Hour of trial: the conservation conflict in Colorado and the West, 1891--1907

Book · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:5021710

McCarthy, G M

Between 1891 and 1907, Presidents Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, and Roosevelt, empowered by the General Revision Act, withdrew millions of acres of public domain in the western states to create national forest reserves. The controversy triggered by the withdrawals was fierce, for it dealt with the basic issue of how turn-of-the-century Americans viewed the conservation of their natural resources. Typical of the battle over conservation was the conflict in Colorado, the location of one of the first Federal forest reserves. Using the Colorado story as a case study, the author examines the composition of conservationist and anticonservationist groups, their philosophies, rhetoric, and actions during the struggle from 1891 to the 1907 Public Lands Convention in Denver. Colorado insurgents, like anticonservationists throughout the rest of the West, vehemently opposed the reserves and legislation dealing with grazing permits, leasing, and coal-land withdrawals. Led in Colorado by United States Senator Henry M. Teller, the insurgents subscribed to the doctrine of maximum land use. Conservationist forces endorsed the concept of rational resource planning and use, a philosophy championed by Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot. They demanded laws that would safeguard the already rapidly vanishing resources in the West. The Colorado experience during the early-day conservation conflict can tell us much about the nation's views on an issue that was critical at the turn of the century and is recognized today as vital to survival. Extensive bibliography and notes for each chapter.

• OSTI ID: 5021710
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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