Monday, January 16, 2012

A&I Continues Season With A Film About Legendary Environmentalist

Aldo Leopold, Apache National Forest, 1911
Legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold will be the subject of a full-length high definition film—narrated by author Curt Meine—that will continue the 2011-12 season of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Arts & Issues series Feb. 2 and 3, on the mainstage in SIUE’s Katherine Dunham Hall. Meine also will be on hand to answer questions after the showing. Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time highlights the environmentalist’s extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. Arts & Issues Director Grant Andree said the film is a fascinating view of one man’s contribution to a movement that has become a global phenomenon. “The story of Aldo Leopold is the perfect example of how one person can make a difference,” Andree said. “This film is an exciting documentary that I’m sure our audience will find riveting.” An early leader with the U.S. Forest Service, Leopold pioneered wildlife conservation and wilderness management techniques. Curt Meine is a conservation biologist and writer based in Prairie du Sac, Wis., and is a senior fellow with the Aldo Leopold Foundation, director of conservation biology and history for the Center for Humans and Nature, and a research associate with the International Crane Foundation. Meine’s doctoral dissertation encompasses a biography of Aldo Leopold, published as “Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work.” Leopold, who is considered by many the father of the U.S. wilderness system, was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer and outdoor enthusiast. Born in 1887, Leopold studied the natural world at an early age, observing, journaling and sketching his surroundings. He graduating from the Yale Forest School in 1909 and sought a career with the newly established U.S. Forest Service in Arizona and New Mexico. Later, he became supervisor of the Carson National Forest in New Mexico. In 1922, he was instrumental in developing the proposal to manage the Gila National Forest as a wilderness area, which became the first such official designation in 1924...more

1 comment:

SLW said...

My God, finally truth in reporting. The sentence, "In 1922, he was instrumental in developing the proposal to manage the Gila National Forest as a wilderness area ... which became the first official such area in 1924' ... finally describes the true intent of the Forest Service! Notwithstanding the fact that the Gila Wilderness was just some 450,000 acres within the greater forest and the "official" designation didn't come until 1964 with the passage of the Wilderness Act ... truth prevails. The Forest Service indeed had visions of such management and didn't need Congressional approval to establish the first Wilderness. This is a historic statement!! Finally, the real intention of the Forest Service, managing the entire Gila as a wilderness, is revealed in a tribute to Leopold! Holy cow!!