It’s a special month for earth enthusiasts – April is Aldo Leopold month in Iowa.

Leopold, a Burlington native, was considered a pioneer in wildlife conservation. Throughout his life, he wrote books and educated others on his philosophy of “land edict.” Because of his efforts, Leopold has become the centerpiece for the Statewide Prairie Rescue, an annual volunteer event that takes place in 22 Iowa locations.

Volunteers aid the prairie in its burning cycle by cutting down new trees and planting vegetation.

Through a collaboration between the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, the Department of Natural Resources and other environmental groups, Leopold’s philosophy will live on through the annual Statewide Prairie Rescue as the theme to this year’s event.

“They wanted Leopold’s teachings to be a focus of these events,” said Laura Miller, representative for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

Cathy Engstrom, director of communications for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, said the honor is a fitting tribute.

“In my mind, this epitomizes Aldo Leopold,” she said. “Volunteers go out and do what nature used to do on its own. In some of the events they actually set fires and burn things back. The most common activity is going in with handsaws.”

Because the prairies of Iowa used to thrive when natural prairie fires and grazing occurred, Engstrom said the rescues are essential to keeping prairies from becoming a thing of Iowa’s past.

“Iowa used to be about 80 percent covered by prairies and they were slowly destroyed by farming, building cities, roads and various things that happen in Iowa,” Engstrom said. “Now we have just a few of them left.”

Engstrom also said the idea of volunteering is one Leopold would have been happy to see.

“One of [Leopold’s] big arguments was that government alone could never do conservation,” Engstrom said. “If you don’t get citizens involved – if they aren’t standing out on the land doing something – then its not conservation at all. It’s not something you can have someone else do for you. It has to be a citizen’s activity.”

Engstrom said Leopold’s message reaches volunteers old and new alike.

“His teachings work for people whether they be conservation experts or conservation novices,” she said. “So much of what he talks about is nothing more than sitting down in your own backyard and seeing what’s happening. He goes so much further and develops this philosophy that talks about [our] responsibility to the land.”

More on Aldo Leopold

Birthplace: Leopold was born in 1887 and raised in Burlington.

Why he is important: Aldo Leopold was crucial in the development of the U.S. wildlife system as we know it today. He is considered by many to be the father of wildlife management. As a boy, Leopold hunted and fished. He grew up with a love of nature and the world around him. Leopold graduated from the Yale Forest School in 1909 and a started a career with the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico and Arizona.

In 1933 he published his first textbook and became the nation’s first chairperson of game management. Leopold wrote many articles for professional journals and popular magazines. He wrote “A Sand County Almanac,” which was published in 1949, a year after his death. His influence in the world of conservation is felt even here at Iowa State. In 1987, The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture was formed on campus. It is currently located in room 210 in Curtiss Hall.

– Compiled from the Aldo Leopold Foundation