Douglas Edge Murie and the American Conservation Movement
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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2002 Women for the Wild: Douglas Edge Murie and the American conservation movement. Mary Anne Peine The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Peine, Mary Anne, "Women for the Wild: Douglas Edge Murie and the American conservation movement." (2002). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 4757. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/4757 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maureen and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University of Montana Permission is granted by the author to reproduce this material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. **Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature Yes, I grant permission ^ No, I do not grant permission _________ Author's Signature: Kj\A(AAA/j A AvIaX Date: 2*4; 2 002._______ Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's explicit consent. 8/98 Women for the Wild: Douglas, Edge, Murie and the American Conservation Movement by Mary Anne Peine B.A. University of Tennessee 1997 presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science The University of Montana April 2002 Approved by: Donald Snow, Chair Dean, Graduate School Date UMI Number: EP40221 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP40221 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQ uest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQ uest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Peine, Mary Anne M.S., April 2002 Environmental Studies Women for the Wild: Douglas, Edge, Murie and the American Conservation Movement Chair: Donald Snow The history of the American conservation movement is rich with male heroes. From the protection of wilderness to the creation of national forests, safeguarding the land appears, at first glance, to be the domain of men. But a closer look reveals that women played an integral role in the founding and development of the conservation movement in the United States. Yet while existing literature describes the accomplishments and contributions of a wide array of women, very little detailed information is available about the lives of specific individual women who played a leading role in conservation history. This thesis profiles three women who made significant contributions to the US conservation movement: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Rosalie Edge, and Margaret Murie. Research was conducted using primary sources, including archives and other collections of personal and professional documents. Books and manuscripts written by all three women, were also important resources. Research focused primarily on determining each woman's contributions to the conservation movement. Secondary themes include her strategic approach to conservation issues, her personal conservation ethic, and her views on the role of women in conservation. Douglas was a noted Florida author who became a staunch defender of the Everglades. Edge worked successfully for the creation of national parks and protected areas across the nation during the New Deal era. Murie was a life-long advocate for Alaska and wilderness protection. All three women made important contributions to conservation in the United States, from the creation of national parks to the protection of wildlife and habitat. They were all accomplished writers and public speakers. They received numerous awards for their activism, including the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which was awarded to Douglas and Murie by President Bill Clinton. Their stories make it clear that, although often overlooked, women have played an important leading role in the history of conservation in the United States. Table of Contents I. Acknowledgments ------------------------------------------------------------- iv II. Introduction-----------------------------------------------------------------------1 III. Marjory Stoneman Douglas------------------- 13 IV. Rosalie Edge ---------------------------- 55 V. Margaret Murie---------------------------------- 103 VI. Conclusion-----------------------:--------------------------------------------145 VII. Appendix ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 150 iii Acknowledgments < I am tremendously grateful to Don Snow, who nurtured this project when it was merely a glimmer of an idea, helped to develop and define it, and continues to provide encouragement, guidance, and friendship. Another friend and committee member, Dan Flores, provided invaluable insight and advice, helping me place this project in the larger context of environmental history. Neva Hassanein added an essential voice to the committee, pointing me toward the body of literature that explores the role of race, class, and gender in the environmental movement. I am also thankful for the support of Tom Roy, director of the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Montana. EVST is an ideal place for an interdisciplinary project such as this one, and that is largely due to Tom's vision, commitment, and dedication. Funding for this research was provided by the B&B Dawson Fund within EVST. I received research assistance from several individuals at libraries and nonprofit organizations across the nation. Thanks to Brent Wagner in the Western History/Genealogy Department at the Denver Public Library, Ruthanne Vogel and the staff in Archives and Special Collections at the University of Miami's Otto G. Richter Library, Nancy Keeler at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, and Nancy Shea and the staff at the Murie Center in Jackson, Wyoming. Thanks also to those who housed me during those trips: the Murie Center, Woody Beardsley and Mitzi Handler, and Sue Walder. Finally, I am thankful to those who have inspired me. Jennifer Ferenstein, Tracy Stone-Manning, Danna Smith, Bethanie Walder, and Alison Cochran are just a few of the women who are leading the current generation of conservation advocates. If we ultimately leave this world a better place than we found it, it will be due in no small part to the fine, courageous work of these women. And without the love and support of Than Hitt and Marie, John, and Emelie Peine, this work simply would not have been possible. v Introduction Not to know their own prophets is rather a serious predicament for women. - Mary Hunter Austin”1 The history of the American conservation movement is rich with heroes. From such noble characters as Aldo Leopold and Theodore Roosevelt to the grizzled likes of John Muir and Edward Abbey, Americans have made legends of those who have worked to protect the land. Yet, peruse the pages of any of the numerous histories of the American conservation movement, and you will notice that these heroes share one common characteristic — their gender. From the wilds of Alaska to the canyons of the Southwest, protecting the land and preserving the wild appear to be the domain of men. This perception is not just an artifact of history, but a living fact that greatly influences the modern conservation movement. I remember one meeting I attended in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1998, as the young executive director of a small conservation group. The meeting was held in a large downtown office that housed several nonprofits, and during a break I met a woman who worked there with a women's organization. She asked about the subject of our meeting, and when I told her that I worked for a group focused on protecting forests and wildlife she seemed very surprised. Eyes wide, she leaned in and asked, "What's it like, working for a conservation organization?" The tone of her voice would have been more fitting if I had been a war correspondent or an anthropologist just returned from a hostile foreign land rumored to be peopled by cannibals. 1 Mary Hunter Austin, Earth Horizon: An AutobiographyBoston: { Houghton Mifflin Company, 1932), 391-392. 1 When it was obvious that I didn't understand the reason for her concern, she explained, "It's such a male-dominated field. You just don't hear of women working for those sorts of organizations, especially as directors." I was green enough to be a bit surprised by her question, and I'm sure my answer left a great deal to be desired. Since then, as my environmental career and my studies of conservation history have continued, I have gained a much clearer, understanding of the dominant presence of men in conservation. As is so often the case, it is a notion rooted in equal parts in myth and reality, due as much to our interpretation of history as