ote UDUBON BULLE TIN 
Published Quarterly by the 
MmieieeN OTs AUDUBON SO CTT Y 
2001 NorRTH CLARK STREET, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 
Number 60 December, 1946 
The Foundation Stones of Conservation 
By Cuirrorp C, PRESNALL* 
MucH HAS BEEN WRITTEN about conservation since the word was popularized 
by Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt over a third of a century ago, 
and many people are now ardent supporters of the movement to conserve 
natural resources. The Audubon Society is but one of a dozen or more 
organizations that are actively supporting the. movement. Through their 
efforts the conservation of renewable resources has been raised to a higher 
level than in any other country, yet achievements are far below what might 
have been expected from such great public interest. There are several 
causes for this anomalous situation but one reason and its remedy have a 
particular significance to Audubon Society members. 
This reason is that in the past there has been much preoccupation with 
the pretty trimmings of conservation — the flowers, trees, birds and other 
objects of subconscious pantheistic esteem; the remedy lies in universal 
recognition of the facts that all life depends upon environment and that 
the pretty trimmings pleasant to our senses and necessary to our existence 
will flourish only in proportion to the intelligence applied to environmental 
manipulation. As the gardener must give initial attention to fertilizers 
and tillage, so also must conservation societies spearhead their programs 
with campaigns for wise management of soil, forage, and cover, and abate- 
ment of pollution of water and air. Resolutions urging adoption of a 
State flower or a State bird can accomplish little without an accompaniment 
of vigorous resistance against the so-called “inroads of civilization” harm- 
ful to the environments of the selected species. 
Soil, water, air, and light are the foundation stones of the conservation 
structure, and living things form the superstructure; they are the end 
products of nature. Man is one of those end products, the only one gifted 
’ with ability to influence all life, including himself, through his manipulation 
of the foundation stones. His scientific discoveries provide implements 
for profoundly modifying soil, water, and air, and it is not unreasonable 
to believe future discoveries may permit large scale manipulations of solar 
light and heat. 
Progress in sciences and arts has far outstripped development of a 
public sense of responsibility for the wise use of civilization’s tools. Engi- 
neers predicate huge dams and impoundments upon an array of statistics 
concerning second-feet, kilowatt-hours, transpiration rates, seismology, and 
*Assistant Chief of the Division of Predator and Rodent Control, Fish and Wildlife 
Service, U. S. Department of the Interior. 
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