The American conservation movement owes much of its spirit and no small amount of its focus to Aldo Leopold. We remember Aldo Leopold as a man who showed us the earth in ways we had never seen it before and who compelled us, with a strength belied by his eloquent and gentle words, to accept Nature on her own terms. But there is another Leopold, a younger man, one who was still grappling with the idea of ecology. Leopold started out not as a writer, not as a spokesman, but as a forester. He entered the world of environmental concerns with his feet on the ground, confronted daily with real problems that required real solutions. These early experiences brought him close to the land and illustrated for him the practical consequences of failing to treat ecological systems as organic wholes. In Aldo Leopold's Wilderness, we meet this man. We follow his evolution from well-intentioned but inexperienced novice through competent and effective professional to thoughtful and committed advocate of wilderness preservation and respect for nature. That the preservation of a threatened species depends on our ability to preserve the integrity of its habitat is the legacy of Aldo Leopold. The twenty-six samples of Leopold's writings selected for this book span the years 1915 to 1948 and had not been previously available to the general public. Each article is accompanied by the informative and insightful comments of David E. Brown and Neil B. Carmony. To read Aldo Leopold's Wilderness is to see the history and evolution of ecological concern in America reflected in one man's experience.