Great progress in environmental protection had been achieved in the years leading up to 1910. After that, the environmental movement split into two groups.On one side were the preservationists. They were led by John Muir, who had founded the Sierra Club in 1892.The preservationists were more philosophical and believed in saving the environment partially for its own sake, and so that people could enjoy nature into the future. When Muir died, Aldo Leopold
took over. Leopold viewed people as a part of nature, and certainly not as the owners of it. He and Robert Marshall, a strong supporter of the preservationist movement, formed the Wilderness Society in 1935. The scientific conservationists wanted to save the environment for human purposes. They were mainly interested in economics. This group was led by Theodore Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and others.This group did not object to using the country's natural resources for human production. However, they
wanted to insure that these resources would be replenished and not get depleted. Pinchot said, "The first principle of conservation is the use of the natural resources now existing on this continent for the benefit of the people who live here now." The scientific conservationists were interested in the material advantages the environment could bring. Many who had supported Roosevelt's early policies were later disappointed.
As the politicians and business people shifted away from outright preservation, the environmental movement worked harder to save nature. Streaming audio biography of John Muir
Theodore Roosevelt National Park | 
