Force of Nature: George Fell, Founder of the Natural Areas Movement
by Arthur Melville Pearson foreword by Peter R. Crane
University of Wisconsin Press, 2020 eISBN: 978-0-299-31233-6 | Paper: 978-0-299-31234-3 | Cloth: 978-0-299-31230-5 Library of Congress Classification QH76.5.I5P43 2017 Dewey Decimal Classification 333.7209773
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Winner of the Illinois State Historical Society Outstanding Achievement Award
Efforts to preserve wild places in the United States began with the allure of scenic grandeur: Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon. But what about the many significant natural sites too small or fragile to qualify as state or federal parks? Force of Nature reveals how George Fell initiated the natural areas movement to save those areas. Fell transformed a loose band of ecologists into The Nature Conservancy, drove the passage of the influential Illinois Nature Preserves Act, and helped spark allied local and national conservation organizations in the United States and beyond.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Arthur Melville Pearson is the form program director of the Chicago Program at the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, which helps protect and restore natural lands in the Chicago region and the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His writing has appeared frequently in the magazines Chicago Wilderness and Outdoor Illinois and in the blogs A Midewin Almanac and City Creatures.
REVIEWS
“The inspiring story of the innovative conservation institutions and legislation instigated by George Fell and his wife, Barbara, highlighted by the Nature Conservancy, arguably the largest environmental organization in the world.”—Stephen Laubach, author of Living a Land Ethic
“George Fell sparred with fellow naturalists and politicians to bring into being organizations that are models for today's worldwide conservation efforts. Pearson documents this extraordinary life with a wide range of sources, including interviews over two decades with both Fell's partners and his doubters.”—James Ballowe, author of A Man of Salt and Tree
“Well researched and informative. . . . This biography serves to remind us of who George Fell was and to help us to understand that we need environmental defenders who possess his qualities.”—EcoLit Books
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Illustrations Foreword Peter R. Crane Acknowledgments Chronology Prologue 1 From the Bend of a Beautiful River to the Alcatraz of Conscientious Objector Camps 2 Threatened Lands, Living Museums 3 The Nature Conservancy: Setting Up the Necessary Structure Ourselves 4 The Illinois Nature Preserves Act: If at First You Don't Succeed . . . 5 The Illinois Nature Preserves Commission: Where Once We Were Opportunists 6 Sowing More Acorns, Fighting More Battles Epilogue Notes Index
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If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
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Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
Force of Nature: George Fell, Founder of the Natural Areas Movement
by Arthur Melville Pearson foreword by Peter R. Crane
University of Wisconsin Press, 2020 eISBN: 978-0-299-31233-6 Paper: 978-0-299-31234-3 Cloth: 978-0-299-31230-5
Winner of the Illinois State Historical Society Outstanding Achievement Award
Efforts to preserve wild places in the United States began with the allure of scenic grandeur: Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon. But what about the many significant natural sites too small or fragile to qualify as state or federal parks? Force of Nature reveals how George Fell initiated the natural areas movement to save those areas. Fell transformed a loose band of ecologists into The Nature Conservancy, drove the passage of the influential Illinois Nature Preserves Act, and helped spark allied local and national conservation organizations in the United States and beyond.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Arthur Melville Pearson is the form program director of the Chicago Program at the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, which helps protect and restore natural lands in the Chicago region and the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His writing has appeared frequently in the magazines Chicago Wilderness and Outdoor Illinois and in the blogs A Midewin Almanac and City Creatures.
REVIEWS
“The inspiring story of the innovative conservation institutions and legislation instigated by George Fell and his wife, Barbara, highlighted by the Nature Conservancy, arguably the largest environmental organization in the world.”—Stephen Laubach, author of Living a Land Ethic
“George Fell sparred with fellow naturalists and politicians to bring into being organizations that are models for today's worldwide conservation efforts. Pearson documents this extraordinary life with a wide range of sources, including interviews over two decades with both Fell's partners and his doubters.”—James Ballowe, author of A Man of Salt and Tree
“Well researched and informative. . . . This biography serves to remind us of who George Fell was and to help us to understand that we need environmental defenders who possess his qualities.”—EcoLit Books
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Illustrations Foreword Peter R. Crane Acknowledgments Chronology Prologue 1 From the Bend of a Beautiful River to the Alcatraz of Conscientious Objector Camps 2 Threatened Lands, Living Museums 3 The Nature Conservancy: Setting Up the Necessary Structure Ourselves 4 The Illinois Nature Preserves Act: If at First You Don't Succeed . . . 5 The Illinois Nature Preserves Commission: Where Once We Were Opportunists 6 Sowing More Acorns, Fighting More Battles Epilogue Notes Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who cannot use this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the accessibility coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE