Aldo Leopold

Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) was an American forester, wildlife biologist, and ecologist. After studying at Yale University, he worked for the U.S. Forest Service from 1909 to 1928 and began teaching at the University of Wisconsin in 1933. An early advocate of sustainability, he promoted the protection of wilderness and natural areas. At his initiative, one of the first national wilderness areas in the United States was established in New Mexico in 1924. His work *A Sand County Almanac* was published posthumously in 1949 and became an influential contribution to American conservation thought. Leopold was posthumously awarded the John Burroughs Medal for the book in 1977.