Notes on Susan Flader's Address about Aldo Leopold

Susan Flader- emeritus Professor of Environmental History at the University of Missouri, Columbia - never met Aldo Leopold in person, yet she has dedicated much of the past 40 years in her study of him. When she speaks it is with a passion that conveys why she believes he is a pivotal figure in the American conservation movement. She has written several books about Leopold and is familiar with his roots in Burlington and the Midwest. She has poured over his letters in the archives at the University of Wisconsin and studied published and unpublished documents by Leopold as well as intensively reviewed the essays in A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC. Over the years, she has developed close associations with members of the Leopold family.

In her talk at the Burlington Library this Thursday, Ms. Flader addressed Leopold's ideas of "citizenship" illustrated through passages from many of his writings. Building on his personal and historical background, she traced the evolution of Aldo Leopold's thoughts about how to utilize and care for the land and wildlife. She explained the ups & downs of public & private responses to his ideas about grass-roots community involvement in preservation and restoration of the land. Looking to the future - Susan Flader talked about the example of the new Leopold Legacy Center which is an award winning LEED (green) building near the Leopold Shack outside Baraboo, WI. The Leopold Foundation has offices in the Leopold Legacy Center and Susan Flader is chairperson of the Foundation Board.