Visionaries in Wisconsin's Conservation History

Throughout American history, Wisconsin has pioneered new ideas and progressive steps toward the conservation of natural resources. For example; Wisconsin set precedent for the first rural zoning law, was the first state in the nation to ban the use of DDT, and has set standards for some of the most stringent groundwater and ozone layer protection legislation in the United States. These progressive programs and accomplishments have come about through the efforts of Wisconsin's citizens - many of them leaders in the conservation and environmental movement. These individuals have demonstrated great wisdom, perseverance and vision regarding quality of life and quality of the environment in this state and the nation. This thesis examines the conservation history in the state with a separate compendium of significant dates and events. A contemporary definition for the term "conservation" was created by the researcher using responses from the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame Board of Directors and Board of Governors in a modified Delphi-Panel survey. 18 short biographies on the Inductees in the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame located in Stevens Point, form the final accumulation of this research into Wisconsin's conservation and environmental history of the last 150 years. The visionaries included in these biographies give emphasis to the role of Wisconsin's leadership in natural resource conservation issues facing the region, the nation and the world