Green Success Stories says: Let’s have a show of hands for Gifford Pinchot, one of the architects of American conservation. His belief that forests should be managed for “the greatest good for the greatest number in the long run” helped shape the U.S. Forest Service and a conservation legacy that continues today. Happy 161st birthday to Gifford Pinchot!

Leave it alone? or help it along?

Conservationists have been wrestling with that issue for the longest time.

But it’s important to note that this is not Pinchot saying exploit the land, It’s more use it scientifically and sustainably so that the resource remains productive for future generations. Likewise, Muir wasn’t against every human presence in nature; his strongest position concerned preserving exceptional wild places.