A Sand County Almanac

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) was an American writer and naturalist and the author of A Sand County Almanac, a book credited with helping create the American conservation movement and the discipline of ecology. In the book, Leopold is both the author and the main character, describing scenes from nature and drawing on experiences he has had as a forester and an avid outdoorsman to advance an argument for the preservation of wild spaces.

Throughout the book, Leopold positions himself as an observer of natural phenomena. In the opening section, he describes the tranquility of nature observation in January, when snow blankets the woods and there are few distractions from the limited signs of life on display. Later on, he writes about observations he conducted in marshes—sometimes buried in the mud so as to have the best possible vantage point for watching birds and other wildlife—and in mountain meadows. At various points throughout the book, Leopold advocates for learning directly from nature through a practice of extended observation; by describing how he himself used this practice, he is giving greater authority to his conclusions on natural processes and the importance of conserving wilderness.

At various points throughout the book, Leopold positions himself as a foil to conventional attitudes about modern society and the best way to manage the land. Unlike his neighbors, Leopold’s woodlot in Wisconsin is filled with forest pests, yet these pests help make that woodlot into a useful habitat for a variety of species and not solely a revenue source for humans. In contrast to a world that is becoming increasingly convenient and connected, Leopold welcomes spring flooding that cuts off his farm from the rest of the society, even temporarily. He seeks out plants that most people mow down, eradicating them from the prairie without a second thought, and plants them on his property. In describing how his attitudes differ from those around him, Leopold is both critiquing those attitudes and highlighting what is lost as people embrace “progress.”

Leopold also describes how circumstances have changed in conservation over the course of his life. From the White Mountain in Arizona to the Colorado Delta, Leopold describes the locations of former adventures in literary detail, concluding by noting that these landscapes are much changed since he was a young man and that he would no longer visit for fear of what he would find. In drawing attention to this transition, Leopold is highlighting the rapid pace of change and pointing to the urgent need for action on conservation to halt further destruction.