Conservation President

Part of Theodore Roosevelt Memorial.

"There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country. Just as we must conserve our men, women and children, so we must conserve the resources of the land on which they live." —Theodore Roosevelt

September 14, 1901

Becomes 26th President: While Roosevelt visits the Adirondacks, President McKinley is shot. He dies eight days later. A hasty inauguration ceremony is held in Buffalo, New York.

September 1901

Historical photograph of The White House exterior with a fountain in front of the entrance.

Moves to Washington: The family settles in the Executive Mansion, which Roosevelt renames The White House.
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Archie Roosevelt in the White House Garden seated beside a tree, petting a rabbit.

The Family Moves to Washington: The Roosevelts made their way to the Executive Mansion in Fall 1901. The President, his pretty wife and their spirited children were one of the most popular families ever to live in the White House.
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Archie Roosevelt sitting on his pony, Algonquin.

Just as their father had done, the Roosevelt children collected all manner of pets—from frogs to snakes to guinea pigs. They once brought Algonquin, Archie’s pony (above), up the White House elevator to cheer up the boy while he was recovering from diphtheria.
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Theodore Roosevelt's son Ted standing in front of plants, holding a parrot on his left hand.

President Roosevelt encouraged his children’s interest in wildlife, allowing them to bring home more than just dogs and cats. The children’s White House menagerie included Ted’s parrot Eli Yale (above), Archie’s badger Josiah and, briefly, Bill the spotted hyena.
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Theodore Roosevelt in the yard petting a large, spotted dog.

While in office, Roosevelt maintained his personal relationship to nature. He spent time with family pets, hiked—often with other officials—and kept a close eye on the birds of the White House grounds, publishing "President Roosevelt’s List of Birds."
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Alice Lee Roosevelt throws a ball in the White House garden with a younger child.

Alice Lee Roosevelt, the President’s daughter from his first marriage, grew into an independent young woman during Roosevelt’s presidency. Like her father, she had a sharp political mind and a free spirit.
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December 3, 1901

First Message to Congress: Roosevelt insists that government should preserve wilderness and natural resources "for the use and benefit of our people as a whole."

May 22, 1902

Historical photograph of a boat, filled with five people, on a lake surrounded by mountains.

Creates New National Park: Crater Lake National Park is the first of five parks created by Roosevelt.
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Gifford Pinchot, chief of the Division of Forestry, wearing a hat, light colored suit, and bow tie.

Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot: Roosevelt, eager to increase the park system, asked chief of the Division of Forestry, Gifford Pinchot (above), to choose the first park he would protect. By 1909, they had doubled the number of national parks.
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Overhead view of Crater Lake with tall trees in the foreground and mountains in the background.

Crater Lake National Park: Their first choice was Crater Lake, Oregon, a stunningly blue lake deeper than any other in the United States. Today, nearly half a million people visit the park, which includes towering cliffs and extensive forests.
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Overhead view of a landscape of small hills dotted with trees.

Wind Cave National Park: In 1903, Roosevelt created Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, which includes prairie, forested hills and one of the longest caves in the world. Since the park’s establishment, Wind Cave’s acreage has nearly tripled.
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Body of water surrounded by trees, with fallen tree branches in the center of the water.

Sullys Hill: Also in 1903, Roosevelt created Sullys Hill National Park, home to a variety of migratory water birds. On Devil’s Lake in North Dakota, the site is now a national game preserve.
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River surrounded by trees and greenery on both sides runs under a brick bridge.

Platt National Park, Oklahoma: When his friend Senator Orville H. Platt died, Roosevelt chose a forest rich with streams and created a national park in Platt’s honor. The area is now known as Chickasaw National Recreation Area.
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Overhead view of the large Cliff Palace cliff dwelling, above trees and below overhanging rock.

Mesa Verde National Park: Roosevelt protected the ancient cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, Colorado "to preserve the works of man." Today, the site continues to be excavated, studied and preserved.
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September 1902

Carriage Accident: While campaigning in Massachusetts, Roosevelt is thrown from a carriage and permanently injures his left leg.

November 1902

Exaggerated cartoon of Theodore Roosevelt, wearing a big hat and holding a gun, walking away from a person holding a tied up small bear.

