. same cemetery as the other people, and Pearson met with Funding for the project was provided by a Resource legislators, archaeologists, and tribal representatives to Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Conservation determine how to guarantee equal treatment of Native Education Program grant. American remains. The Iowa Burials Protection Act was Portions of the text were adapted from or originated in passed by the state legislature in 1976, the first law in the the Important Iowa Conservationists booklet published by nation to specifically protect Native American graves and IAN. That booklet, along with others originally produced burial mounds and provide for repatriation, the return of as part of a larger series by IAN are digitally archived at Native American remains to their community. lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_ian. Lois Tiffany Pearson’s activism didn’t stop in Iowa. She took her March 8, 1924 - September 6, 2009 concerns to Washington D.C. and became an instrumental Authors figure in the eventual passage of the Native American Dr. Lois Tiffany was nicknamed the “Mushroom Lady” for her Lilly Jensen, Winneshiek County Conservation groundbreaking and expansive mycological (study of fungi) Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990. Adam Janke, Iowa State University NAGRPA dictates that all human remains of any ancestry research, though she was also an accomplished botanist and "must at all times be treated with dignity and respect." field ecologist. In addition to her scholarly research, Tiffany Bruce Ehresman, retired, Iowa Department of Natural taught and inspired thousands of students during her 40-plus- Resources Pearson continued to fight for indigenous rights and year career at Iowa State University and was the first female Larry A. Stone, Clayton County Conservation Board respect in Iowa, in part by serving as chair of the Indian president of the Iowa Academy of Sciences. She faced, and Jon W. Stravers Advisory Council of the Office of the State Archaeologist overcame, the challenges of sexism faced by women in and president of the Governor’s Interstate Indian Council. academics in the 1940s and 1950s, becoming one of the most This article and others in the Iowa’s Nature series Her work in Iowa, the United States, and beyond led to two respected and recognized faculty members at Iowa State nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. were reviewed and approved by the Iowa’s Nature University. Editorial Board: Heidi Anderson, Polk County The movement for repatriation for which Maria Pearson Conservation; Rebekah Beall and Elizabeth Waage, Story is widely regarded as the “mother” was one step toward County Conservation; Lilly Jensen, Winneshiek County reconciling that complicated history and healing the SUMMING IT UP Conservation; Stephanie Shepherd, Iowa Department wounds bore by people who cared for this land first and We study our past to learn for the future. As Iowans, we of Natural Resources; and Adam Janke and Julia Baker, continue to care for it today. Thanks to her advocacy can look to the history of human interactions with our land, Iowa State University. at state and national scales, steps were taken in this both the good and the bad, as we adapt to new changes journey here in Iowa, across the U.S., and even across and challenges facing our land, water, wildlife, and people. Photo Credits the world. Through incremental steps in repatriation and To achieve true health and sustainability of both the land National Youth Administration Trail Work—State reconciliation, a clearer picture emerges of how people and the people it sustains, we must accept the inextricable Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines and land are inextricably linked together, and that what’s link between the wellbeing of land and people. We cannot Whitebreast family—Iowa State University Library good to heal peoples’ relations to land is similarly critical to work for healthy land and water without working for Special Collections and University Archives heal the health of the land itself. equitable access to healthy land and water for all people and we cannot achieve these ideals without engaging all John F. Lacey—State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines John Madson Iowans in the fight. 1924 - April 19, 1995 Luckily, there is a path forward for ensuring well-being of Bohumil Shimek—Frederick W. Kent Collection, the University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, Iowa John Madson’s prolific career as an outdoor writer included people and land together. The lessons from the strongest serving as editor of the Iowa Conservationist produced by voices for Iowa’s nature from its first century and a half Althea Sherman—Oberlin College Archives told here can help us light that path. Each of these stories the Iowa Conservation Commission (now the Iowa DNR) Louis Pammel—Iowa State University Library Special show us that careful observation in nature, listening, and writing for Smithsonian, National Geographic, Field Collections and University Archives and Stream, and Audubon magazines. He authored several cooperation, and fearless leadership in the face of scrutiny Louis H. Pammel, August Emmel, Robery R. Moton, and books focused on the Iowa prairies and rivers he loved so can ensure Iowa’s nature continues to sustain her people George Washington Carver—Iowa State University deeply; several are considered classics of environmental for the next few centuries. Indeed, in studying these stories Library Special Collections and University Archives literature and helped spark the modern prairie preservation and the stories of Iowa’s nature, we find Iowa’s people, and restoration movement. Madson cared deeply about places, water, land, and wildlife are resilient and the future for George Washington Carver—Iowa State University but he also believed that people could not be separated from these people and this land is bright. Library Special Collections and University Archives the land that shaped their experiences. Truly understanding Ada Hayden—Iowa State University Library Special a place, for Madson, meant understanding the stories of its Collections and University Archives natural history, ecology, and people. Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling—State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines Aldo Leopold—Courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation and University of Wisconsin-Madison Archives Sylvan T. Runkel—Larry Stone Paul L. Errington—Iowa State University Library Special Collections and University Archives Gladys Black—Iowa Department of Human Rights, Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Maria Pearson—Photo courtesy of Ronald Thomson, son of Maria Pearson Louis Tiffany—Iowa State University Special Collections and University Archives

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WL17i March 2021