lessons from leopold: learning from the land

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), arguably best known for his posthumous A Sand County Almanac (1949), is considered by many the father of modern wildlife management. He developed and described many of the concepts of conservation, ecology, and stewardship of natural resources still used today. Leopold was an astute observer of the land and people’s relationship to the land. His writings have endured the test of time and have proven to be remarkably prophetic and relevant to today’s issues.

Lessons from Leopold: Learning from the Land takes 54 selections of Leopold’s writings relevant to current-day conservation issues as a starting point to provide thought-provoking lessons that have direct application to contemporary land management. Notable Texas conservationist Steve Nelle brings Leopold’s message into our current context, touching on a variety of issues including ecology, land ethics, conservation, and land and wildlife management. Nelle’s pieces originally appeared as a bimonthly column for Texas Wildlife, Texas Wildlife Association’s monthly magazine. This collection of works has been edited and organized into a coherent whole as seven chapters, accompanied by short introductions to place the lessons into a wider topical context. The book includes an introduction by Iliana Peña, 15 archival photographs, and 20 color photographs by nature photographer Wyman Meinzer.

STEVE NELLE retired from the Natural Resources Conservation Service after a distinguished career as a range conservationist and wildlife biologist. He is the author of Your Remarkable Riparian: Owner’s Manual and Field Guide and a major contributor to Texas Riparian Areas, Common Rangeland Plants of West Central Texas, and Wild Turkeys in Texas. ILIANA PEÑA is the former director of conservation programs at Texas Wildlife Association and former director of conservation at Audubon Texas, where she also served as director of the Mitchell Audubon Center, director of education, and interim state director.