Bear Hunt: While hunting in Mississippi, Roosevelt refuses to shoot a captured bear. Shortly afterwards, a toy manufacturer introduces stuffed bears and calls them "Teddy Bears."

March 14, 1903

Flat shoreline with many birds on the coast and flying just above.

Creates Pelican Island: During his administration, Roosevelt creates 51 federal bird reservations.
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Over thirty pelicans sit in a dry, grassy area, surrounded by bare trees.

When AMNH ornithologist Frank Chapman described the threats posed to birds on Pelican Island, Florida, Roosevelt asked, "Is there any law that will prevent me from declaring Pelican Island a Federal Bird Reservation?" There wasn’t. "Very well then," Roosevelt said, "I so declare it."
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Paul Kroegel, with a large mustache and wearing a hat, kneels on the ground and places right hand on a pelican's head.

Paul Kroegel was an early proponent of protecting Pelican Island. Located on central Florida’s Atlantic coast, the area was not only the first federal bird reservation, but also the first national wildlife refuge in the country, laying the groundwork for today’s more than 550 refuges.
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A sea turtle on a beach, heading toward the water.

In 1991, nearby Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge was created to protect sensitive breeding grounds for many sea turtle species, including the leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), one of the largest and rarest sea turtles, whose nesting female population has dropped 70 percent in less than one generation.
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Sandy coast with grass to the left and water to the right.

The delicate dune habitat at Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge is vulnerable to encroaching development. Though threats remain, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now works to protect sea turtle nesting grounds while also allowing responsible public use.
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Museum diorama of over 20 birds in trees or on the ground by a body of water, plus a nest in a tree with four baby birds.

At AMNH | Hall of North American Birds (Floor 3): In the early 1900s, birds in Florida's Cuthbert Rookery, depicted here, were hunted for their plumes, which were sold to decorate ladies' hats. A game warden was murdered in 1905 at Cuthbert Rookery by commercial plume hunters. In response, President Roosevelt appointed more wardens and assured the Audubon Society that he was committed to ending the sale of wild bird feathers.
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March 1903

Painting of mountains and a row of trees reflected in a clear lake in front of them.

Alaskan Boundary Dispute Settled: After the settlement of a dispute with Britain over the Canada-Alaska border, Roosevelt protects Alaskan lands and wildlife.

May 1903

Theodore Roosevelt with five other people, all wearing suits and hats, at the Grand Canyon.

Visits Grand Canyon: Roosevelt makes the site a national monument in 1908.
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Historical photograph of the Grand Canyon.

"Arizona has a natural wonder which…is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world," Roosevelt said of the Grand Canyon. "Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it."
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A painting by Thomas Moran depicting a cliffside overlooking Grand Canyon, with a cloudy sky overhead.

By the time he became president, Roosevelt had heard stories and seen Thomas Moran’s paintings of the canyon’s beauty (above). From the early days of his presidency, he wanted to designate the Grand Canyon as the first national parkof his administration.
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The printed and signed Antiquities Act from the Fifty-ninth Congress of the United States of America.

Mining, logging and ranching interests staunchly opposed designating the Grand Canyon a national park, so Roosevelt found another way to protect it. Under the Antiquities Act of 1906 (above), he was able to designate the Grand Canyon a national monument.
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California condor on a rocky surface with its wings spread out.

Roosevelt played a key role in protecting the Grand Canyon, but challenges remained. In 1983, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service started a breeding program to rehabilitate the California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) population, which at the time numbered just 22 birds.
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By 1992 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began releasing the birds into the wild. Now the California condor population numbers over 320, and many birds have made the protected Grand Canyon their home.
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May 1903

Theodore Roosevelt (left) and John Muir (right) stand on a cliff in Yosemite.

Camps with John Muir: The trip leads Roosevelt to enlarge Yosemite National Park.
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John Muir seated on a rock, holding a long stick.

John Muir was one of America’s most influential naturalists. A writer and conservationist, Muir contributed to the creation of national parks and founded the Sierra Club, which became one of the world’s leading environmental organizations.
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Theodore Roosevelt (front right), John Muir (front left), and two others on horseback on road between trees, with others walking behind them.

