CHAIRMAN'S PREFACE 



The Ecological Society of America is a national organization of approxi- 

 mately 500 members, the majority of whom are connected with universities, 

 colleges, and other educational or research institutions. The membership 

 includes a larger proportion of persons interested in the preservation of 

 natural conditions for research in pure science and for educational work 

 than any other of our national scientific societies. It publishes the jour- 

 nal Ecology, which is largely devoted to contributions on the original 

 flora and fauna and on their conditions of existence. 



In 1917 a committee was charged with the listing of all preserved and 

 preservable areas in North America in which natural conditions persist. 

 The original committee included about twenty-five members, scattered 

 throughout the United States and Canada. The first work was to make 

 the list and when this had made some progress, to urge the reservation of 

 such important areas as demanded immediate attention. The whole 

 problem of securing the preservation of areas, which is one of the objects 

 of the committee work, is very complex. At the outset the committee 

 felt the lack of any definite guides in carrying on the work. The organiza- 

 tion which produced the Naturalist's Guide has been a growth; committee 

 membership is limited to those willing to do some kind of work, and 

 includes about seventy-five members. It is a committee on the preserva- 

 tion of nature. Its efforts are directed toward the preservation of natural 

 areas with original flora and fauna (or as nearly so as may obtain) and the 

 maintenance of the natural biotic balance in existing preserves. 



During the preparation of the present volume the committee aimed to 

 have two members in each state (and province of Canada) . These mem- 

 bers (1) supplied information relative to natural areas, etc. in their terri- 

 tory and (2) undertook to interest one local organization concerned with 

 pure science, e.g., a state academy or natural history society, in the preser- 

 vation of natural areas, commonly indicated by the appointment of a 

 committee. This constitutes a permanent organization charged, among 

 other things, with the keeping of the guide up to date. Other members 

 were engaged in investigating certain topics and writing reports, in interest- 

 ing pure science organizations to support the work of publication and dis- 

 tribution of information, and in selecting natural areas within existing 

 public forests. 



The present volume has been prepared with the aid of various institu- 

 tions and organizations. The National Research Council granted $300 

 in 1921-1922 which aided greatly in financing the requests for manuscripts 



