Aldo Leuopold

T

Tony Perlinski

New member
Just got back from my Environmental Management class and was wondering, have any of you read, "A Sand County Almanac." If so what do you think of Leuopolds ideas. If you haven't read this book I would strongly recommend it.
 
Yep. He's considered the "Father" of Wildlife Management. Do you know what he said the only the only the the mountains fears?
 
I think he even talks about shooting wolfs.

but that he reforms hisself later from killing them after him seeing the dying green light pass from there eyes upclose. then does not want to kill them no more.
 
Been many years since I read it, but I don't recall shooting wolves or deciding not to.

"reforms himself" by deciding to not shoot them? WTF? The only way that would be a "reform" is if you viewed shooting a wolf as somehow wrong. If you do, then this is most likely not a good site for you to hang out, because wolves are predators (this is Predator Masters, after all) and in some places legal game to hunt. Many, if not most of our members would love to shoot a wolf, myself included.
 
They do say that memory is the first thing to go, I don't remember what the rest is...

He talks about eradicating wolves, killing any and all including maiming pups. Not quite how we approach hunting them or even other predators today. While I would happily kill a wolf I wouldn't simply shoot wildly into a pack.

Aldo grew as a hunter/conservationist, I think most of us do.
 
If you'll remember my earlier question from Leopold, "What does the mountains fear?", his answer was "deer". The excert about wolves confirms this. His reasons for not wanting to exterminate the wolves, like most people of his time and many ranchers and hunters today, was because he recognized their place in the scheme of things. In the absence of predators, the deer populations exploded and the habitats (vegetation) in those areas suffered for it. If you have ever seen a place that is overpopulated with deer, you will know what Leopold was talking about.
 
It's important to know that Leopold not only is regarded as the father of modern wildlife management, but that he first described the concept of sustained yield and land ethic as it applies to wildlife. I've got several books compiling his writings, including Sand County. One of my favorite areas of his was his commentary on the impact of lease hunting on the American hunting system. En lieu of where things in my region are gong today, the man was well ahead of his time.
 
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