Sand County Alamanc

What follows is the first draft of a book review in work. I wanted to share this with you all because the book, besides being an enjoyable read sets down a common sense approach to conservation. I first read it in the mid-seventies when Gaylord Nelson was aiding and abetting the Ecology movement. Politicians that actually care about something are few and far between, so Nelson’s efforts are a milestone. If you are serious about conservation and the future of the environment well-read copies of “A Sand Country Almanac” and Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” should be close at hand on your bookshelf.



A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac is a literary journey through the natural realms of Northern Wisconsin. The book is more than a prominent naturalist’s look at the flora and fauna of one particular state, but rather set downs the very foundations of the Ecology movement. Sand County coupled with Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring serve as primers of conservation and ecological responsibility. They contributed in no small way to the burst of enthusiasm for conservation in the ‘60s and ‘70s and are no less valuable a resource today - one could say the two books are auguries of things to come, some things that have already come to pass, in fact.

Aldo lays down the “Golden Rule of Ecology”

“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”

This statement shows that the book transcends the situation in a single biome or state for are the invasive grasses crowding out native species in a Wisconsin prairie more of a tragedy than the grasses imported for landscaping in Arizona spreading through the desert? All states have imports that are pushing native species out of their niches to the detriment of the biotic system. In Arizona it is the developer and builder who are the biggest threats tearing up desert and farmland to build houses with little or no regard for the fragile desert environment and the malfeasance of a state government that allows this to happen.

Whether the reader is an avid conservationist or simply after a good read this book, despite its age, will satisfy all comers. Aldo Leopold has bound together a series of some of the most important essays written about conservation before and after its time.