There is no president more associated with conservation, public lands, and the outdoors than Theodore Roosevelt. TR served in the office from 1901 to 1909, and the avid outdoorsman and hunter worked to protect our country’s natural landscapes. Always a swashbuckling, adrenaline-seeking type, Roosevelt went on many wild adventures and took many unprecedented steps to defend the outdoors.
His Presidential Library is set to have its grand opening on July 4 in Medora, N.D. As the new museum prepares to honor his legacy, let’s examine all his fearless feats and efforts to save the outdoors.
A Chronological List of Theodore Roosevelt’s Boldest Outdoor Moments
1883: A Wake-Up Call
The bison has always served as a provocative image of the American West, and it was no different for Roosevelt. He traveled to the Dakotas to hunt bison, but was saddened to see none. The fact that these iconic animals were close to extinction made TR realize the importance of conservation.
1887: Gets Organized
This year, Roosevelt took one of his first steps toward conservation. He co-founded the Boone and Crockett Club, a group of conservationist–hunters who wanted to implement more rules around hunting and development to better protect wildlife in Yellowstone National Park.
1902: First of Many
National Parks require an act of Congress to be created, and Roosevelt signed five parks into existence during his time in office. The first, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, came in 1902.
1902: The Origin of the Teddy Bear
Badassery can also come from restraint and care for the environment. Roosevelt was an avid game hunter and had a strict code of ethics surrounding the sport. On a bear hunt in Mississippi, his assistants tied up a bear cub to a tree and invited TR to shoot it, since he was the only member of the hunting party to not yet to find a bear.
Roosevelt refused because this was not proper conduct. A political cartoonist later satirized the event, which prompted a toy maker to make a stuffed toy bear, and the teddy bear was born.
1903: An Important Precedent
Birds fascinated Roosevelt throughout his life; he was an avid reader of ornithology books and even wrote several himself. When environmentalists warned President Roosevelt that the fashion industry was decimating rare bird populations to use their feathers for garments, he took action.
In March 1903, he issued an executive order to establish the first-ever Federal Bird Refuge at Pelican Island in New York. This led to the establishment of the National Wildlife Refuge system.
1903: An Influential Trip
Famed naturalist John Muir invited President Roosevelt on a 3-day journey with him through the Yosemite wilderness. On the trip, Muir convinced Roosevelt to take action to preserve the area. Eventually, in 1906, TR got California to agree to cede the land to the federal government and add it to Yosemite National Park.
1905: Save the Forests and the Bison
If you’ve gone on a hike or a backpacking trip on federal public land, you’ve probably got the U.S. Forest Service to thank. Roosevelt established this agency in 1905, and went on to protect 150 million acres of forest land by executive order.
Later that same year, Roosevelt co-founded the American Bison Society to help restore the populations of this icon of the Great Plains.
1906: National Monument Tidal Wave
When Congress passed the American Antiquities Act, it gave new power to the president to “proclaim historic landmarks, historic or prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest in federal ownership as national monuments,” according to the NPS.
As soon as the act passed, Roosevelt wasted no time in declaring four national monuments: Devils Tower, El Morro, Montezuma Castle, and Petrified Forest. By the end of his term, he protected six cultural areas and 12 natural areas through the law.
1914: A Perilous Mission
One of Roosevelt’s most dangerous expeditions was on behalf of the Brazilian government and the American Museum of Natural History. He traveled with local explorers 1,000 miles down the River of Doubt through the Amazon. The area had not yet been mapped by Westerners. TR and the rest of the group endured starvation, exhaustion, malaria, and infections.
June 1915: For the Birds
Once again reflecting his fascination with the avian kingdom, Roosevelt went on an Audubon Society trip to the Breton Wildlife Refuge off the coast of Louisiana, which he had established in 1904. He rejoiced in seeing such diverse bird populations thriving, and wrote an in-depth article for Scribner’s Magazine.
September 1915: Moose Attack
Roosevelt went with friends into the remote wilderness near Quebec to hunt for food. He had a license for one bull moose and two caribou. Roosevelt had successfully shot one of each, and was trying to return to his lodge, when a bull moose started to stalk his group.
According to his presidential library, “For over an hour, the moose kept Roosevelt and his guides from coming to shore, no matter where they tried to land. Finally, the moose disappeared. Roosevelt and his guides cautiously landed and started down the trail, ready to shoot the moose if attacked. It did.”
Roosevelt ultimately shot and killed the animal, and ever the rule-follower, he submitted an affidavit to the local authorities to justify killing more moose than his permit allowed.
His Final Legacy
Roosevelt passed away in 1919 at the age of 60. In total, TR set aside 230 million acres of public lands during his tenure, including 51 federal bird reserves (which would eventually become wildlife refuges), five national parks, 150 national forests, and 18 national monuments.
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