As president, Roosevelt (front, right) wanted to meet this famed naturalist. He asked Muir (second from right) for a tour through Yosemite National Park in California: "I do not want anyone with me but you, and I want to drop politics absolutely and just be out in the open with you."
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Theodore Roosevelt (fourth from left), John Muir (fourth from right), and seven other people stand before a large sequoia tree.

Upon receiving Roosevelt’s invitation, Muir wrote a friend, "an influential man from Washington wants to make a trip into the Sierra with me, and I might be able to do some forest good in freely talking around the campfire."
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Three tall sequoia trees pictured from the ground up.

The two men greatly enjoyed the time they spent together. Roosevelt wrote to Muir: "I shall never forget our three camps [in Yosemite]." And Muir did help the forests of Yosemite: he convinced Roosevelt to expand the park.
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Sculpture depicting Theodore Roosevelt seated on a bench in the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall.

At AMNH | Theodore Roosevelt Sculpture (Floor 1): Begin to explore Roosevelt's conservation legacy at this sculpture, which depicts the president during a 1903 camping trip to Yosemite National Park. Roosevelt remains unrivaled in his record of preserving wilderness and wildlife as well as managing natural resources. In 1906, Yosemite became part of that record when Roosevelt expanded the park.
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November 8, 1904

A large crowd, including someone on horseback and soldiers, assembled in front of the Capitol building which is decorated with American flags..

Wins Presidential Election: Roosevelt wins in a landslide. "I am glad to be elected President in my own right."

February 1, 1905

Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot stand next to one another on the deck of a boat.

Establishes National Forest Service: Roosevelt appoints the government's most prominent forester, Gifford Pinchot, as chief. Together they create or enlarge 150 national parks.
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Cross section of a giant sequoia in the Hall of North American forests.

At AMNH | Hall of North American Forests (Floor 1): "A grove of giant redwood or sequoias should be kept just as we keep a quiet and beautiful cathedral," Roosevelt wrote in 1916. Roosevelt greatly expanded the federal forest reserves during his presidency, establishing more than 100 forests, including Sequoia National Forest, California. Located in the Hall of North American Forests, this cross section was taken from a tree that survived over 1,300 years and exceeded 300 feet.
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June 2, 1905

Ken Salazar: Roosevelt pioneers government efforts to protect wildlife, creating four game preserves during his presidency.

December 1905

William Hornaday stands in a room in front of a bookshelf, holding a large book open.

Cofounds American Bison Society: To rehabilitate Great Plains bison populations, Roosevelt joins with New York Zoological Society director William Hornaday in founding this organization.

June 8, 1906

David Hurst Thomas: Signs the Antiquities Act; eventually protects 18 sites, including archeological locations of Native peoples.

June 30, 1906

Signs Pure Food and Drug Act: Roosevelt expanded government's role in areas outside of conservation. Federal meat inspection was the key component of this landmark act.

November 1906

Travels to Panama: The first president to travel internationally while in office; inspects Panama Canal construction.

December 10, 1906

Theodore Roosevelt stands at the center, flanked by two people on each side.

Awarded Nobel Peace Prize: The prize recognizes Roosevelt's leadership in facilitating the negotiations (above) that ended the Russo-Japanese War.
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Barosaurus skeleton on display at the center of the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda, with an arched ceiling.

At AMNH | Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda: This vaulted room, part of New York State's official monument to Theodore Roosevelt, features quotations from his writing on nature, manhood, youth, and government. The murals, painted by William Andrew Mackay, celebrate Roosevelt's life and public achievements. Three of the murals in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda depict his leadership in the building of the Panama Canal; his role in negotiating the Treaty of Portsmouth ending the 1904-1905 war between Russia and Japan (for which he became the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize) and his 1909-1910 expedition to Africa, made after he left the White House.
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May 1908

Over 60 people gathered for a group photo, with the front row seated and back rows standing.

Conference of Governors: Concerned about resources, Roosevelt calls the first Conference of Governors to consider conservation issues.

July 1, 1908

Douglas Brinkley: In just a few days, Roosevelt protects more than 16 million acres of forest.

March 4, 1909

End of Presidential Term: As president, Roosevelt launched programs that would protect more than 230 million acres of U.S. land.